Transcript
Introduction
“It's the war, that throaty growl, a sound so distinct and intriguing that it causes your eye and your ear to search the sky for its source. A tiny spec on the horizon draws nearer, and soon a dramatically different-looking airplane comes into view. It looks mighty and powerful, but at the same time, sleek and elegant. One wonders, who was venturesome and inventive enough to build and design this beautiful maverick.” This book is a story of how that unique airplane and many others came to be and the 2 people responsible for their creation. They were Walter and Olive Ann Beech, co-founders of Beech Aircrafts, and I am proud to say they were my parents.
These 2, both forceful and determined, even if rather eccentric personalities, combine their individual strengths and talents with uncanny ease and rapport to create an extremely successful company with an undisputed reputation of excellence in quality and service. What were their experiences that launched them on the path that eventually led them together? How did 2 individuals with rather humble beginnings reach such great heights and accomplished so much at a time when aviation was young and America was struggling through the Great Depression, and women executives were rare or nonexistent.