Beechcraft Queen Air

The Beechcraft Queen Air is a twin-engined light aircraft produced by Beechcraft in numerous versions from 1960 to 1978. Based upon the Twin Bonanza, with which it shared key components such as wings, engines, and tail surfaces, it had a larger fuselage, and served as the basis for the highly successful King Air series of turboprop aircraft. Its primary uses have been as a private aircraft, utility, and small commuter airliner. Production ran for 17 years.

Design and development

With the company's popular Twin Bonanza reaching its limits of development, Beechcraft decided to develop a design based on it but with a larger fuselage and new tail. The result was the Beech 65, the first of the Queen Air series, a twin-engined nine-seat low-wing cantilever cabin monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear. It was initially powered by two Lycoming IGSO-480 six-cylinder, horizontally opposed piston engines.

Early in development the United States Army, which had been a customer of the Twin Bonanza (designated the L-23 Seminole), ordered 68 aircraft under the designation L-23F. The prototype Beech 65 first flew on August 28, 1958, with the production model receiving a Federal Aviation Authority type certificate on February 4, 1959; initial deliveries were made soon after. On February 8, 1960, a Queen Air achieved a new height record of 34,862 feet.

The basic Model 65 was in production until 1967, overlapped by the introduction of other variants, and was followed by improved Model A65 with a swept rather than vertical tail. Variants introduced a longer wing in some models, as well as pressurization in one. The Queen Air series ended in 1978.

Variants

65

This is the initial version of the Queen Air, powered by two Lycoming IGSO-480s. Fitted with short span () wings and a straight unswept tail. It had a gross weight of . Usually referred to as a "straight 65". 316 built from 1959 to 1967.Pelletier 1995, pp. 114, 120

A65

First produced in 1967, the A65 is very similar to the straight 65. The major change was the addition of a swept tail with a dorsal fin. Available fuel was also increased, with a maximum capacity of when auxiliary tanks are fitted. A dedicated airliner version, the A65-8200 Queen Airliner was available with an increased gross weight of . A total of 96 A65s were built between 1967 and 1970.Pelletier 1996, pp. 115–116

70

Introduced in 1968, the 70 is essentially an A65 with the B80 wing. This allows the 70 to have a greater lifting ability than the 65 but a lower fuel burn and operating cost than the 80. It. Its gross weight is . A total of 35 were built between 1969 and 1971.Pelletier 1996, pp. 116–117, 120

80

The 80 (also known as the Model 65-80) was the first of the Queen Airs to have the swept tail, although it retained the short wings of the Model 65. First flown on June 22, 1961, and certified on February 20, 1962,Taylor 1971, p. 234. it was powered by Lycoming IGSO-540 and had a gross weight of . 148 built from 1962 to 1963.Pelletier 1996, pp. 115, 120

A80

The A80 (also known as the Model 65-A80) was introduced in 1964 with a new, longer wing, increasing wingspan from to .Pelletier 1996, p. 116 Other major changes included a redesign of the aircraft nose, an increase in fuel capacity, and a 500-pound increase in takeoff weight to gross.Taylor 1965, p. 164 121 built between 1964 and 1966.

B80

Introduced in 1966, the B80 became the final Queen Air and had by far the longest production run in the series, some 12 years. Available with either 380 hp Lycoming IGSO-540-A1A or Lycoming IGSO-540-A1D engines, its major improvement was the increased gross weight to a . 242 built from 1966 to 1977.Pelletier 1996, pp. 116, 120

85D

A single Model 85D was built with construction number LN-1. It later became the prototype for the Model 65-88.

88

First flown on 2 July 1965, the Model 88 was introduced later that year. The only pressurized Queen Air, it shares the engines and long wing of the B80. Sales were slack due to its higher sales price and lower useful load as compared to the B80, and ended in 1969. Only 47 examples were produced, of which two were converted to King Air standard.

Its round cabin windows make the 88 look quite similar to a 90 series King Air. The first two models of the King Air's official designation were 65-90 and 65-A90 owing to its Queen Air heritage.

Excalibur

Th Excalibur is an up-engined aftermarket modification to the 65 performed by supplemental type certificates (STC). It replaced the six-cylinder Lycoming IGSO-480 and Lycoming IGSO-540 with the far more robust eight-cylinder Lycoming IO-720. This eliminated the need for a gearbox or superchargers and their associated maintenance and potential reliability problems, at the expense of being limited to a cruising altitude below fifteen thousand feet. Gross weights increased to for all short-wing aircraft (65, A65, 80), for the 70, and 8800 for the other long-wing aircraft (A80, B80, 88). The US Army National Guard installed this modification on some of their aircraft. The Excalibur can be recognized by the noticeably smaller engine cowlings and lower-set engines. It was originally designed and produced by Ed Swearingen, who was well known for his work on the Twin Bonanza, Queen Air, and later Merlin and Metro Swearingen aircraft. The ownership of the pictured aircraft changed hands many times over the years, and was Bemidji Aviation, an operator of Excalibur Queen Airs as well as other charter and freight aircraft in the upper mid-west of the United States, at the time of the photo in 2011.

Military variants

; L-23F
:24 aircraft based on the Beechcraft Queen Air delivered to the US Army.Baugher, Joe
"USAF/US Army 1958 Serials list."
''USAF Aircraft''. Retrieved: 11 June 2011
;U-8F
:L-23F redesignated in 1962 and 46 new-build aircraft delivered to the US Army, plus single Beechcraft Model 87 delivered used as NU-8F in 1964 and one Queen Air purchased second-hand in 1966. In addition, one U-8F was delivered to the Pakistan Army instead of the US Army and two Queen Airs confiscated from drug runners were added to the US Army inventory in 1981 as U-8Fs.
;NU-8F
:US military designation assigned to a modified commercial Queen Air converted as the prototype Model 65-90 King Air, and fitted with two 500 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-6 turboprop engines. The aircraft was evaluated by the US Army in 1964.
;C-8
:Brazilian Air Force designation for the Model B80. Originally designated U-8.
;EU-8
:Brazilian Air Force designation for "electronics" variant of the Model B80.
;B.PhTh.2
:() Royal Thai Armed Forces designation for the Model B80.
;B.PhTh.2A
:() Royal Thai Armed Forces designation for the Model A80.

Production numbers

Production numbers of Beechcraft Queen Airs by variant:
*65 and A65 - 411 (including military production)
*70 - 35
*80, A80, B80 - 511
*85D - 1
*88 - 47
*Total - 1,005

Military operators

;
: Algerian Air Force - 3 B80s in service as of 1986.Hatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 32.
;
: Argentine Army Aviation
: Argentine Naval Aviation - 5 B80s as of 1986.Hatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 34.
: Argentine National Gendarmerie - At least one aircraft confiscated from drug smugglers operated in late 1990s
; : Eight aircraft received,Pelletier 1996, p. 119
; : One Queen Air operated.
;
: Colombian Air ForceHatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 46.
;
: Air Force of the Dominican RepublicHatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 49.
;
: Ecuadorian ArmyHatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 50.
;
: Border Security Force
;
: Israeli Air Force - Seven B80s received.
;
: Haiti Air Corps
;
: Japan Air Self-Defense Force
:: Central Air Command Support Squadron
: Japan Maritime Self Defense ForceTaylor 1971, p. 233.
; - One Model 80
;
;
* Peruvian Air Force acquired 18 Queen Airs in 1965–1966.
* Peruvian ArmyHatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 78.
;
: Philippine Army - 1 unit PA-701 LD-149 Model Be.65-80 retired at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.
;
: South African Air Force 1975-1992
;
: Royal Thai Air ForceHatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 92.
;
: United States ArmyHarding 1990, pp. 14–15.
;
: Uruguayan Air ForceHatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 102.
;
: Venezuelan Air Force - Two Model 65s and seven A80s.
: Venezuelan ArmyHatch ''Air Pictorial'' April 1984, p. 127.
: Venezuelan National GuardHatch ''Flight International'' 29 November 1986, p. 103.

Specifications (Queen Air B80)

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

*"Andean Air Power...The Peruvian Air Force". ''Air International'', May 1988. Vol. 34, No. 5. pp. 224–235, 240.
* Harding, Stephen. ''U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1990. .
* Harding, Stephen. ''U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947: An Illustrated Reference.'' Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. .
* Hatch, Paul F. "Air Forces of the World: Venezuelan Army Air Arm (Aviación del Ejercito Venezolana)". ''Air Pictorial'', April 1994, Vol. 46 No. 4. p. 127.
* Hatch, Paul F
"World's Air Forces 1986"
''Flight International'', 29 November 1986, Vol. 130, No. 4039. pp. 30–104. .
* Pelletier, A. J. ''Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors''. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. .
* Rivas, Santiago. "Cracking the Drug cartels". ''Air International'', April 2021. Vol. 100, No. 4, pp. 46–49
* Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965–66''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd., 1965.
* Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1971–72''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd., 1971. .
* Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1976-77''. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. .

{{FAB aircraft designations

1950s United States civil utility aircraft
Queen Air
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1958
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear