To provide a new generation of corporate transports, Beech looked to Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites Inc. to design and produce the SCAT 1, an 85% scale technology demonstrator of a canard-configured aircraft. Success in testing led to the construction of the Model 2000 Starship 1. The Starship design has compound taper main wings, which mount the two pusher engines. Large endplate fins, known as tipsails, provide longitudinal stability, augmented by two small fins on the wing trailing edge. Additional keel area is provided by a ventral fin under the extreme rear of the slender fuselage. The large canard foreplanes of variable-geometry, sweeping forward by 4° for low-speed flight and 30° back in the cruise. Virtually the entire structure is made of Nomex honeycomb and graphite/epoxy composites, with titanium used in high-stress areas.

The first of three flying pre-production Starship 1s flew on 15 February 1986. Another three airframes were produced for static, damage tolerance and pressure testing. Basic FAA certification followed on 14 June 1988, and the first production.machine flew on 25 April 1989. This has been used for customer demonstration flights, resulting in 40 orders by June of that year.