Page 24 - Volume 11 Number 9
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Production continued unabated through the 2004 model year, although the number of units manufactured declined steadily. For example, 41 were built in 1984, 69 in 1985, three in 1986 and 24 in 1987. During the span of 1986 through 1993, only 176 airplanes were built, but the standard-equipped price had skyrocketed to $571,800 for the 1993 Baron 58 from $356,500 for the 1985 version.
In 2005, the Model 58 was upgraded to the G58 (current production model). Overall, this latest version of the venerable Beechcraft has changed little from its predecessors with only minor upgrades to the airframe and systems, including Continental IO-550-C engines each rated at 300 horsepower. A major improvement, however, was installation of the Garmin G1000-series digital, fully-integrated avionic architecture to help keep pace with the competition. The G58 has a maximum range of 1,480 nautical miles, a useful load of 1,494 pounds and a maximum cruising speed of 202 KTAS. As of early 2017, the G58 remained in production selling at $1.4 million for a standard-equipped airplane. According to Beech Aircraft’s parent company Textron Aviation, 309 G58 were delivered during the 2015-1016 model years.
In the wake of the Model 58’s success, in 1976 Beech Aircraft introduced the six-place, turbocharged Model 58TC, priced at $170,750 (before options). The chief
modification was trading the Continental IO-520-C engines for the six-cylinder, turbosupercharged, injected, opposed (TSIO) Continental IO-520-L powerplants each rated at 310 horsepower at 2,600 RPM. Each engine was equipped with three-blade propellers featuring constant-speed operation and full-feathering capability. First flight of a pre-production airplane occurred on October 31, 1975.
Long-time Beechcraft salesman and historian Larry A. Ball maintained that the 58TC was “probably certified and offered on the market for only two reasons. First, the engine installation already was under development for the pressurized Model 58P, and second, competitors Piper Aircraft Corporation and Cessna Aircraft Company were offering unpressurized, turbocharged airplanes” (such as the Piper Aztec F and Cessna Model 402, respectively).
Unfortunately, the 58TC failed to achieve the popularity of the Baron 58 series and “never enjoyed wide acceptance,” Ball said. During nine years of production only 151 were built, but a 1977 Model 58TC did achieve some degree of fame when it became the 40,000th Beechcraft manufactured since the Model 17R cabin biplane of 1932.4
Dimensions and performance were similar to the Model 58, with a maximum speed of 249 knots, range (with 190 gallons of useable fuel) 968 nautical miles at an altitude of 20,000 feet, and a service ceiling of more than 25,000 feet. Maximum ramp weight was 6,140 pounds, decreasing to maximum takeoff weight of 6,140 pounds (after fuel
burn for startup and taxi).
For the 1976 model year, Beech- crafters built 34 examples of the 58TC beginning with serial number TK-1. The 1977 version remained unchanged, and 26 units were manu- factured followed in 1978 by 24 units. Polyurethane paint became standard on the 1979 58TC that also featured more powerful Continental TSIO- 520-WB engines, each rated at 325 horsepower (possibly in response to Cessna’s 1979 Model 402C upgrade that included Continental TSIO-520- VB engines each rated at 325 horse- power). Standard-equipped price increased to $206,650, and only 25 airplanes were built that year.
From the 1980 model year to 1984 only 42 of the turbosupercharged Beechcrafts were built, including four in 1982 and one each in
SEPTEMBER 2017
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