A SALUTE TO THE STARSHIP. . .AND MY DAD. . .
This is a shot I took of the Beechcraft Starship on display at the Kansas Aviation Museum. . .The Starship pioneered carbon-fiber composite airframe construction for civilian aircraft. It was not a commercial success and ONLY 53 were ever produced. This is Number 41. In addition to the carbon-fiber construction, it had the first "all-glass" cockpit ever used in a "bizplane". I didn't post this because I thought it was such a great shot, It's because I have a connection to this plane through my late father. . .Dad was an aeronautical design engineer who worked at Lockheed in California, McDonnell - Douglas in St. Louis, and finished his career at Beech Aircraft here in Wichita. The Starship was the last project Dad worked on before he retired. . .This plane has become a somewhat forgotten pioneer in the history of civilian aircraft. . .But to reinforce my thoughts about its place in history, no less an authority than "Flying" Magazine, the longtime bible of aviation publications, said in its "Century of Flight" issue that the Starship "deserves a place as one of the milestone airplanes of the First Century of Flight." As I walked around the tarmac at the Kansas Aviation Museum taking shots of the custom cars on display, it made me sad to look over at the Starship. . .You see, I did extensive work on this image to clean it up and make the plane look presentable. . .The exterior of the Starship is actually in pretty bad shape. . .In fact, not even one of the custom car owners parked their car anywhere near it. . .And I think it is still one of the coolest-looking general aviation planes ever designed. . .Go to Google, type in Beech Starship, hit "Images" and check out the "in-flight" shots of this plane. . .It first flew in 1986, and still looks cool all these years later. . .For such a historic design, and with my family connection to it, it was sad to see it looking forlorn and almost abandoned off in a corner of the tarmac, with no cars or spectators paying any attention to it. . .This was the only shot I could clean up enough to post, but in memory of my Dad, I simply had to show the Starship and remind people of its story. . .
A SALUTE TO THE STARSHIP. . .AND MY DAD. . .
This is a shot I took of the Beechcraft Starship on display at the Kansas Aviation Museum. . .The Starship pioneered carbon-fiber composite airframe construction for civilian aircraft. It was not a commercial success and ONLY 53 were ever produced. This is Number 41. In addition to the carbon-fiber construction, it had the first "all-glass" cockpit ever used in a "bizplane". I didn't post this because I thought it was such a great shot, It's because I have a connection to this plane through my late father. . .Dad was an aeronautical design engineer who worked at Lockheed in California, McDonnell - Douglas in St. Louis, and finished his career at Beech Aircraft here in Wichita. The Starship was the last project Dad worked on before he retired. . .This plane has become a somewhat forgotten pioneer in the history of civilian aircraft. . .But to reinforce my thoughts about its place in history, no less an authority than "Flying" Magazine, the longtime bible of aviation publications, said in its "Century of Flight" issue that the Starship "deserves a place as one of the milestone airplanes of the First Century of Flight." As I walked around the tarmac at the Kansas Aviation Museum taking shots of the custom cars on display, it made me sad to look over at the Starship. . .You see, I did extensive work on this image to clean it up and make the plane look presentable. . .The exterior of the Starship is actually in pretty bad shape. . .In fact, not even one of the custom car owners parked their car anywhere near it. . .And I think it is still one of the coolest-looking general aviation planes ever designed. . .Go to Google, type in Beech Starship, hit "Images" and check out the "in-flight" shots of this plane. . .It first flew in 1986, and still looks cool all these years later. . .For such a historic design, and with my family connection to it, it was sad to see it looking forlorn and almost abandoned off in a corner of the tarmac, with no cars or spectators paying any attention to it. . .This was the only shot I could clean up enough to post, but in memory of my Dad, I simply had to show the Starship and remind people of its story. . .