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significantly from its Model 50-series predecessors because of its redesigned fuselage and that included a cabin that had been completely regenerated in 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 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).
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.
As mission demands continued to evolve over the years and performance improvements became available, in 1984 the Army’s National Guard Bureau upgraded the engine installations in a majority of the L-23F/U-8F aircraft to eight-cylinder Lycoming fuel-injected, opposed engines fitted with three-blade Hartzell propellers (the modification also included installation of new engine mounts). These changes were part of an FAA-approved, major modification to the original Beechcraft design, and was developed by Excalibur Aviation Company in San Antonio, Texas.
As the decade of the 1950s faded into history, aviation propulsion technology had progressed to the point that turbine power was coming of age for business aircraft such as the Queen Air. The Beech Aircraft Corporation was among the first to take the bold step of installing a turboprop engine in a modified Model 65 airframe, thereby creating the legendary King Air. But that is another chapter in the Beechcraft story. KA
Endnotes:
1. Phillips, Edward H.; “Beechcraft—Pursuit of Perfection;” 1992, Flying Books (Also see “King Air,” November/December 2010 issue, Page 26-27, for background on the Model 50 and L-23 series airplanes)
2. Harding, Stephen; “U.S. Army Aircraft since 1947;” 1990, Airlife Publishing, Ltd.
Ed Phillips, now retired and living on the East coast, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kansas. 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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