Beech 65/70/80/88 Queen Air

The versatile Queen Air is Beech's largest and heaviest piston twin apart from the WW2 era radial powered Beech 18. The prototype Model 65 Queen Air made its first flight on August 28 1958, with deliveries of production aircraft in late 1960 marking the beginning of a production run that would last almost two decades. This first model combined the wings, undercarriage, Lycoming engines and tail surfaces of the Model E50 Twin Bonanza with a new and substantially larger fuselage. A Queen Air 65 established a new class altitude record of 34,882ft in 1960. Many variants subsequently followed, including the 3630kg (8000lb) max takeoff weight Model 80 with more powerful 285kW (380hp) engines and swept fin and rudder. This model evolved into the A80, the first to be offered as a commuter airliner. Introduced in 1964, the A80 had a redesigned nose and interior, increased wing span and a 227kg (500lb) greater takeoff weight. The pressurised 88 had round windows and the longer wingspan of the A80 and a 3992kg (8800lb) MTOW. The Model B80 was the last major production model and appeared in 1966. It featured the longer span wing and the 88's MTOW. The model A65 was essentially a Model 65 with the swept fin and rudder of the Model 80, and entered production in 1967. The Model 70 entered production in 1969, it featured the longer span wings, 3720kg (8200lb) MTOW and 255kW (340hp) engines. Production of the Queen Air ceased in 1977.

The backbone of this section is from the The International Directory of Civil Aircraft by Gerard Frawley and used with permission. To get your own copy of the book click here.