In box Review of AMT 1/48th Scale
Beechcraft G17S "Staggerwing" Civilian Biplane
Kit no. T638
By Ray Mehlberger
My kit is out of production. It has a copyright date of 1977. Kit was re-released again in 2015. It is shown 9 times for sale on eBay with prices ranging from $17.00 up to $23.00.
By Ray Mehlberger
My kit is out of production. It has a copyright date of 1977. Kit was re-released again in 2015. It is shown 9 times for sale on eBay with prices ranging from $17.00 up to $23.00.
HISTORY:
The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing stagger (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing), that first flew in 1932.
At the height of the Great Depression, aircraft executive Walter H. Beech and airplane designer T. A. "Ted" Wells joined forces to collaborate on a project to produce a large, powerful, and fast cabin biplane built specifically for the business executive.
The Beechcraft Model 17, popularly known as the "Staggerwing", was first flown on November 4, 1932. During its heyday, it was used as an executive aircraft, much as the private jet is now, and its primary competition were the Waco Custom Cabin and Waco Standard Cabin series of biplanes.
The Model 17's unusual negative stagger wing configuration (the upper wing staggered behind the lower) and unique shape maximized pilot visibility while negligibly reducing interference between the wings.
The fabric-covered fuselage was faired with wood formers and stringers over a welded, steel tube frame.Construction was complex and took many man-hours to complete. The Staggerwing's retractable conventional landing gear, uncommon at that time, combined with careful streamlining, light weight, and a powerful radial engine, helped it perform well.
In the mid-1930s, Beech undertook a major redesign of the aircraft, to create the Model D17 Staggerwing. The D17 featured a lengthened fuselage that improved the aircraft's handling characteristics by increasing control leverage, and the ailerons were relocated to the upper wings, eliminating interference with the flaps. Braking was improved with a foot-operated brake linked to the rudder pedals.
Sales began slowly. The first Staggerwings' high price tag (between US$14,000 and $17,000, depending on engine size) scared off potential buyers in an already depressed civil aircraft market.
Only 18 Model 17s were sold during 1933, the first year of production, but sales steadily increased. Each Staggerwing was custom-built by hand. The luxurious cabin, trimmed in leather and mohair, held up to five passengers.
Eventually, the Staggerwing captured a substantial share of the passenger aircraft market. By the start of World War II, Beechcraft had sold more than 424 Model 17s.
The Staggerwing's speed made it popular with 1930s air racers. An early version of the Model 17 won the 1933 Texaco Trophy Race. In 1935, a British diplomat, Capt. H.L. Farquhar, successfully flew around the world in a Model B17R, traveling 21,332 miles (34,331 kilometers) from New York to London, by way of Siberia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and back across Europe.
Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes won the 1936 Bendix trophy in a Model C17R Staggerwing. Thaden also won the Harmon Trophy for her achievement.
Jackie Cochran set a women's speed record of 203.9 mph (328 km/h), established an altitude record of over 30,000 feet (9,144 m), and finished third in the 1937 Bendix Trophy Race, all in a special Model D17W Staggerwing. The aircraft made an impressive showing in the 1938 Bendix race, as well.
In 1970, due to a dispute with the T-6 racing class, the Reno National Air Races invited five Staggerwings to perform a demonstration race. Two G models and two D17 models raced. The five pilots were Bryant Morris, Bert Jensen, Don Clark, Noel Gourselle, and Phil Livingston, the only pilot to have prior racing experience in the T-6 class.
The race was flawless with ABC Wide World of Sports coverage, but protesting T-6 racers prevented the class from future competition with allegations of safety issues.
As World War II loomed, a number of Model B17Ls were pressed into service as bombers by the FARE, the air forces of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
China ordered a number of Staggerwings to use as ambulance planes in its fight against Imperial Japan. Finland had one C17L as a liaison aircraft between 1940–1945.
On October 2, 1941, Beech shipped a special camouflaged D17S to Prince Bernhard of Lippe, who was in exile in London after the German invasion of the Netherlands. He used it for refugee work in and around London.
The Beech UC-43 Traveler was a slightly modified version of the Staggerwing. In late 1938, the United States Army Air Corps purchased three Model D17Ss to evaluate them for use as light liaison aircraft.
These were designated YC-43. After a short flight test program, the YC-43s went to Europe to serve as liaison aircraft with the air attachés in London, Paris, and Rome.
Early in World War II, the need for a compact executive-type transport or courier aircraft became apparent, and in 1942, the United States Army Air Forces ordered the first of 270 Model 17s for service within the United States and overseas as the UC-43.
These differed only in minor details from the commercial model. To meet urgent wartime needs, the government also purchased or leased (impressed) additional "Staggerwings" from private owners, including 118 more for the Army Air Force plus others for the United States Navy.
In Navy service, the planes were designated as GB-1 and GB-2. The British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy acquired 106 "Traveller Mk. I" (the British name uses the UK double "l" spelling) through the Lend-Lease arrangement to fill its own critical need for light personnel transports.
The production UC-43 differed in minor details from the service test YC-43. Two distinguishing external features of the UC-43 are the circular automatic direction finder antennae mounted between the main landing gear and landing lights near the lower wingtips. They were all powered by the 450 horsepower (336 kilowatt) Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine.
After the war's end, Beech immediately converted its manufacturing capabilities back to civil aircraft production, making one final version of the Staggerwing, the Model G17S. They built 16 aircraft, which they sold for US$29,000 apiece. Norway sold one D17S to Finland in 1949, which the Finnish Air Force used from 1950 to 1958.
The lightweight V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza, a powerful four-passenger luxury aircraft, soon replaced the venerable Staggerwing in the Beech product line, at about a third of the price.
The Bonanza was a smaller aircraft with fewer horsepower, but carried four people at a similar speed to the Staggerwing. Beechcraft sold the 785th and final Staggerwing in 1948 and delivered it in 1949.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Utility aircraft
Manufacturer: Beech Aircraft Corporation
Designer: T. A. Wells
First flight: November 4, 1932
Introduction to service: 1933
Primary users: Private sector & U.S. Army Air Forces
Produced: 1933–1949
Number built: 785
Unit cost: U.S. $14,000–17,000 (1933) & U.S. $29,000 (1949)
The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing stagger (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing), that first flew in 1932.
At the height of the Great Depression, aircraft executive Walter H. Beech and airplane designer T. A. "Ted" Wells joined forces to collaborate on a project to produce a large, powerful, and fast cabin biplane built specifically for the business executive.
The Beechcraft Model 17, popularly known as the "Staggerwing", was first flown on November 4, 1932. During its heyday, it was used as an executive aircraft, much as the private jet is now, and its primary competition were the Waco Custom Cabin and Waco Standard Cabin series of biplanes.
The Model 17's unusual negative stagger wing configuration (the upper wing staggered behind the lower) and unique shape maximized pilot visibility while negligibly reducing interference between the wings.
The fabric-covered fuselage was faired with wood formers and stringers over a welded, steel tube frame.Construction was complex and took many man-hours to complete. The Staggerwing's retractable conventional landing gear, uncommon at that time, combined with careful streamlining, light weight, and a powerful radial engine, helped it perform well.
In the mid-1930s, Beech undertook a major redesign of the aircraft, to create the Model D17 Staggerwing. The D17 featured a lengthened fuselage that improved the aircraft's handling characteristics by increasing control leverage, and the ailerons were relocated to the upper wings, eliminating interference with the flaps. Braking was improved with a foot-operated brake linked to the rudder pedals.
Sales began slowly. The first Staggerwings' high price tag (between US$14,000 and $17,000, depending on engine size) scared off potential buyers in an already depressed civil aircraft market.
Only 18 Model 17s were sold during 1933, the first year of production, but sales steadily increased. Each Staggerwing was custom-built by hand. The luxurious cabin, trimmed in leather and mohair, held up to five passengers.
Eventually, the Staggerwing captured a substantial share of the passenger aircraft market. By the start of World War II, Beechcraft had sold more than 424 Model 17s.
The Staggerwing's speed made it popular with 1930s air racers. An early version of the Model 17 won the 1933 Texaco Trophy Race. In 1935, a British diplomat, Capt. H.L. Farquhar, successfully flew around the world in a Model B17R, traveling 21,332 miles (34,331 kilometers) from New York to London, by way of Siberia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and back across Europe.
Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes won the 1936 Bendix trophy in a Model C17R Staggerwing. Thaden also won the Harmon Trophy for her achievement.
Jackie Cochran set a women's speed record of 203.9 mph (328 km/h), established an altitude record of over 30,000 feet (9,144 m), and finished third in the 1937 Bendix Trophy Race, all in a special Model D17W Staggerwing. The aircraft made an impressive showing in the 1938 Bendix race, as well.
In 1970, due to a dispute with the T-6 racing class, the Reno National Air Races invited five Staggerwings to perform a demonstration race. Two G models and two D17 models raced. The five pilots were Bryant Morris, Bert Jensen, Don Clark, Noel Gourselle, and Phil Livingston, the only pilot to have prior racing experience in the T-6 class.
The race was flawless with ABC Wide World of Sports coverage, but protesting T-6 racers prevented the class from future competition with allegations of safety issues.
As World War II loomed, a number of Model B17Ls were pressed into service as bombers by the FARE, the air forces of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
China ordered a number of Staggerwings to use as ambulance planes in its fight against Imperial Japan. Finland had one C17L as a liaison aircraft between 1940–1945.
On October 2, 1941, Beech shipped a special camouflaged D17S to Prince Bernhard of Lippe, who was in exile in London after the German invasion of the Netherlands. He used it for refugee work in and around London.
The Beech UC-43 Traveler was a slightly modified version of the Staggerwing. In late 1938, the United States Army Air Corps purchased three Model D17Ss to evaluate them for use as light liaison aircraft.
These were designated YC-43. After a short flight test program, the YC-43s went to Europe to serve as liaison aircraft with the air attachés in London, Paris, and Rome.
Early in World War II, the need for a compact executive-type transport or courier aircraft became apparent, and in 1942, the United States Army Air Forces ordered the first of 270 Model 17s for service within the United States and overseas as the UC-43.
These differed only in minor details from the commercial model. To meet urgent wartime needs, the government also purchased or leased (impressed) additional "Staggerwings" from private owners, including 118 more for the Army Air Force plus others for the United States Navy.
In Navy service, the planes were designated as GB-1 and GB-2. The British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy acquired 106 "Traveller Mk. I" (the British name uses the UK double "l" spelling) through the Lend-Lease arrangement to fill its own critical need for light personnel transports.
The production UC-43 differed in minor details from the service test YC-43. Two distinguishing external features of the UC-43 are the circular automatic direction finder antennae mounted between the main landing gear and landing lights near the lower wingtips. They were all powered by the 450 horsepower (336 kilowatt) Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine.
After the war's end, Beech immediately converted its manufacturing capabilities back to civil aircraft production, making one final version of the Staggerwing, the Model G17S. They built 16 aircraft, which they sold for US$29,000 apiece. Norway sold one D17S to Finland in 1949, which the Finnish Air Force used from 1950 to 1958.
The lightweight V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza, a powerful four-passenger luxury aircraft, soon replaced the venerable Staggerwing in the Beech product line, at about a third of the price.
The Bonanza was a smaller aircraft with fewer horsepower, but carried four people at a similar speed to the Staggerwing. Beechcraft sold the 785th and final Staggerwing in 1948 and delivered it in 1949.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Utility aircraft
Manufacturer: Beech Aircraft Corporation
Designer: T. A. Wells
First flight: November 4, 1932
Introduction to service: 1933
Primary users: Private sector & U.S. Army Air Forces
Produced: 1933–1949
Number built: 785
Unit cost: U.S. $14,000–17,000 (1933) & U.S. $29,000 (1949)
THE KIT:
AMT was based in Troy, MI. I believe they went out of business.
The kit came in a shrink-wrapped end opening type box. I am no fan of this type of box, because invariably parts or the decal sheet will find their way past one of the end flaps to become lost forever. Give me a tray and lid type box any day of the week.
The box art shows a Staggerwing flying against a all-white background on the right side , similar to how Tamiya does the majority of their box arts also and against orange clouds on the right.
It is overall bright-yellow with a dark-blue coling front, bare metal spinner and blue pin stripes outlined in black down the sides of the fuselage. It has a large black serial no. NC80305 under the wings and smaller in black on the rudder sides.
The box art says the kit has positive alignment locators, is for modelers 8 years of age on up and a pilot figure is included.
One side panel has the history of the Staggerwing, followed by painting instructions and a white schematic 3-view line drawing of the aircraft against a red background.
AMT was based in Troy, MI. I believe they went out of business.
The kit came in a shrink-wrapped end opening type box. I am no fan of this type of box, because invariably parts or the decal sheet will find their way past one of the end flaps to become lost forever. Give me a tray and lid type box any day of the week.
The box art shows a Staggerwing flying against a all-white background on the right side , similar to how Tamiya does the majority of their box arts also and against orange clouds on the right.
It is overall bright-yellow with a dark-blue coling front, bare metal spinner and blue pin stripes outlined in black down the sides of the fuselage. It has a large black serial no. NC80305 under the wings and smaller in black on the rudder sides.
The box art says the kit has positive alignment locators, is for modelers 8 years of age on up and a pilot figure is included.
One side panel has the history of the Staggerwing, followed by painting instructions and a white schematic 3-view line drawing of the aircraft against a red background.
Below this AMT thanks the Staggerwing Museum in Talahoma, Tennessee for assistance to produce this kit.
The other side panel has 4 illustrations as line drawings showing the alignment locations of the interlocking parts and locating pins against a red background.
The other side panel has 4 illustrations as line drawings showing the alignment locations of the interlocking parts and locating pins against a red background.
Below this is AMT's address in Troy, Michigan, MADE & LITHO IN USA, paint and cement not included.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
The kit contains 4 bright-yellow trees, a clear tree, decal sheet in a clear sealed cello bag, the decal sheet and the instruction and a contest entry form.
Trees are not alphabetized, but are illustrated in the instructions and do have part number tabs next to the parts on them.
The instructions consists of a single 8 1/2" x 11" sheet printed on both sides and folded to fit the box.
The face side has IMPORTANT! READ THESE POINTS BEFORE YOU BEGIN at the topof the page, pictures of tools needed, paint suggestions, the parts trees illustrations and the first assembly step.
The reverse side complete a total of 7 assembly steps.
The contest entry form is to enter a model of one of AMT's kits, between Sept. 1, 1977 and Feb. 28, 1978.
First prize was to be 7 days and nights for 2 in Acapulco, with first class accomodations, 2 meals and $150.00 per person pocket money, including round-trip airfare.
Second prize was flying 2 persons to Disney World for 4 days and 3 nights, first class accomodations at the park and rides on the monorail from your hotel. Admission fees and $75.00 per person "mad money" included.
Third prize was $100.00 in value of AMT hobby kits, chosen from a listing of over 130 kits to choose from.
The kit contains 4 bright-yellow trees, a clear tree, decal sheet in a clear sealed cello bag, the decal sheet and the instruction and a contest entry form.
Trees are not alphabetized, but are illustrated in the instructions and do have part number tabs next to the parts on them.
The instructions consists of a single 8 1/2" x 11" sheet printed on both sides and folded to fit the box.
The face side has IMPORTANT! READ THESE POINTS BEFORE YOU BEGIN at the topof the page, pictures of tools needed, paint suggestions, the parts trees illustrations and the first assembly step.
The reverse side complete a total of 7 assembly steps.
The contest entry form is to enter a model of one of AMT's kits, between Sept. 1, 1977 and Feb. 28, 1978.
First prize was to be 7 days and nights for 2 in Acapulco, with first class accomodations, 2 meals and $150.00 per person pocket money, including round-trip airfare.
Second prize was flying 2 persons to Disney World for 4 days and 3 nights, first class accomodations at the park and rides on the monorail from your hotel. Admission fees and $75.00 per person "mad money" included.
Third prize was $100.00 in value of AMT hobby kits, chosen from a listing of over 130 kits to choose from.
The first bright-yellow tree holds: the cockpit floor, engine cylinders, cowling, elevators, wing struts, propeller wheels, landing gear legs etc. (33 parts)
The second bright-yellow tree holds the wing bottoms and seats (4 parts)
The third bright-yellow tree holds the wing tops (4 parts)
The fourth bright-yellow tree holds: the fuselage halves, dashboard, cabin door, pilot, joy stick (7 parts)
The clear tree holds the cockpit window and landing light lenses (5 parts)
The last item in the kit are the decals.
This is a nicely detailed old kit, with raised rib detail. Flaps are all molded solid.
Recommended.