I've often wondered if they used the Starship as a chase plane for White Knight in part because nothing else could go slow enough at 41,000. The indicated airspeed for White Knight up there was very low, as I recall. Or maybe it was just because it looked cool in pictures...
Wow, just sad.... the disposition listed on so many of them. "Decommissioned, dismantled & destroyed" Must have been it at the Evergreen Museum in McMinnville, OR (a very worthy museum, BTW, as you all likely know the Spruce Goose now resides there, along w/a fine example of a Ford Tri-Motor + lots more!). Starship sitting outside. Thanks.
Actually, this makes sense. If there are operational aircraft then the manufacturer is mandated by the FAA to maintain airworthiness support. There is also legal liability as a concern for any manufacturer. Jeff
is probably the SpaceShip One chase plane. It's based in Aspen. http://www.bobscherer.com/Pages/Starships%20NC-51%20to%20NC-53.htm#NC-51 A Starship flies over my office 3-4 times a WEEK! Based at Rocky Mountain Airport, Broomfield, CO - Stevens Aviation. Very distinctive sound, can't miss it. IMO, the FAA killed the Starship. No reason for all that weight.
The starships can fly RVSM - especially if the STC is installed. We routinely fly one RVSM. Grest speed, quiet, and good fuel burn at 36.0. Probably the best twin with comfort I have ever flown.
There is one sitting on the side of the road behind a fence in the outdoor exhibit of the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, AL. It along with a couple of other rare aircraft are just sitting outside decaying in the elements sadly. There is also a Lockheed A-12 (predecessor to SR-71) sitting out there as well. I unfortunately don't have a good picture of it though. (Actually I just found one on their website.) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Back In the 90's when I was flying out of North Las Vegas, I use to frequently see two of them parked together on he paddock. I always loved the Starship. When they were there, it was like an event. The whole airport was a buzz. I remember walking from the flight school I was taking lessons from all the way over to the other side of the airport just to look at them...and we were not the only ones who were just gathered around looking at them. Mark
^^This^^. If the plane had been built on the structure that Burt and Scaled designed, it would have met the weight, drag, and performance goals(pretty close). The FAA required many, many different re-works of basic structure like the spar carry through. The Beech Starship has the enviable record of ZERO accidents or incidents in the NTSB database. Not that the King air isn't a good plane, but the Starship was the right design, but the FAA screwed it all up. The Piaggio is proof of the concept.
here is the one we fly out of Addison, TX. great bird. A few pictures headed into Boeing field - SEA. We are RVSM and fly at 36.0 all the time. The airplane does have more weight then it needs, but the structure is very robust and has an unlimited fatigue life. Not many airplanes can claim that. raj Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Zero accidents because there are like 5 of them. Probably less. Beech screwed the pooch designing the Starship. They should've spent that time and money building a SE Turboprop. Instead, they let Socata and Pilatus take that spot and sell thousands of airplanes and are essentially putting Beech out of business.
I have a book that claims the FAA screwed up the Starship design because one or more of the regulators was scared to death by the old BOAC Comet inflight structural breakups and just kept insisting on structural changes that added more and more weight. In other words - it was not just the lightning strike issue - FAA talked themselves into fear of the composite structure itself.
Just mentioning that i have sighted a starship twice over the last weeks, both times at low altitude, southbound and my guess on final approach into Westchester airport (i live not far away). A very particular high pitched engine sound and they look great (imho). Its probably the same aircraft.
You sure it wasn't an Avanti Piaggio? Similar design. Same sound. I live near Long Beach airport in CA, and see them on a regular basis. I believe I saw a few Starships in Pinal Airpark a few months ago. (not flying)
In 1993 I saw a Starship in Sandpoint Idaho that flew in with an obvious well healed group that met another well healed couple in an Albatross and then a Mallard came in with some of the same. That's the only Starship that I have ever seen. Quite an airplane and noisy.
Last month I was flying SFO to ATL and heard a Starship call sign, didn't see the plane though so no really sure it was an actuall Starship or not.
One of the coolest aircraft ever. I've seen one frequenting KSNA lately. Apparently a few owners told Beech to pound sand when they asked for them back.
I see a Starship pretty regularly; there's one based at Rocky Mountain Airport. Actually heard it fly over yesterday evening but didn't get outside in time to spot it. There's often an Avanti Piaggio at Centenial also, but I have never seen it fly. Wonder if they are noisy inside? Anyone know? Read somewhere that the sound is from the props 'chopping' the engines' sound sine wave. Maybe that's why the B-36 was so unbelievably loud. They used to land over our house int ABQ when I was a kid. Pictures fell off walls, etc.
Starship just now flew over heading about 350, about a minute ago. Headed for Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, Broomfield, CO (KBJC).
