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Prepare to bid on a 1936 Staggerwing C17R, flown by the first female Bendix Race winner and aviation pioneer Louise Thaden and currently undergoing a restoration. The incredible piece of aviation history is up for auction in November, presented by Airspace Auctions and listed on GlobalAir.com.
This aircraft is verified to be number 81, the aircraft that Thaden owned and flew. According to Airspace Auctions, the wings and tail have been recovered and the fuselage wood and metal work has been completed. All the metal surfaces are sealed with epoxy. The wings have been restored with hidden racing flaps on the underside. The original windshield is still intact and has the original chips from the Sherwin-Williams blue listed on the original order paperwork, also included in the sale. Airspace Auctions reports that the restoration is about 65 percent completed.
History of the Staggerwing
Development and early production
Walter H. Beech founded the Beech Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, Kansas in 1932. Beech was the former head of Travel Air, which was purchased by Curtiss-Wright in 1929. He left Curtiss-Wright with airplane designer Ted A. Wells and the first biplane produced was the Model 17. The design had been rejected by the Curtiss-Wright board and featured an enclosed cabin design, meant to meet the needs of business executives. The Beechcraft Model 17 is more commonly known as the Staggerwing since the upper wing staggered behind the lower. It was first flown on Nov. 4, 1932 and originally used for executive purposes, much like the modern private jet, according to the Kansas Aviation Museum.
The early production aircraft were sold between $14,000-$17,000 depending on the engine high, making it a higher-priced model for the time. According to The Air and Space Museum, there were only two of the first series Model 17R Beech Staggerwings built and it was difficult to sell, mostly because of the high cost. In 1934 the Model B17L was introduced with major modifications to the retractable landing gear, wings were of a different airfoil, wooden spars were used instead of steel and a 225-hp Jacobs L-4 power plant. Retractable gear was uncommon at the time but gave the aircraft a maximum speed of 175 mph and a landing speed of 45 mph. The new model improved sales substantially.
The Air and Space Museum reported that two Model A17s were built with fixed landing gear and Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines. With these engines, the two aircraft had 710 hp and a max speed of 250 mph, making them the fastest commercial aircraft of the time and the fastest Model 17s ever built. The tall landing gear was a drawback, with higher chances of ground loops and nose-heavy conditions making landings difficult. The Model C17 was introduced in 1936 and corrected these problems, introducing shorter landing gear and the angle of incidence of the horizontal stabilizer changed to keep the tail down during landing.
The Staggerwing had been a corporate aircraft with the previous models, but the C17 introduced the plane to bigger racing circles. Future models include the Model D17 which introduced the first major change since the B17, lengthening the fuselage, moving the ailerons, replacing the complex hand-operated wheel brakes and modifying the airframe. The D17 was purchased for personnel transport by the U.S. Army Air Forces and the U.S. Navy during WWII. Various models were modified and produced for needs during WWII and after the war ended, Beech transferred production back to civil aircraft. The Staggerwing was eventually replaced by the Beechcraft Bonanza. The 758th and final Staggerwing was sold in 1948 and delivered in 1949.
Staggerwing races and records
The Staggerwing's high speed made it a popular choice for racing. An early Model 17 version won the 1933 Texaco Trophy Race. In 1935, Capt. H.L. Farquhar flew around the world in a Model B17R, flying 21,332 miles from New York to London, from Siberia to the Middle East and back to Europe.
The Model C17 was the Staggerwing's big introduction into racing. Thaden piloted the C17R (NC15835) with Blanche Noyes and won the 1936 Bendix Trophy race, becoming the first woman to ever win the prestigious race. Two other Staggerwings won races in Miami in 1936 and did well in the 1937 and 1938 Bendix races. In 1937, another pioneer female aviator, Jacqueline Cochran set a 1,000-kilometer (621 mile) speed record by averaging over 200 mph, according to The Air and Space Museum. In 1939, Cochran flew a Staggerwing to an altitude record of over 30,000 feet, according to the Historic Flight Foundation.
In 1970 after a dispute with the T-6 racing class, the Reno Air Races invited five Staggerwing aircraft to perform a demonstration race, with coverage by ABC Wide World of Sports. The race went off perfectly, but the protesting T-6 racing pilots prevented the class from competing in future races over safety concerns.
Louise Thaden makes history in a Staggerwing
Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden was born on Nov. 12, 1905 in Bentonville, Arkansas. In 1926, she was introduced to Beech through her work and he offered her a job as a sales representative. Part of her salary included free pilot's lessons and she earned her certificate in 1928. She became the first female pilot to be licensed by the state of Ohio. In 1929, she was only the fourth woman to hold a transport pilot rating. In December 1928 she set an altitude record of 20,260 feet. Three months later, she set a new U.S. women's endurance record by remaining aloft in a Travel Air 3000 for 22 hours and three minutes, according to The Air and Space Museum. In 1929 she flew a Travel Air B-4000 in the Women's Air Derby, claiming a first-place victory. She then set a refueling duration record at 196 hours, a light plane speed record and a new east-west speed record.
In 1930 Thaden became the director of the Women's Division of the Penn School of Aeronautics. The same year, Thaden and Amelia Earhart were involved in the founding of the international organization for women pilots called the Ninety-Nines. She turned down the role of President but served as the treasurer and vice president.
She was well-established in the world of aviation by the mid-1930s. 1936 was the first year women were allowed to compete among the men in the Bendix Trophy Race. On Sept. 4, 1936 Thaden flew her Staggerwing with copilot Blanche Noyes in the race, becoming the first woman to ever win the race and set a new world record with a 14-hour and 55-minute flight from New York City to Los Angeles. Thaden and Noyes beat the other men and were followed 45 minutes later by the second-place winner, another woman pilot named Laura Ingalls flying in a Lockheed Orion. Thaden and Noyes won the $4,500 price money and the Bendix Air Trophy, as well as the $2,500 awarded for the first female team to cross the finish line. Today, that would equate to about $138,000, according to the Ninety-Nines. For her achievements, she was awarded the Harmon Trophy.
Thaden retired from racing in 1938. She spent years as a Beech Aircraft demonstration pilot and during WWII she volunteered with Ruth Nichols Relief Wings, according to the Ninety-Nines. She worked for the Bureau of Air Commerce for a time, promoting the creation of airfields. She wrote a memoir as well as numerous newspaper and magazine articles about aviation. She died of a heart attack on Nov. 9, 1979 and one year later was one of the five initial inductees in the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame. In 1999 she was inducted into the International Air andamp; Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air andamp; Space Museum and the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
Staggerwing auction
Now, the Staggerwing aircraft is remembered as an impressive early modern aircraft and racer. In 2003 the Staggerwing was named one of the Top Ten All-Time Favorite aircraft by Plane andamp; Pilot magazine. The plane had an impressive history at a pivotal time in aviation. The C17R up for auction is currently being restored to its former glory. The plane sale will include the original logbooks, factory order receipts, chain of ownership, historical research and build plans. These included documents prove ownership by Thaden.
The auction begins on Nov. 14 and ends Nov. 21 at noon. The starting bid is $90,000 and the buyer's premium is four percent of the final sale price.