Beechcraft D17S Staggerwing Pilot's Operating Handbook

during approach and landing. As for were as fast-or faster-than many engines, the first three Staggerwing fighters of the late 1930s. Military mod- models came with either a 420-hp els were used in utility or transport Wright R-975 (in the Model 17R), a 690- roles, and at times civilian Staggerwings hp Wright R-1820 (the AI7F), or a super- were drafted in to service from their charged 7l0-hp Wright SR-1820 (the owners. Some even served Allied foreign AOPA PILOT· 107. OCTOBER 1999 Inside this prize-winning Staggerwing is a leather interior with room for five. A modified fuel system places the selectors on the center pedestal. Beech Staggerwing Model G17S Price new: $29,000 Current market value: $500,000 plus Maximum speed 212 mph @ 5,500 ft Cruise speed/endurance/range w/45-min reserve, optional, 170-gal fuel tanks (fuel consumption) governments (mainly Great Britain) in either military or diplomatic missions. Staggerwing production ended in 1949 with the G17S. This was powered by a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine, which yielded a maximum cruise speed of201 mph. The maximum gross weight of these airplanes was 4,250 pounds-just 50 pounds more than the wartime Dl7-and 20 of these Performance Takeoff distance, ground roll Takeoff distance over 50- ft obstacle Rate of climb, sea level Length Height Wingspan Wing area Wing loading Power loading Seats Empty weight Maximum gross weight Useful load Fuel capacity, std Fuel capacity, w/opt tanks Oil capacity tion. The V-tailed Bonanza looked more modern than the Staggerwing, went almost as fast, and was priced at $8,000. Suddenly, two wings, round engines, and tube-and-fabric construction didn't seem as appealing. Thanks to dedicated owners, about 200 or so Staggerwings survive. Their loving owners pamper them and accept their thirst for oil and fuel as a small price to pay for flying such a classic. Devotees can join the Staggerwing Club (contact John L. Parish Sr. at 931/455- 8463) and support the Staggerwing Musuem Foundation, Inc. (Post Office Box 550, Tullahoma, Tennessee 37388; telephone 931/455-1974), which main- tains a Staggerwing and Beech 18 muse- um at the Tullahoma, Tennessee, air- port. If you're drawn to Staggerwings- as most are-then the Staggerwing Museum is a great place to gawk. Should you want a Staggerwing of your own, then expect to shell out a fair sum-up to and beyond $500,000 for a pristine, fully restored model. Restoring, or tending to, a Model 17 can eat you alive in parts and labor costs, but, hey, owning a fully restored Staggerwing makes you the center of attention at every airport you visit. This kind of admiration is priceless, but it's what comes with flying what must be Ameri- ca's snazziest biplane. 0 115mph 115 mph 212 mph 240 mph 64 mph 62 mph 201 mph/7.5 hril,200 sm (22 gph) 20,000 ft 980 ft 670 ft Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds @ 75% power 10,000 ft Service ceiling Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle Landing distance, ground roll went out the door at $29,000 a pop. With total sales of 781 airplanes, the Staggerwing had a wonderful produc- tion run. It survived the Depression, went to war with several nations, won gobs of air races, built a cult following, and was modified to accept everything from skis to floats. But with the intro- duction of the Model35 Bonanza in 1947, Beech created its own competi- V'E (max flap extended) VLE (max gear extended) VNO (max structural cruising) VNE (never exceed) VSI (stall, clean) Vso (stall, in landing configuration) All specifications are based on manufacturer's cal- culations. All performance figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level, gross weight conditions unless otherwise noted. 620 ft 1,130 ft 1,250 fpm Specifications 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985, super charged 2-blade Hamilton-Standard, constant speed, 99-in dia 26 ft 9 in 8 ft 32 ft 296 sq ft 14.34Ib/sq ft 9.44Ib/hp 5 2,8001b 4,2501b 1,450 lb 124 gal 170 gal 6.5 gal Powerplant Propeller AOPAPILOT· 108· OcrOBER 1999 ~ ~un~~IT~un~~IT© One man's superbly restored G17S Tucked away in a hangar at New Orleans' Lakefront Airport is what must be one of the finest examples of a Staggerwing restoration. It's a two-tone, maroon Model GI7S-NC-16GD-and it is in better-than-new condition. The airplane belongs to vacuum cleaner magnate David Greck who, together with fellow pilot Frank Ryder, flies and fastidiously maintains this living muse- um piece. Ryder is also a sales manager and director of special events for Oreck's company, plus an accomplished airshow pilot in his own right. He flies at some 12 airshows a year in a highly modified Cyclone aerobatic monoplane, sponsored by the Oreck company. Ryder is the Oreck XL Flight Team. Oreck's Staggerwing, pho- tographs of which grace the pages of this article, began life as a 1944 D 17S. Its logbooks indicate that it was then com- missioned in the British Royal Navy, but little is known about the air- plane's activities overseas. By the time the airplane left military service in 1947, it had flown a total of just 239 hours. From 1947 to 1956, the airplane flew 1,548 more hours and was used as an aerial-photo platform by a Des Moines- based company, Woltz Aerial Photogra- phy. A Louisiana buyer, who elected to remove the engine and take the airplane out of service, was the next to own it. In 1965, Robert Dedek bought the airplane, then donated it to the Stagger- wing Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Noted designer, builder, and restoration specialist Jim Younkin of Springdale, Arkansas, acquired the by-then-dis- mantled airplane and set to work on a restoration program with a twist: He'd make over the basket -case D 17S to look like a late-model G 17S, and he would add modifications that would modern- ize the airplane. The twin fuel selectors, which originally were located on the cockpit's right sidewall panel, were moved to the center panel. The old land- ing gear drive system, which could take 40 seconds to cycle the gear up or down, was replaced with one capa- ble of doing the job in six seconds. The old hand- operated, wobble-style fuel boost pump was replaced with electric pumps. The old electrical system was re- placed; the instrument David Greck poses in front of his pride and joy (aboue). The Staggerwing's speed is {he result of a super-clean design that includes fully enclosed landing gear (below). Even the {ai/wheel is hidden by a dedicated set of gear doors. AOPA PILOT· 109. OCTOBER 1999 Runway performance is not a problem with 450 hp pulling the 4,200-pound Staggerwing (above). Oreck's G17S was converted from a basket-case D17S to an Oshkosh Grand Champion. panel was brought up to date (complete with a Bendix/King KLN 90B GPS receiver and a Century 2000 autopilot); an oxygen system was installed; and a sleeker cowl and windshield design was installed. In 1995, Gerard Dederich of Wads- worth, Illinois, bought the newly trans- formed G17S (then still in pieces) and went a step further. He commissioned restoration specialist Roy Redman of Faribault, Minnesota, to complete the interior and come up with a paint scheme. Nine months and 2,600 hours of labor later, the airplane was reassem- bled, recovered, refaired, renamed a "Super G," and rigged for flight. On May 28, 1996, the FM issued an airworthi- ness certificate for the one-time basket case, and the phoenix rose. Oreck, undaunted by price, snatched up the Staggerwing two years ago. He uses it for local flying, mainly just for the fun of it. I was fortunate enough to meet up with Oreck and Ryder this past August, and fly NI6GD. Right off the bat, let me say that I did not take off or land this prize bird. There was simply no way that I was going to risk the chance of a swerve, ground loop, or worse in an airplane that took the 1996 Grand Champion prize at the Experimental Aircraft Association's Fly-In and Convention in Oshkosh, and is, for all practical purposes, priceless. I did just about everything else, though, and the experience was enlight- ening. You see the 1930s when you oper- ate the engine, see the 1990s when you work the panel, and feel the blush of Depression-era luxury when you notice those little touches. Like those old Packard automobile cranks that lower and raise the cockpit side windows. Starting the nine-cylinder R-985 calls for some fast hands. First you crack the throttle, hit the fuel boost pump, and watch the fuel pressure rise. Once the engine is primed, you turn off the pump and then hit the starter and spark boost (more on this shortly) buttons simulta- neously. Now the engine starts spin- ning. After a few turns of the propeller, it's time to turn on the magnetos. Then comes that sound: "Bloop ... bloop ... bloop, bloop, bloop ... brack-a-tack-a-tack-a ... " and the engine is lit. It sounds like not all nine cylinders are firing. Maybe the engine might quit, I think, so I ask Ryder if I might add a little throttle to perk up the Pratt. No, comes the answer. Too much throttle would flood the cylinders, and an embarrassing-and costly-backfire will surely follow. The supercharger seals could be torched, for example. So we wait for 10 minutes or so while the R-985 goes through its necessary warmup period. Now, about the spark boost. This is a "shower of sparks," vibrator-type coil system that's used to make more and hotter sparks. Instead of one set of sparks firing at the correct ignition timing for a start, there's a multitude of sparks firing before, during, and after the normal starting crankshaft timing position. The vibrator intensifies the sparks by puls- ing the current. It's a system we all take for granted on our more modern flat engines, but pre-1946 Staggerwings had to make do with magneto power alone for their starts. Redman added the spark- boost system during his restoration. Taxiing is a real challenge in the Stag- gerwing because the nose is massive and sits so high off the tarmac. It's so nose- high that to enter the Staggerwing you have to haul yourself up the steep grade to the cockpit with the help of a hand strap. Constant S-turning is an absolute necessity to see around the huge blind spot directly in front of the pilots. After lining up on the runway for takeoff, the tailwheel is locked with a locking lever beneath the pilot's sub- panel. Apply power-not to exceed 36 inches of manifold pressure-wait a few seconds as speed builds, and the nose can be lowered for better visibility as you head for liftoff at 70 mph. The supercharger is gear-driven off an accessory pad and force feeds the induction system via an internal blower. At altitude, it guarantees the kind of power you need to achieve those 200- mph-plus cruise speeds, but preventing AOPA PILOT' 112. OCTOBER 1999 an overboost on takeoff is entirely up to you. There are no safety valves to dump excess manifold pressure. Once off the ground, the Staggerwing flies like a Bonanza. Its ailerons are light and responsive, it's slippery, and it builds speed quickly if you aim the nose earth- ward. The fuel system is a bit wonky. There are six separate fuel tanks in 16GD (two in the upper wings, two in the lower wings, one in the forward fuselage, and one in the aft fuselage), and you can draw fuel from only one tank at a time. To make matters worse, you have to aim the left selector to the Wing position if you want to use fuel from the wing tanks, then use the right selector to select the exact wing tank you want to use. Because the top wing tanks are so hard for line- men to reach, most Staggerwing pilots leave them empty and use the rest. Oreck and Ryder have a special canted ladder that lets the airplane's upper wing tanks be filled without the danger of a line- man's leaning precariously forward. With a conventional ladder, a lineman could easily topple forward trying to reach back to the caps on the staggered wing. Cruising over the Louisiana bayous, I amused myself with the thought that the Staggerwing looked like an antique on the outside, but handled very much like our photo platform-a 1984 Beech A36 Bon- anza-that we were following in formation. Landings were another matter. Ryder says that neophytes to the Staggerwing tend to make two typical mistakes. One is to wait too long to slow the airplane in preparation for landing. The other is to stab the brakes too soon after touchdown. A Staggerwing wants to fly fast, and it can be quite a while before airspeed dis- sipates to the proper 80 mph for final approach. Extending the landing gear sure helps to slow the airplane, but you have to be under 115 mph to pop the rollers. Extending the flaps (Ryder calls them "the parachutes") can be a bad move because you can wind up too slow, and develop a high sink rate. At Lakefront and most other airports with longer runways, flaps simply aren't needed, Ryder points out. Ryder rolls the Staggerwing on the run- way in a studied manner. It's slowed to a hair above stall speed, but the tailwheel is held six inches or so off the runway. This way, he can easily see ahead, and he's slow enough that he can begin braking with confidence-all this in a crosswind. Back at the hangar, Ryder cares for the R-985's-or any radial engine's, for that matter-habit of leaking oil. The Ham Standard is pulled into low rpm so as to dump the oil from its hub into the oil tank. Then the Pratt is idled at 1,000rpm for one minute. This empties the engine oil sump. Now most of 16GD's oil is stashed away in its oil tank. However, after a day or so, gravity will send residual engine oil back to the sump. Eventually, the sump could fill and oil could overflow and run out the bottom cylinders, causing oil to pool on the floor. To prevent this from ever hap- pening, Oreck installed a check valve in the sump's housing. A hose connected to a gallon can is clipped to it. If there's any sump overflow, it goes into the can. Result: a spotless hangar floor to match a spotless airplane. - TAH •.• Links to additional information U about Staggerwings may be found on AOPA Online (www.aopa.org/pilot/ links.shtml). E-mail the author at tom.horne@aopa.org