Beechcraft Staggerwing

(Click On Any Photo In This Column For A Larger View)

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Russ Latta's D-17S Landing At Frazier Lake Airpark

"Swinging The Gear" on Bill Thursby's G-Model Staggerwing

Bob & Jane Hoff's D-17S Visiting Frazier Lake Airpark

Wan & Yon Perras' Immaculate D-17S

The Staggerwing Has More Than 10,000 Parts

Cutting & Welding The Tubular Steel Fuselage

Checking the Fuselage Tubing For Accurate Alignment Repair

Fuselage Formers & Stringers, Cables & Pulleys

Wood Formers & Stringers Make Up The Fuselage "Birdcage"

Finished "Birdcage" With Doors, Tail Wheel & Tail Feathers

Rebuilt Seat Frames With New Rails, Hardware & Cabin Floor

New Right Lower Wing Under Construction

Wing Construction Close Up

Finished Lower Wing and Flap with A Fresh Coat of Varnish

Right Lower Wing's Custom Made Metal Leading Edge

Fitting The New Right Lower Wing to The Fuselage

Fitting The Rebuilt Left Lower Wing to The Fuselage

Fitting The Fuselage's Right Side Sheet Metal & Wing Walk

Fitting The Fuselage's Left Side Sheet Metal & Wing Walk

Assembly of Fuselage, Tail Feathers & Lower Wings

Rigging All 4 Wings With The I Struts & Landing/Flying Wires

Fitting The Metal Fairing Panels Under The Belly Tank

Newly Fabricated I Strut Fairing On Lower Wing

Protective Canvas Tail Wheel Mechanism Cover

Inside View of The Fuselage With Its Poly Fiber Cover On

Poly Fiber with Poly Spray on the Fuselage

Fuselage With AeroThane Polar Gray Polyurethane Paint

Repairing The Engine Cowl Lower Half "Hat Ring" Bracket

Engine Cowl Lower Half With Replacement Center Panel

Rebuilt Dumore Landing Gear Motor by Bob Hayes

Restored & Polished 29 Gal Fuel Tank Under Cabin Floor

Chrome Plated Spinner Ready For The New Prop

Hamilton Standard 2D30-235-6167A-12 Prop From Johnson's

Overhauled R-985 by Aero-Engines in Los Angeles, CA

R-985 Ready To Run On The Aero-Engines Test Stand

Fabricating The Upper & Lower Instrument Panels

Progress On the Instrument Panel & Interior Upholstery

A Few More Controls to Attach & The Panel Will Be Done

Cabin Leather, Carpet & Wool Headliner Taking Shape

The R-985 Almost Ready for Air, Oil, Spark & Gas

The Hamilton Standard 2D30 Propeller All Polished Up

A Couple More Months and She Should Be Ready To FLY

First Engine Run on December 30, 2010

In The Paint Shop For The Fuselage "Bird" Stripes

Out of The Paint Shop & Ready For The Last Few Details!

Colors are Polar Gray, Diana Creme and Tennessee Red

Now Flying From Frazier Lake Airpark (1C9), Hollister, CA

(Click On Any Photo In This Column For A Larger View)

5 - Y E A R - P R O J E C T

Ever since my first ride, I wanted to own a Staggerwing. After years of searching, I found an unrestored project to rebuild. The plane was wrecked in 1972, disassembled then stored 'till 1995. I'm now 15 years into its restoration. In addition to coverage of all the work involved, I've included photos of a few flying examples and some historical links for general info. I add new photos & info as the progress continues so scroll to the bottom of the page to see the latest info. Also note that you can double click on any left column pics to see them larger. Enjoy!

' 4 4 - U S N A V Y - G B 2

From 1932-'49, Beech built 785 Staggerwings. Today less than 270 exist & fewer than 100 still fly. My 1944 Model D-17S, Serial #6922 was built as a U.S. Navy GB-2 "Executive Transport". Its Pratt & Whitney R-985 450hp engine will swing a 2D30-235-6167A-12 Hamilton Standard 102 inch Prop and fly at over 200 mph. It will carry 5 in an enclosed cabin on leather seats with carpet and roll down windows. If you're ever lucky enough to be offered a ride in one, don't miss out as you'll get to experience why it's still called the "LearJet" of its day.

F O U R - W I N G S

The plane has 4 wings. A set of left & right uppers & lowers. Uppers hold the ailerons and lowers the motor driven flaps. Each also holds a 23 gal fuel tank & they are all rigged with stainless steel flying & landing wires which are separated by a set of "birdies". Ribs connect the front & rear spars & plywood panels stop wing flutter. The lowers each have a retractable landing light and a leading edge red or green position light. The right lower wing had to be built up from scratch while the other 3 & the ailerons & flaps were good enough to be restored.

P O L Y - F I B E R

I'm covering with the Poly Fiber system. It's the modern day version of what used to be called "Stits". It utilizes a vinyl cover material rather than linen which makes for less weight that's just as strong and more easily repaired. The procedures are similar as you fit the envelope, glue & stitch to the frame, wing ribs etc., then heat-gun shrink tight. It's sealed with 3 coats of Poly Brush then 3 coats of Poly Spray Silver which blocks out UV rays. A polyurethane paint is the final high gloss finish available in any of about 50 colors. Most Staggerwings choose Yellow or Red. When you see one, that bright Yellow or Red is what you notice most. I'd rather have the unique shape of the plane be noticed so I'm painting with a light Gray overall and a Light Cream on the I struts, stripes & N numbers. All of the Light Cream details will be outlined in Tennessee Red. You wouldn't believe the price of paint today, nearly $200 a gallon!

R 9 8 5 - O V E R H A U L

The Pratt & Whitney R-985 for my plane was last overhauled in 1972 and was "high time". It had also incurred a prop strike when the plane was wrecked, so it was in need of a total overhaul. Everyone you talk to has a good story and a bad story about every engine shop. I went to Aero-Engines in LA because they are relatively close to me and I was impressed by what I saw when I visited their facility. They did a great job and I still have my hearing after the engine roared to life on the test stand. I've joined those who have a good story to tell about Aero-Engines.

A S S E M B L Y

We're on the home stretch. The wings and tail feathers are attached and rigged, and the landing/flying wires and I-Struts are in position. The 985 is now pretty much complete as the oil system, the exhaust and heat muffs, and all the hoses and cables are installed. Even the prop is on. Still to come is a little more instrument panel and interior work along with installation of the wing walk rubber. Also the windshield, all the fairings and the cabin side panels need to be installed. Then the fuselage stripes, the N numbers and the engine cowl will get painted and we'll be ready for the first test run.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...: This is a magnificent restoration! A great aircraft to start with and now the attention to detail that all this rebuilding has gone thru is amazing. I wish you all the best in getting her back in the air. Would love to see her in the air. You make me proud to be part of the air generation that you put so much of yourself into this. Congratulaions, Don; September 11, 2010 at 7:42 AM
Unknown said...: Beautiful! One gorgeous bird.; December 22, 2010 at 9:24 AM
Julie said...: Very special radio call; like a personalized license plate! I can't wait to see you fly over our farm. Awesome Den, so exciting!Julie; April 10, 2011 at 11:32 PM
Anonymous said...: i adore to have stunning birds with me i like them and also like to
give them beautiful homes of their i consider all citizens want this
so i would like to show appreciation you dear for sharing out it withus so nice of you cherished furthermore keep it up for more bird cage candle holders; December 14, 2011 at 8:08 AM
Sean said...: Amazing restoration. Congratulations on seeing the project through.; January 31, 2012 at 10:07 PM
mike said...: Wow, that's a great job. As someone who restores old military aircraft here in Australia, I'm very impressed and envious.. May you enjoy this beautiful aircraft.; February 29, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Anonymous said...: If you are interested in another Staggerwing project I have serial # 3186 a DS17S, Seaplane version.
Missing wings.
Email for photos and details.
terryh510@shaw.cs; February 17, 2013 at 12:04 AM
Anonymous said...: Oops above email should read terryh510@shaw.ca; February 17, 2013 at 12:07 AM
Anonymous said...: I love them staggerwings! I used to be a fueler in ABQ some years ago. Every other now and the a staggerwing would come through, often on their way to Oshkosh. I see a staggerwing sometimes I would crawl under it and look up into the wheelwells. That wood was polished and looked so fine like the deck of a high dollar speed boat. Man o man! The golden age of aviation.; June 27, 2013 at 10:18 AM
Unknown said...: Thank you so much for sharing this project. The Staggerwing is one of the most beautiful planes ever made.; July 1, 2013 at 2:55 PM
Wingworks said...: We are looking for a Propeller.

Hamilton Standard 2D30 with blades: 6167A-12 or -13
Diameter 8’ 6-1/8” maximum, (102 1/8”)
8’ 3-7/8” Minimum. (99 7/8”)

Low pitch set, 11’ ½ degrees
At 42in. rad. 157lbs (-62)

Please let us know if you can help us with this.

Best,

Mark Grusauski
wingworks@snet.net; January 30, 2015 at 8:12 AM
Unknown said...: This is an absolutely great site. i am an aeronautical engineer building an RC model of the Staggerwing and this site has been instrumental in figuring out so much of how this beautiful airplane was put together. I would love to get a set of Beechcraft's plans so I could be sure that my cross sections and the many fairings are correctly shaped.; April 2, 2015 at 3:56 PM
James Jensen said...: I love to see the craft of your artisanship unfold in the photos of your aircraft. Absolutely gorgeous aeroplane! i am very jealous. someday I too will have a staggerwing to call my own.
Best regards,
James Jensen; July 17, 2015 at 6:39 PM
Anonymous said...: I have recently lost the beech17@frazierlake.com email address. If you want to contact me via email use dandsallen@sbcglobal.net. You can also mail me at home 1996 Lexington Ave., San Mateo, CA., 94402. Thank you for your interest in my Staggerwing. It's always available for viewing on the first Saturday of every month at Frazier Lake Airpark, Hollister, CA., in hangars A-12 / B-11.
Dennis Allen
650-520-8141; October 8, 2016 at 1:41 PM
Allan said...: Hello Dennis
Your staggerwing looks fantastic well done.
I am chasing a set of birdies, metal would you or someone have a contact.
allan@arthurpipe.com
regards Allan; September 23, 2019 at 12:10 AM