Olive Ann Beech (September 25, 1903 – July 6, 1993) was an American aerospace businesswoman who was the co-founder, president, and chairwoman of the

Beech Aircraft Corporation Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviati ...

. She founded the company in 1932 with her husband,

Walter Beech Walter Herschel Beech (January 30, 1891 – November 29, 1950) was an American aviator and early aviation entrepreneur who co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company (now called Beechcraft) in 1932 with his wife, Olive Ann Beech, and a team of three o ...

, and a team of three others. She earned more awards, honorary appointments, and special citations than any other woman in aviation history and was often referred to as the “First Lady of Aviation”."Olive Beech", List of Enshrinees, National Aviation Hall of Fame

Early life and education

Beech was born as Olive Ann Mellor on September 25, 1903, in

Waverly, Kansas Waverly is a city in Coffey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 574. History Waverly was founded in 1878. It was named by a pioneer settler for his hometown of Waverly, Indiana. The first post ...

, to Franklin Benjamin Mellor and Susannah Miller Mellor. Her father was a

building contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

.Farney, pp 35–38 At a young age, the family moved to

Paola, Kansas Paola is a city in and the county seat of Miami County, Kansas, Miami County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,768. History Native Americans in the United States, Nativ ...

, where she attended school. At the age of seven, she had her own bank account and was given the task of writing checks to pay the family bills at the age of eleven. In 1917, the Mellor family moved to

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

where she skipped high school and began attending the American Secretarial and Business College.Farney, p 162 At 18, she left Wichita to take a job at an electrical contracting firm in nearby

Augusta, Kansas Augusta is a city in Butler County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,256. History 19th century The confluence of the Whitewater River and the Walnut River was originally inhabited by Osage peo ...

.Hess, Susan; "Olive Ann and Walter H. Beech: Partners in Aviation", Special Collections and University Archives, Wichita State University

Career

Travel Air

In 1925, at the age of 21, she was hired by Clyde Cessna and took a job as an office secretary and bookkeeper for the newly formed

Travel Air Manufacturing Company The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas, United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. History The company initially built a series of sporting and tr ...

in Wichita. After learning the business, she handled correspondence, kept the records, and conducted transactions. She was soon promoted to office manager and secretary to

, one of the founders of Travel Air. Travel Air merged with the

Curtiss-Wright Corporation The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

in August 1929."Travel Air to Merge With Curtiss-Wright" Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World, 7 August 1929, p. 1 Walter Beech assumed the presidency of Curtiss-Wright and moved to New York City. On February 24, 1930, they were married at Wichita and she moved to New York.Farney, p 50

Beech Aircraft

In 1932, following Olive Ann's philosophy, “If you want something, you can do it,” Olive and Walter Beech established Beech Aircraft "with the goal to build the finest airplanes in the world." Walter Beech quit Curtiss-Wright and started Beech Aircraft Company in Wichita, naming himself as president, Olive Ann as secretary,

Ted A. Wells Theodore Arthur Wells (March 12, 1907 – September 25, 1991) was an American aircraft engineer, co-founder of the Beech Aircraft Corporation, and the lead designer of the Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing. Wells was also an avid Snipe sailboat ...

as vice president of engineering, K. K. Shaul as treasurer, and investor C. G. Yankey as vice president. Olive Ann worked with the financial side of the business and played an important role in major company decisions. The first airplane the company designed and built was a biplane with negatively staggered wings which became known as the Model 17 Staggerwing. Olive Ann suggested that to help increase sales of the aircraft that the company should sponsor a woman pilot flying the Staggerwing in the 1936 transcontinental

Bendix Trophy Race The Bendix Trophy is a U.S. aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental, point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Air Races. Initial prize money f ...

. Beech-sponsored pilot

Louise Thaden Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden (born Louise McPhetridge; November 12, 1905 – November 9, 1979) was an American aviation pioneer, holder of numerous aviation records, and the first woman to win the Bendix trophy, alongside Blanche Noyes. She was ...

, along with

Blanche Noyes Blanche Noyes (June 23, 1900 – October 6, 1981) was an American pioneering female aviator who was among the first ten women to receive a transport pilot's license. In 1929, she became Ohio's first licensed female pilot. Biography She was bo ...

as co-pilot, won the race against some of the nation's best male pilots. In 1937, Beech Aircraft introduced the

Twin Beech The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beechcraft, Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 ...

which was adopted for use by the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

and was also sold all over the world. In 1940, Walter became ill with

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, ...

and Olive Ann took over the leadership of the company at a time when retooling was required for military production of both the Staggerwing and the Twin Beech. She arranged for 83,000,000 in loans for the expansion of production of both. Beech Aircraft produced more than 7,400 aircraft during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

which were used to train navigators and bombardiers. Beech Aircraft also was awarded five

Army-Navy "E" Award The Army-Navy "E" Award was an honor presented to companies during World War II whose production facilities achieved "Excellence in Production" ("E") of war equipment. The award was also known as the Army-Navy Production Award. The award was cr ...

s during the war. Olive Ann was kept busy with military production during the war but she also planned for the eventual end of the war. In 1946, the first aircraft to be certified for civilian production by the war production authorities was the Twin Beech. Production was also started on the

Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still being produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous prod ...

for the civilian market. Other airplanes introduced after the war included a military primary trainer called

T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston ...

which was a variant of the Bonanza and an executive type aircraft, the Beechcraft Twin Bonanza which served both civilian and military markets. After Walter's death in November 1950, Olive Ann assumed leadership of the company by being named president and chair of the board and was the first woman to head a major aircraft company. Production of aircraft for the military during the Korean War continued and facilities were expanded. Production was diversified with the introduction of missile targets for the military. Under Beech's leadership, the

Beechcraft Travel Air The Beechcraft Travel Air was a twin-engine development of the Beechcraft Bonanza. It was designed to fill the gap between the single engine Model 35 Bonanza and the much larger Model 50 Twin Bonanza, and ultimately served as the basis for i ...

was introduced in 1956 along with a way for new owners to finance their purchase through the newly formed Beechcraft Acceptance Corporation. Beech Aircraft took steps to support the United States' space exploration efforts during the late 1950s with development of cryogenic systems for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. The 1960s saw the introduction of the

Beechcraft Queen Air The Beechcraft Queen Air is a twin-engined light aircraft produced by Beechcraft in several versions from 1960 to 1978. Based upon the Twin Bonanza, with which it shared key components such as wings, engines, and tail surfaces, but featuring a ...

series as well as the Beechcraft Debonair,

Beechcraft Baron The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production. Design and development The di ...

, and

Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...

as well as the successful use of Beech Aircraft built cabin pressurization equipment used in the

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

series of spacecraft. In response to the introduction of crosstown Wichita rival

Bill Lear William Powell Lear (June 26, 1902 – May 14, 1978) was an American inventor and businessman. He is best known for founding Learjet, a manufacturer of business jets. He also invented the battery eliminator for the B battery, and developed the ...

's successful Learjet in 1964, Olive Ann decided that Beechcraft should produce a turboprop version of the Queen Air instead of a jet. Asked by a reporter for ''Forbes'' magazine when Beechcraft would be producing a jet, Beech replied "We will, when it is compatible with our other activities."Farney, p 140 This was another example of her "Slowly We Go" policy that she had adopted after government contracts were cancelled after World War II and the Korean War.Farney, pp 88–89Farney, p 108 Although piston aircraft sales for Beechcraft were at record highs during the 1960s, her policy would affect the company's late entry into the jet market.

Later life and death

In 1968, Olive Ann Beech announced Frank E. Hedrick, her nephew, as her successor to the presidency of Beech Aircraft while retaining the position of chair of the board and chief executive officer.Farney, p 99Farney, p 148 In 1980,

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

purchased Beech Aircraft and Beech remained as chair while also being seated on the Raytheon board of directors. After the merger, Beech was the largest individual shareholder of Raytheon stock.Farney, p 170 On December 12, 1980, the U.S.

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

awarded her the

Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy was established by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in 1948 after a trust fund was created in 1936 by Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston, a former president of the NAA. It is awarded to a living American ...

, the highest honor the aviation fraternity bestows, for her contributions to the aviation industry."1980–Olive Ann Beech", Wright Brothers Memorial 1980–1989 Recipients, National Aeronautic AssociationFarney, pp 172–174 The following year, she was inducted into the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...

. Due to lackluster sales in the aircraft industry, in 1982 Raytheon reorganized several divisions and removed Beech and Hedrick from the board of directors of Beechcraft and gave her the title of chairman emeritus. Beech wasn't surprised by the move and remarked, "Mr. Hedrick, we sold the farm. If they don't like us living on it, that is their prerogative."Farney, p 176 She was inducted into the

American National Business Hall of Fame American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 1983 and became the first inductee in the Kansas Business Hall of Fame in 1986.Farney, p 216 After retirement from Beechcraft, Beech continued to oversee her personal investments and contribute to various civic and philanthropic projects and was a key supporter of the Wichita Art Association, her church, and

Soroptimist International Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

of Wichita.Farney, p 189 Beech died in her sleep at her home in

Eastborough, Kansas Eastborough is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and an enclave of the city of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 756. History Eastborough was originally envisioned by Burdon Hunter, a British arch ...

on July 6, 1993.Farney, p 192 Olive and her husband are buried at Old Mission Mausoleum in

Legacy

In 1994, Beech was inducted into the

Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

. In 1995, Beech was inducted into the

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Sin ...

at the

San Diego Air & Space Museum San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...

.Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. . In 2013, Beech was listed, along with her husband

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, as one of ''Flying Magazine'''s 51 Heroes of Aviation, ranking at number 31.

Notes

References used

* * * * * * *

External links

Archive - Walter H. and Olive Ann Beech Collection at Wichita State University
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beech, Olive Ann Aviation pioneers American aviation businesspeople 1903 births 1993 deaths American women company founders American corporate directors Women corporate directors People from Coffey County, Kansas Beechcraft 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen People from Paola, Kansas People from Wichita, Kansas People from Augusta, Kansas People from Sedgwick County, Kansas National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century American philanthropists