Wed, Jan 15, 2020
Will Soon Unveil A Staggerwing Beech Once Owned By Barron Hilton
The San Diego Air and Space Museum is set to add a new aircraft to its collection. The museum has acquired a 1943 Beechcraft Staggerwing that once belonged to hotel entrepreneur Barron Hilton.
Television station KGTV reports that, according to Museum president and CEO Jim Kidrick, the Staggerwing was considered one of the few luxury recreational and business aircraft of its time.
According to the museum website, Barron Hilton had been a private pilot since 1947 earning multi-engine, helicopter, glider, and lighter-than-air ratings. He owned and flew helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, balloons, and his all-time favorite, gliders. His Flying M Ranch in Nevada is one of the finest locations on the planet for soaring, and was home to the Barron Hilton Cup Invitational.
Hilton has been called by some the “Patron Saint of Sport Aviation.” His generosity and support of flying has been recognized by a number of aviation organizations, including the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Soaring Society of America, the National Aeronautic Association, the Tuskegee Airmen and the National Business Aircraft Association, the Federation Aeronautique, who awarded him the prestigious Gold Air Medal, and the National Air and Space Museum, which re-named one of its more important galleries, "The Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Exhibit" in his honor. Hilton passed away on September 19, 2019 at the age of 91.
Kendrick also said he hopes the classic Beechcraft will continue to inspire young people to pursue careers in aviation.
(Image from file. Not Hilton airplane)
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