Walter H. and Olive Ann Beech Endowed Equipment Fund in Engineering

As a young boy, Mr. Walter H. Beech dreamed that one day he might fly. This dream resulted in a lifetime commitment to aviation as pilot, instructor, engineer and manufacturer. In 1925, he organized Travel Air Manufacturing Company with a group composed of Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman. Later in 1932, at the height of the depression, Mr. Beech and his wife, Mrs. Olive Ann Beech, co-founded Beech Aircraft Corporation. After her husband’s untimely death in 1950, Mrs. Beech became chief executive, earning her the title, The First Lady of Aviation.’ Her own successful career spanned more than 50 years.

The Walter H. Beech Memorial Wind Tunnel was dedicated in 1951