Page 23 - Volume 11 Number 8

highly popular Model 310. As a result, he authorized development of the Model 310D (1960 model year) and Model 310F (1961) that featured a “Flight Sweep” vertical stabilizer and a host of systems upgrades including 260-horsepower Continental IO-470-D engines and an increase in maximum gross weight to 4,830 pounds. Maximum speed increased to 242 mph with a service ceiling of 21,300 feet.2
Meanwhile, Beech salesmen were experiencing an increasingly tough time selling the Model 95 Travel Air
against the more powerful and faster Aztec and Model 310F. During 1959-1960, however, Beech engineering had been busy designing what would become the Model 95-55 Baron – a stylish, fast and thoroughly modern lightweight, twin-engine airplane that would not only be competitive with the Aztec and Model 310, but more importantly, keep customers in the Beechcraft family.
The lightweight, twin-engine Beechcraft Baron was introduced for the 1961 model year as the Model 95-55. It was followed in quick succession by the -A55, -B55, -C55 and -D55 versions that kept pace with competition from Cessna Aircraft’s Model 310 and Piper Aircraft’s PA-23-250 Aztec.
AUGUST 2017 KING AIR MAGAZINE • 21