Page 27 - Volume 12 Number 1

The light twin market was always highly competitive, and to keep the Model 95 a stronger contender, in 1960 the company introduced an upgraded version designated Model B95. The most salient change was a 19-inch extension of the cabin section to provide more leg room for rear seat passengers, while total area of the horizontal stabilizer and elevators was increased to improve pitch control. Beech engineers also added a swept dorsal fin forward of the vertical stabilizer that enhanced the airplane’s visual appeal.
Maximum gross weight was increased by 100 pounds to 4,100 and useful load climbed to 1,465 pounds. Priced at $51, 500 for a standard-equipped airplane, the factory produced 150 B95 twins before it was replaced by the Model B95A for the 1961 model year. The chief upgrade was installation of fuel-injected Lycoming IO-360-B1A powerplants each rated at 180 horsepower, and a higher maximum speed of 210 mph. Price remained at $49,500 but only 81 of the B95A were built.
The next version to enter production was the Model D95A that debuted in 1963. It featured the larger, curved third cabin window used on its single-engine cousin, the Model N35/P35 Bonanza. The forward baggage compartment was enlarged to 19 cubic feet of volume, and the nose section of the fuselage was more tapered than those of earlier production airplanes. As with all the Travel Air twins, a combustion heater in the nose section provided warmth in the cabin, and the tricycle landing gear was electrically operated. Despite these upgrades, price remained at $49,500 for a D95A with standard equipment.
As the lightweight twin-engine market continued to evolve in the early 1960s, pilots, and in particular businessmen who flew their own airplanes, wanted more speed, cabin comfort, range and utility. In response, in 1960 Beech Aircraft took the basic Model 95 platform, enlarged the airframe and installed more powerful engines to create the Model 95-55 Baron.
Soon, the Baron was outselling the smaller Travel Air and by 1968 the decision was made to terminate production of the Model 95. The final version was the E95, of which only 14 were built that year. The E95 received only minor improvements that included refined cabin interior appointments, a one-piece windshield that was first used on the S35 Bonanza in 1966, and more tapered propeller spinners. The final Travel Air built was serial number TD-721.
Although not built in large numbers as were the Model 310 and PA-23, for 10 years the Model 95 series lightweight twin held its own against the competition and successfully filled a niche in the company’s production line until bigger and better Beechcrafts arrived on the scene. KA
JANUARY 2018
NOTES:
1. TheAircraftYearBook–1953;AircraftIndustriesAssociation of American, Inc., Lincoln Press, Inc., Washington, D.C.
2. Ibid
3. OfWilliamPiper’sthreesons,Pugwaschieflyresponsiblefor introducing new aircraft designs into the company’s product line. As one engineer who knew him well said, “He was always willing to give a concept a try, no matter where it came from. He would pursue promising ideas but if they failed, he immediately stopped working on them and looked at other alternatives.”
4. During1941-1944thecompanymanufacturedmorethan5,300 of these airplanes, many of which were sold as war surplus and helped to form America’s postwar air transport industry. The airplanes served with small feeder airlines and air taxi/ charter operators that sprang up across the nation, and for basic corporate transportation.
5. BeechAircraftinitiallydesignatedtheModel95astheBadger but soon dropped that moniker to avoid confusion with the American code name for the Soviet Tupolev TU-16 bomber.
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kan. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
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