Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing (GB-2, UC-43, Traveller Mk. I) - a single-engined light aircraft, created in the early 1930's by the Beech Aircraft Corporation for the needs of private pilots. The biplane featured an unconventional wing arrangement, whereby the upper wing was located to the rear of the lower one, thus prompting its name of Staggerwing. Even before WWII it was widely used, not only as a commercial but also as a sporting aircraft, and it participated in numerous competitions and established flight records. With the onset of war, the military ordered several hundred of these machines because of its suitability for use as a liaison aircraft. The type was used both by the Army Air Forces and by the Navy, and about a hundred Staggerwings were sent to the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease agreement. In addition, the aircraft was used in Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Finland, Spain, and New Zealand. In total, from 1932 to 1949 the company produced 785 machines of different variants, some of which continue to fly today.