Northrop Beta


The Northrop Beta was an American single-engine, all-metal, low-wing sporting monoplane built in 1931.

Design & Development

The Beta was a two-seater with a 160 hp Menasco Buccaneer inline engine. The first aircraft registered as NX963Y crashed in California. The second aircraft, N12214, was built as a single-seater and fitted with a 300 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. radial engine, and became the first aircraft of such power to exceed 200 mph. Only two were built.
The aircraft was flown to Wichita for sister company Stearman Aircraft to use as a demonstrator but with the poor economy at the time, none were sold. The aircraft was sold to a wealthy pilot in New York and during its delivery, it passed through Wright Field in order to allow a thorough examination by Army Air Corps Engineers as the Air Corps was still using obsolete biplanes.
After being rarely flown during 1932, the aircraft was sold to a new owner who kept it at Roosevelt Field until it was flipped over at a nearby airport. The aircraft was repaired at the Stearman factory in Wichita and used as an experimental test platform for various flap designs until it crashed due to a wing structural failure on May 4, 1934.

Specifications (Beta 3D)

Beta 3 1931 = 2pOlwM; 160 hp Menasco B-6; span: 32'0" length: 21'8" v: 175/145/48; ff: 3/3/31. Don R. Berlin. All-metal; fully panted wheels. $8,500; POP: 2 , the second of which had 300 hp P&W Wasp Jr as Stearman-Northrop Beta 3D.