After a brief stint in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I, Beech began barnstorming and exhibition flying. He started his manufacturing career in 1921 as a test pilot for the Swallow Airplane Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas. In 1924, he established the Travel Air Manufacturing Company which, in 1929, merged with New York-based Crutiss-Wright Company. Then, in 1932, Walter and his wife, Olive Ann, moved back to Wichita, where they established Beech Aircraft Company. From their first Model 17R, “Staggerwing,” built in 1932, through the Model 50 Twin Bonanza revealed in July, 1949, to the Starship model, Beechcraft products from the “Air Capital” are synonymous with innovation in manufacturing.