“Air Deco” formation

The Beech D17 Staggerwing is the jewel imagined by Walter Beech in 1933. Its most accomplished version, the D17, saw the light of day in 1938. A veritable cartoon plane, its refined design and performance made it a real crowd-pleaser. At the time, its price – $18,100 without radio – was equivalent to three luxury houses. In 1945, it cost two and a half times more than a Bonanza, for comparable performance.

Typically American, the Staggerwing offers a large cabin for five people and a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney engine. It is one of the rare retractable-gear biplanes, with a remarkable speed range: stalling at 60 mph, cruising at 180 mph. Its name comes from the offset of its wings, inverted compared with conventional biplanes, which improves its flight behaviour.

Nicknamed “Stagg“, it was used during the war as a liaison aircraft by admirals and generals. F-AZJP was built in June 1944 for the US Navy, but never flew in operations. Sold to civilians in 1945, it spent twenty years in Mexico in the hands of pilots flying for wealthy businessmen, before being restored in Los Angeles. It then flew for 25 years with a TWA pilot.

In 1991, Frenchman Jean-Philippe Chivot, fascinated by the aircraft, bought one in the United States without even having seen it; he had it dismantled and shipped in a container via the Panama Canal. The dismantling followed the instructions in the 1944 flight manual!

81 years old since June 2025, F-AZJP is now maintained in perfect condition by the Ham and Jam association, which regularly presents it in flight and on the ground at public and private events.