Beecraft
Encyclopedia
Montgomery Field
Montgomery Field is a public airport located in San Diego, California, United States, six miles north of the central business district of San Diego. The airport covers and has three runways and two helipads...
in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. None of the aircraft went into production.
The first aircraft built was the Wee Bee
Beecraft Wee Bee
-External Links:* rare photos of the WeeBee -- ie pages 137 to 139...
in 1948
1948 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1948:- Events :* Publication of Nevil Shute's novel No Highway set in the world of research into air safety.-January:...
. the Wee Bee is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's lightest aircraft. It had a two-cylinder engine and tricycle landing gear. The pilot flew in a prone position lying atop the fuselage. The Honey Bee was the second plane, completed in 1952
1952 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1952:- Events :* The Royal Navy conducts the worlds first trials of an angled flight deck, aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Triumph. It had been invented by Royal Navy Captain Dennis R. F. Campbell,* The Royal Navy conducts the worlds first trials of a...
. It had a single seat in an enclosed cabin. The Queen Bee was the last and the largest of the three. It was completed in 1960
1960 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1960:-January:* January 1 – Fiji Airways is reconstituted, becoming equally owned by BOAC, Qantas, and Tasman Empire Airways....
and seated four. The Queen Bee and the Honeybee had V-tail
V-tail
In aircraft, a V-tail is an unconventional arrangement of the tail control surfaces that replaces the traditional fin and horizontal surfaces with two surfaces set in a V-shaped configuration when viewed from the front or rear of the aircraft...
s.
The Queen Bee and the Wee Bee were destroyed in a fire that also destroyed the San Diego Aerospace Museum
San Diego Aerospace Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, USA...
on February 22, 1978. The Honeybee escaped the fire as it was still operating out of Montgomery Field at the time, owned by Walt Mooney
Walter E. Mooney
Walter E. Mooney was a pilot and model aircraft designer who lived in San Diego, California. He was well-known for his many plans published in the magazines Model Airplane News, Boy's Life, and Aero Modeler in the 1960s. He was once featured as a daredevil glider pilot on the 1973 TV series Thrill...
. In 2004 the Experimental Aircraft Association
Experimental Aircraft Association
The Experimental Aircraft Association is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 160,000 members and about 1,000 chapters worldwide....
donated the Honey Bee to the San Diego Air & Space Museum where it is currently awaiting restoration at their Gillespie Field
Gillespie Field
Gillespie Field is a county-owned public-use airport located 10 miles northeast of the central business district of San Diego, in El Cajon, San Diego County, California, United States....
annex. According to Aerofiles two Honeybees have been built from advertised plans. Because of its historic significance a second Wee Bee was built and is now on display at the new San Diego Air & Space Museum.
External links
- Picture of the Honeybee
- San Diego Aerospace Museum Gillespie Field Annex
- Smallest Plane in the World (with pictures or the Wee Bee)
- Beecraft listed at Aerofiles
