For a number of years, Barataria had capitalized on its experience with speedboat hull design and construction to carry out special order conversions of aircraft into float planes. Some of these jobs had been done for Barataria's "friend and neighbor" in Alviso, Pan Pacific Airways. In 1934, Pan Pacific contacted Barataria and indicated that if Barataria could produce a passenger plane like the new Lockheed L10Electra or Douglas DC-2, Pan Pacific would buy at least five.

With the hefty deposit made by Pan Pacific, Barataria began research and design on what would become a twin-engined aircraft bearing the "family" name Beta.* The "father" of the "family" was the Beta [Test], shown here at an undisclosed location in Nevada being prepared for the return trip to Alviso as part of a special experimental flight in late 1934.

The most popular member of the "family" was undoubtedly the Beta Pegasi, a passenger craft flown by a number of commercial airlines, including Aero-Carlotta, Barranca Airlines, and, of course, Pan Pacific Airways.

A special version of the Beta Pegasi was designed and built for the Wotanberger Overseas Airways Company (WOAC) named the Beta Mustelae. (The Grand Duchy of Wotanberg has given the name Mustela--the Weasel--to what the rest of the world calls Ursa Minor.)

Here is a recently unearthed photograph of one of the four Beta Mustelae originally built for WOAC.

This aircraft disappeared in December of 1938 just days after this photograph was taken. [Additional information on this plane, the woman in the photograph, and their disappearance is available here . ] Another Beta Mustelae was built for WOAC to replace the one that disappeared.

Other members of the Beta "family" included the following:

The Beta Centauri: a cargo version.

The Beta Volantis: a version of the Beta Pegasi equipped with twin floats for water landings.

One of these aircraft was produced for WOAC for use in the Seiber Islands. Another was produced for a wealthy Seiber Islands aviator who was shot down while conducting a search for Amelia Earhart in December of 1941. [Click here for more information.]

The Beta Volantis proved quite suitable for use on lakes and lagoons under normal weather conditions, but required a skilled pilot when the weather was marginal.

[A Beta Capricorni, a cargo aircraft like the Beta Centauri with floats like the Beta Volanti was designed but not built.]

The Beta Aquarii: a Beta Centauri specially outfitted to bring fresh spring water from Nevada's famed Ponderosa Ranch to New York City.

The Beta Tauri: a Beta Centauri a specially outfitted to bring fresh beef from Nevada's famed Ponderosa Ranch to New York City.

The Beta Lupi: a specially modified and outfitted Beta Pegasi built in 1940 for use by a famous American movie star and swordsman to impress impressionable movie starlets.

The Beta Lupi was the last of the Betas built. A number of Betas were later to return "home" for moderniztion. In 1986, a "50 year reunion" of the five of the eight still flyable Betas--including the Beta [Test], one of the "Ponderosas", an Aero-Carlotta Beta Pegasi, and two WOAC Beta Mustelae--was held in Alviso.

* (1) The Corporation denies that the Beta was merely a cheap copy of the more famous Lockheed Electra. Although the Beta was named after a star like the Electra, the Corporation notes that there are significant differences between the two aircraft: for example, the Beta's door is on the starboard side and not the port side like the Electra. The Corporation also states that it is merely coincidental that its development of the Beta began shortly after the reported disappearance of a complete set of plans for the Electra.
(2) The Corporation also denies that the Betas were part of a covert U.S. government operation to secretly transfer real Electras to various fronts for American and friendly foreign intelligence agencies. It specifically denies that it merely acted as a conduit for these transfers, making only some minor, mostly cosmetic, modifications to Electras prior to "selling" them as Betas.