On 22 Aug 2003 14:07:51 GMT, (Burt Compton) wrote:

From Aerokurier Magazine:

BEECH BURNS ALL STARSHIPS
Raytheon Aircraft Company is taking unusual measures to limit the overflowing
cost of spare part acquisition for the Starship two-engine turboprop pusher:
The company is buying the aircraft back from their owners and burning them,
after removing all re-usable parts. A total of 53 Starships were built,
including 3 prototypes and 50 production aircraft. On June 14th 1989 the
composite-built aircraft received its FAA certification. However, it was not
able to assert itself against the King Air, which it was designed to replace.
There are only ten Starships left in private ownership, with all others
being owned by Raytheon. The first six machines have been stripped by a company
in Missouri and destroyed in compliance with EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency) procedures. Raytheon has some requests for Starships from museums, but
has not yet decided if some will escape destruction via this route.

Raytheon also quietly restored the Beechcraft name to that line of
airplanes, after noticing that no owner ever said "I fly a Raytheon."

rj