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Maximum cruising speed was 214 mph and the L-23F could climb to a maximum service ceiling of 27,000 feet and had a range of 1,445 statute miles. The engine’s fuel injection system was designed and built by Bendix and featured automatic mixture control to reduce pilot workload and improve engine efficiency (a manual mixture control system was installed in case the automatic system failed).
From 1960 until production was terminated in 1963, Beech Aircraft records indicate that the company delivered 71 examples of the L-23F to the Army, but other records indicate 76 airplanes were built.2 The fleet of sturdy Beechcrafts served the Army well and a number were still in service with National Guard units as late as 1986. The military designation changed in 1962 from L-23F to U-8F.
terms of length, width and height. Those modifications gave the new Beechcraft the type of true multi-mission capability the Army needed.
For example, in its high-density cabin configuration, the airplane could deploy up to seven combat-ready soldiers and their gear. By removing the seats, up to 1,350 pounds of cargo could be loaded, and the airplane lent itself well to further modifications such as the RL-23F that featured battlefield surveillance radar systems to collect combat intelligence information.
As part of the fuselage redesign, three large windows were added to the cabin for increased visibility with a
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smaller, fourth window in the aft cabin section. In 1959 when Beech Aircraft began delivering the Queen Air to customers, the Army acquired three airplanes designated as the L-23F.
From the Army’s viewpoint, the latest generation Seminole was a heavy-piston, twin-engine airplane with a maximum gross weight of 7,368 pounds (increased later to 7,700 pounds) with a wingspan of 45 feet, 10.5 inches. The airplane was powered by six cylinder Lycoming fuel- injected, geared, supercharged, opposed piston engines each rated at 340 hp (Lycoming IGSO-480 -A1A6, -A1B6 or -A1E6).
An L-23F was caught in its element on a photographic mission. Compared to earlier versions of the Seminole, the new airplane’s chief attributes were its larger cabin, ex- tended wingspan and more powerful engines. A total of 71 airplanes were delivered to the U.S. Army. (Special Collections and University Archives, Wichita State University Libraries)
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