Scrapping Yard at NMUSAF?

[Ryan Keough]

With the discussion of the ability to use the airfield at NMUSAF, I started poking around the area on Bing Maps... and found:

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

Now, call me crazy, but I am wondering if this is some sort of scrapping yard on the property. I mean, I see pieces and parts of airplanes scattered about there along with a lot of, well, junk.

The thing that got my attention is the presence of what looks like two Beech 2000 Starship fuselages and a set of wings. Being BIG fan of these planes and knowing that there are only a scant few still flying, it made me a bit sick to see two of them potentially awaiting a sinister fate.

Anyone familiar with NMUSAF able to fill in the details about this place and those airframes?

Thanks,
Ryan

[Steve Nelson]

Other than the possible Starships, most of the stuff looks like just various bits and peices. I know they do a lot of lab testitng and such at Wright Field..I wonder if these are just bits left over from testing.

SN

[jtramo]

I though Beech grounded and rendered all the Starships unflyable.

[brucev]

they attempted to buy back the entire fleet of starships and were about 98% successful, I believe there are two or three still privately owned? Most of the aircraft repurchased by Raytheon (or whatever they were called then) were cut up.

[carguy671]

I have seen alot of fighters getting scrapped here at the recycling and surplus yard at the corner of Kaufman and National Rds. The fighters are normally cut up next to the yellow heavy machine. The big pile of scrap in the picture is always office equipment. There is normally a few drop tanks stacked by the front fence and military trucks to the left. I have seen quite a few F-4 and Century series fighters getting cut up there over the last 20 years.

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

[JBoyle]

As carguy671 says, there is a DRMO (Defense Reutilization Maintenance Office..I'm sure it has a new name now...i.e. surplus sales) yard on Wright Field not far from the museum.

When I was there in the 90s they had various interesting bits...including a CT-39 fuselage that had been damaged by a ground fire...awaiting sale to the scrapers.

BTW: a couple of months ago,the newspaper from the Tri-Cities in Washington had a big story on a local businessman who operated a Starship...and the lengths he goes to to keep it flying. There is a small owners group and IIRC, Beech still supplies some spares for safety related issues.
They're still legal to fly...

[Ryan Keough]

Tri-Cities in Washington had a big story on a local businessman who operated a Starship... Beech still supplies some spares for safety related issues.
They're still legal to fly...

That would be N8285Q (sn NC-50) based in Walla Walla, WA to Starship Holdings, LLC.

Raytheon and Hawker Beechcraft do not provide any parts support for the remaining fleet... the only support available is for the Collins avionics system, which was used by other aircraft as well. The entire Beechcraft spares inventory was purchased by Robert Scherer, owner of N514RS (sn NC-51) and he has all that plus four airframes that are sitting at Avra Valley Airport (Marana) near Tucson, AZ. Because of his commitment to the type, it looks like the five remaining in flying condition will remain so and potentially the airframes in AZ may again fly at some point.

The rest, most being leased aircraft from Raytheon, were recalled and most were destroyed as the company no longer wanted to support them or be liable for their service. The Starship, though revolutionary in design, was plagued by a poor new aircraft market at the time it was rolled out combined with a high purchase price that was comparable to Citations and Lears at the time... where a King Air could be purchased for far less. Also, because it was the first FAA certified all-composite airframe for a commercial aircraft, engineers were forced to add significant reinforcement to the wings and other components, thus pushing the weight of the aircraft past 12,500 lbs to 15,000+ lbs. That increase brought the aircraft into the category that required pilots to attain type ratings to fly it... again, swaying owners of the King Air fleet away from the Starship.

It still remains one of my favorite aircraft ever produced and I sincerely hope that the current fleet remains flying for many years to come.

EDIT: Oh yeah, for a quick video on the Starship and Robert Scherer's efforts to keep them flying, go to this YouTube link to an excerpt from "Boneyards" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vSiiE2cyuc

[John Dupre]

Regarding the Starship I did a little business with Robert Scherer selling him a couple of Starship tires we still had in stock. He bought them even though he had just had a 500 piece run of Starship main tires made. Scherer's NC 51 is often used by Scaled Composites as a chase plane.

I have heard too that one of the marketing problems was the look of the aircraft. Pilots understood it and typically liked it. Beech apparently did some testing by blindfolding potential owners saw that they saw the interior first which always got good reviews. Then they would bring the potential owner outside where the look of the aircraft almost always turned them off. Probably urban legend......

[Clifford Bossie]

[/quote]
The rest, most being leased aircraft from Raytheon, were recalled and most were destroyed as the company no longer wanted to support them or be liable for their service. The Starship, though revolutionary in design, was plagued by a poor new aircraft market at the time it was rolled out combined with a high purchase price that was comparable to Citations and Lears at the time... where a King Air could be purchased for far less. Also, because it was the first FAA certified all-composite airframe for a commercial aircraft, engineers were forced to add significant reinforcement to the wings and other components, thus pushing the weight of the aircraft past 12,500 lbs to 15,000+ lbs. That increase brought the aircraft into the category that required pilots to attain type ratings to fly it... again, swaying owners of the King Air fleet away from the Starship.
[/quote]

A good succinct answer to why the Starship was not a success. Thank you!

I always liked the sound of a Starship flying overhead.

[krlang]

Now, call me crazy,

Being a BIG fan of the Beech 2000 Starship


Ryan

Wow,
Now I will call you crazy!

[Ryan Keough]

Now, call me crazy,

Being a BIG fan of the Beech 2000 Starship


Ryan

Wow,
Now I will call you crazy!

(Put your Maine translation headset on now)

"Ayup, Ryan auwlways liked tha' look of them theaah' snaggletooth-ed taay-ul fuuust thing'a'ma'jiggys made by that fella' Buuurt Roootan... he was auwlways tha' odd lob'stah in the trap..."


(You may now safely remove the Maine translation device)

I probably like 'em because I never had to work on one... which I am guessing you most likely did... or knew of someone who did and cursed Burt Rutan every chance they got...

[tulsaboy]

There's actually one here in Tulsa that flies all the time. It sure makes a fun sound when it goes overhead.

There is also another one here in Tulsa that was one of the examples that Beech bought the rights to (just to cut the spar to prevent it from flying again.) The entire airplane, was donated to our museum after its spar was cut. It is surplus to our needs, and is available to anyone interested. We'd consider trades as well. Just let me know if you're interested.

kevin

[cott]

Robert Scherer had his Starship at OSH this year, though y'all probably didn't see it. He had it parked over on the North side of the field at the Weeks Hangar. Was just about the coolest airplane I ever got to help move. He said there are roughly five flyable Starships at the moment.

[retroaviation]

I could be wrong...probably am...but I believe Sea Fury owner Mike Keenum, owns and still flies his Beech Starship.

Gary

[the330thbg]

http://www.starshipdiaries.com/history.html

Here is a great link for those interested in the history of this aircraft.

Cheers,