Sergeant 1st Class Walter H. Beech
Posted by: BruceS
N 29° 23.602 W 098° 37.132
14R E 536981 N 3251628
Plaque honoring Walter Beech more known for his aircraft design but had been an enlisted flight instructor in the Army Air Corps.
Waymark Code: WM3CX0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/16/2008
Views: 9
UC-45
...an enlisted story.
Sergeant 1st Class Walter H. Beech
Walter Beech, who trained as an enlisted aviator toward the end of World
War I, gained little fame as a military aviator, but went on to become a premier
aircraft designer and builder. Beech had been flying since July 1914,
so it was only natural for me, although enlisted, to become a flight instructor
in 1917. However, his natural talent in remodeling aircraft and engines
soon led him in a different direction. One of his first projects while
serving at Kelly Field in San Antonio was to convert a JN-4 "Jenny" for use as
an air ambulance. After the war, he began associations with the top
airplane manufacturers of the time, Glen Curtis, Clyde Cessna, and Lloyd
Stearman, at the height of the Great Depression, Beech took a real flier and
formed his own company, Beech Aircraft. The UC-45, aversion of his popular
"Twin Beech," was used by the Army and the Navy. He delivered more than
7,400 by the end of World War II. Beech was inducted into the National
Aviation Hall of Fame in 1977. ~ text of plaque