ActiveTrader7
Filing Flight Plan
I was looking at different airports on Google Earth and I've come across this weird looking aircraft a couple times. Can anyone identify it from my poor drawing?
Yep, that's the AIRCRAFT I've seen. pretty cool looking! I guess its nothing special since there are only 5! What are the chances I've seen two of them at separate airports on Google Earth?
I've seen this one in Aspen a number of times.I remembered where one of them is, Aspen, CO.
Jeremy, are you bored or a part-time spy?
LOL I guarantee there's a lot more in real estate held by many of those who own the planes.bored, there has to be about 5 billion dollars worth of aircraft sitting at the Aspen Airport.
I was looking at different airports on Google Earth and I've come across this weird looking aircraft a couple times. Can anyone identify it from my poor drawing?
Think of what it must have cost Beech to develop and certify that airplane, and end up being a total loss. What a shame!
Think of what it must have cost Beech to develop and certify that airplane, and end up being a total loss. What a shame!
Well, if it's still on an airport, it's probably a Piaggio Avanti, there is a chance it's a Beech Starship, though I'm not sure any are still flying. Beech bought them all back IIRC, but story has it, a few people refused to give them back. I don't know if there are any still airworthy.
Interesting that you mention Scaled Composites - The Starship is actually a Burt Rutan design that Beechcraft built. IIRC - The reason that they bought them all back was due to all of the liability law suits that resulted after several crashes.
PJ, I am not aware of any Starships involved in accidents; Beech (actually, Raytheon) decided to withdraw it from the market because it simply never sold well and those which did sell were sold at a considerable loss, and Raytheon did not care to continue product and parts support for so small a delivered base.
Beech has bought back most of them, but there are survivors, yet.
See this list: http://www.bobscherer.com/Files/Starship/STARSHIP-PRO.pdf
I werked for Beech at the time the Starship was being developed. Went to the factory in in '88 for King Air training, and got a tour of the factory at the time. They had 3/4 scale Starships flying doing test flying. Beech was not really interested in making money off the Starship, they were more interested in the composite technology. Beech spent around 300 mil. on the project and reaped 700 mil. worth of the gov't. contracts for the technology they developed. The tour of the factory was quite an interest experience. Got to see the full size Starship manufacturing process along with the assembly lines of the Bonanza and the King Air. Even got a personalized copy of the limited "Fifty Years of Excellence... The History of Beechcraft" autographed by the then President of Beech Max Bleck.
Interesting that you mention Scaled Composites - The Starship is actually a Burt Rutan design that Beechcraft built.....