The Beech Starship originated with aerospace engineer Burt Rutan's company Scaled Composites, who built a 4/5th-scale flying prototype in 1983 as a "proof of concept." The Beech Aircraft Corporation fully developed the design for production, obtaining FAA certification for the business transport market. With its small canard wings and rear-mounted pusher engines, the Starship looked nothing like the other business planes of the day.
In addition to its unique appearance, the Starship boasted several technological advancements, including an all-graphite composite frame (the first civilian aircraft with such extensive usage to be certified); a canard configuration with pitch control surfaces ahead of the wing; yaw control provided by small fins on the wingtips, which eliminated the need for a rudder; and a "glass cockpit," one of the first to be installed in a civilian plane. Power came from a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A turboprop pusher engines mounted on the rear wing. Though designed for single-pilot operations, the plane had provisions for a two-person crew.
The first flight of the production Starship 1 Model 2000 occurred on February 15, 1986. An improved Model 2000A was introduced in the early 1990s that could carry six passengers. However, while technically advanced, the aircraft was not an economic success. Its sales were limited by its radical design and production methods, program delays, and poor market timing, with the plane debuting during the late 1980s recession. The Starship program was canceled after only 53 airframes were built, with less than 30 delivered to customers. Raytheon, who acquired Beech in 1993, salvaged some units for parts and donated the remaining Starships to museums, airframe and powerplant schools, and research institutes.
The Museum's Starship was donated by Raytheon in 2004 and ferried from Wichita, Kansas to Everett, Washington. It is on loan to the Future of Flight, located at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.
The Beech Starship originated with aerospace engineer Burt Rutan's company Scaled Composites, who built a 4/5th-scale flying prototype in 1983 as a "proof of concept." The Beech Aircraft Corporation fully developed the design for production, obtaining FAA certification for the business transport market. With its small canard wings and rear-mounted pusher engines, the Starship looked nothing like the other business planes of the day.
In addition to its unique appearance, the Starship boasted several technological advancements, including an all-graphite composite frame (the first civilian aircraft with such extensive usage to be certified); a canard configuration with pitch control surfaces ahead of the wing; yaw control provided by small fins on the wingtips, which eliminated the need for a rudder; and a "glass cockpit," one of the first to be installed in a civilian plane. Power came from a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A turboprop pusher engines mounted on the rear wing. Though designed for single-pilot operations, the plane had provisions for a two-person crew.
The first flight of the production Starship 1 Model 2000 occurred on February 15, 1986. An improved Model 2000A was introduced in the early 1990s that could carry six passengers. However, while technically advanced, the aircraft was not an economic success. Its sales were limited by its radical design and production methods, program delays, and poor market timing, with the plane debuting during the late 1980s recession. The Starship program was canceled after only 53 airframes were built, with less than 30 delivered to customers. Raytheon, who acquired Beech in 1993, salvaged some units for parts and donated the remaining Starships to museums, airframe and powerplant schools, and research institutes.
The Museum's Starship was donated by Raytheon in 2004 and ferried from Wichita, Kansas to Everett, Washington. It is on loan to the Future of Flight, located at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.