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Other upgrades included a new exterior paint design, major improvement to cabin interior appointments, and maximum cabin pressure differential increased to 3.9 psid from 3.7 psid. The factory at Salina, Kansas, built 65 units in 1979. A standard-equipped Model 58P carried a base price of $250,000.
Production continued unabated through the remainder of the 1970s, with 83 units built in 1980, 68 in 1981 and 47 in 1982. Manufacture plummeted to only 11 in 1983 as base price increased to $384,650. The final version of the 58P was built for the 1985 model year when 27 were manufactured. Base price increased to $473,000. During a production life of nine years, a grand total of 495 airplanes were built.7
Based on production of all three Baron models built from 1976-1985, the Model 58 by far proved to be the most popular with Beechcraft owners and operators worldwide. As of late 2016, 2,124 had been built since 1970. The Model 58’s combination of performance, utility, comfort and reliability helped to keep it rolling off the assembly line for more than 45 years. KA
NOTES:
1. McDaniel, William H.: “The History of Beech;” McCormick- Armstrong Co., Inc., Wichita, Kansas, 1982.
2. Taylor, John W.R.: “Janes All The World’s Aircraft 1972-73;” Jane’s Yearbooks, McGraw-Hill Book Company; Sampson Low Marston & Co., Ltd.
3. Ball, Larry A.: “From Travel Air to Baron – How Beech Created A Classic!” Ball Publications, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1994.
4. Phillips, Edward H.: “Pursuit of Perfection – A History of Beechcraft Airplanes;” Flying Books, Eagan, Minnesota, 1992.
5. Phillips, Edward H.: “Piper – A Legend Aloft;” Flying Books International, Eagan, Minnesota, 1993.
6. Ball, Larry A.: “From Travel Air to Baron – How Beech Created A Classic!” For purposes of comparison, from 1968-1982 Beech Aircraft built a total 596 examples of the Model 60-series Duke, while Cessna Aircraft Company produced a grand total of 1,923 units of the Model 421 beginning in 1968 and terminating in 1985.
7. The unofficial term “Mahogany Row” applied to the walls of mahogany paneling that lined the corridor within Beech Aircraft’s main administration building. Senior company executives, including Olive Ann Beech, had their offices located there.
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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