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Big
plans for Olive Ann Beech's original King Air
By Stan Finger
The Wichita Eagle
October 30, 2003
A
historic plane is about to return to the skies, 40 years after
it was born in Wichita.Two aviation enthusiasts are organizing
the restoration of the first Beech King Air, which they plan to
fly around the world next year."That plane changed the face
of aviation," said Alex Major, an entrepreneur who plans
to spend the next year overseeing the restoration and flight of
the first King Air, which rolled off the Beech production line
on Oct. 30, 1963.The plane's first flight was in January 1964,
and it was certified that spring."It's probably the most
important plane in the history of the company," Major said.
"This airplane made that company what it is today."Four
decades later, the King Air is still in production. The turbo-powered,
twin-propeller plane became popular with both business and recreational
users because it could fly faster and farther than piston-driven
planes and was more affordable than a business jet.Nearly 6,000
King Airs with various modifications have been built over the
years, according to Tim Travis, a spokesman for Raytheon Aircraft,
which purchased Beech in 1980."It's considered the SUV of
the sky in that it's rugged, it's extremely reliable, it can fly
into unimproved air fields, it's highly dependable," Travis
said."You can fill it full of gas, full of people and full
of luggage and know you can complete your mission.... It's just
been a workhorse since it was introduced."When it was first
made available, the King Air cost about $300,000. The largest
King Air now carries a price tag of $5.8 million.The very first
King Air became the personal plane of Olive Ann Beech, who signed
the plane and had the interior and the instrument panel decorated
in baby blue.Major and New York doctor Fred Pasternack have co-owned
the plane since 1985. Earlier this year, they moved it from a
hangar in Salina to Mississippi, where several companies have
agreed to assist in the renovation."We're going to do everything
we can do to bring it back to factory-new condition," Major
said.Once the six-month refurbishing is complete, Major plans
to have the plane flown around the world. He has broken the 30,000-mile
journey into 30 segments and hopes to have celebrity pilots handle
each leg.
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