Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing

The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane noted for its negative wing stagger, with the lower wing set farther forward than the upper wing. Walter Beech left Curtiss-Wright in 1932 to found Beech Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, Kansas, and the Model 17 was the new company's first project: a fast biplane with an enclosed cabin designed for business executives, first flown on 4 November 1932. Its retractable landing gear, careful streamlining, light weight and powerful radial engine let it perform well. It was sold on the civil market for transport and air racing, used by allied forces in World War II, and kept in civilian production until 1949, with 785 built.