In 1988, Beech's parent company, Raytheon, sold Scaled back to Rutan, who then sold it to Wyman-Gordon. Abigail Jansen, 17, of Kelso, Missouri, was the sole occupant of a ⦠Beechcraft Starship visits KCGI. Beechcraft Starship N786BP has been reunited with its original props for the first time since it arrived at Caloundra in 2004. When the Beechcraft Bonanza carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed outside Clear Lake, Iowa, in the early morning hours ⦠For many reasons the Raytheon Beechcraft Starship is a unique aircraft. It was way over design weight, slower than anticipated, and did not meet range targets. Scaled Composites was established in 1982 and purchased by the Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1985, as a result of the collaboration on the Starship project. As of January 2010, nine Starships hold an active registration with the FAA. The Beechcraft Starship parked at the Aspen Airport is unique, being only one of three Starships still flying in the United States. However the aircraft is still minus engines. Around $1 billion was spent on the Starship project, but only 50ish were sold. THAT is what killed the 38P. Beech was looking for a new generation of corporate transports. The first of 3 flying pre-production Starship 1s flew on Feburary 15, 1986. To say that the Starship was ahead of its time is an understatement and even today, it is one impressive machine. Three Starships are registered in Oklahoma (NC-29, NC-35 & NC-45), one in Texas (NC-50), one in Colorado (NC-51), and four are registered to Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita, Kansas (NC-2, NC-8, NC-19 & NC-24).NC-51 was used as a chase plane during the re-entry phase of Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne. Burt Rutan was subsequently retained to refine PD330 and one of the significant changes he instituted was the addition of variable geometry to the canard (he holds a ⦠The design featured a variable sweep forward wing or âcanardâ, an all glass cockpit in which traditional [â¦] ... A Notre Dame Regional High School junior was killed in a single-vehicle wreck Sunday. It is hard to imagine that the initial design phase for the Starship started in the late 1970âs. The Beechcraft Starship is a futuristic-looking United States turboprop-powered six- to eight-passenger seat business aircraft.The design was originated by Beechcraft in January 1980 as Preliminary Design 330 (PD 330). Development. Beechcraft 2000 Starship The Beechcraft Starship is one of the most technologically-advanced aircraft of its type. Successing in testing led to the Model 2000 Starship 1. The design was originated by Beechcraft in January 1980 as Preliminary Design 330 (PD 330). [citation needed] Beechcraft President Linden Blue was the executive sponsor of the project at its inception. QIAE ceased trading. Survivors. Early in the development phase, Beechcraft commissioned Burt Rutanâs Scaled Composites to build and test fly an 85% scale version of the Starship design. ... Col Pay was killed in the crash of Air Tractor AT-802 VH-LIS while testing a water pickup system at Lake Liddell, NSW. (Source: 2) 08AUG14. Pure politics supported by alcohol and BBQ. Designed in 1982 by well known aircraft designer Burt Rutanâs Scaled Composites, the Starship is the first all-composite pressurized business class aircraft. The whole TPE331 versus PT6 argument was (a) a smoke screen, and (b) the result of Pratt & Whitney throwing some wild parties for the 38P development team and convincing people that Beech really should be loyal to its main engine supplier. 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