The engine has some significant strengths. Produced for only five years, the 165 hp engine has a 1,500-hour time between overhauls and is essentially a four-cylinder predecessor to the popular six-cylinder IO-520. It’s rare for an engine manufacturer to design and build an engine for only one aircraft type, but that’s precisely what occurred with Continental and the IO-346. Stemp and The Fabulous Flight of the Three Musketeers by Gene Nora Jessen) each dedicate multiple pages to outlining all the various permutations of the type in comprehensive lists that specify production numbers and serial-number ranges. Two books that have covered the type (Kites, Birds & Stuff: Beech Aircraft by P.D. Useful loads range from 800 to 1,050 pounds, again depending on the model. Gross weights range from 2,200 to 2,550 pounds, depending on the specific model and whether the aircraft has been modified with a gross-weight-increase kit. Over the 20-year production run, entry-level models were equipped with the 165 hp Continental IO-346 and 150 hp Lycoming O-320, while the more upscale models sported the 180 hp Lycoming O-360 and 200 hp IO-360, some with constant-speed props. Other models were available with two small seats in the rear baggage area, for a total of six seats. Later models added-at various points-a third side window, a second door, electric flaps, a wider cabin, and even an aerobatic kit that permitted basic aerobatic maneuvers. Similarly, the A23-19 was configured as a two-seat trainer and became the B19 Sport. The Musketeer Custom, for example, became the Sundowner in 1972, when midway through production, Beechcraft changed various names and model numbers. Perhaps as a result, few general aviation aircraft have as confusing an assortment of model numbers, subtypes and names. The Musketeer family was marketed as something of a Swiss Army knife of GA aircraft, able to fill multiple roles from training to longer-distance touring.
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Beechcraft took the concept from a blank sheet of paper to full FAA type certification in only 16 and a half months. Presented as a simpler and less expensive alternative to the popular Bonanza, the Musketeer was launched as a 1963 model following a particularly speedy development process. Here, we’ll explore the fixed-gear variants of the Musketeer family-and evaluate whether the combination of Beechcraft quality and refinement, at a price comparable to a basic Cessna or Piper, remains as attractive today as it was then. More than 4,000 examples would be built, including the more powerful Sundowner and the retractable-gear Sierra. Over the following 20 years, the Musketeer would evolve into a wide variety of subtypes.
It developed a new, lower-cost training-and-touring airplane that provided stable comfort for long trips, the sturdiness necessary for a trainer, and even limited aerobatic capability. The competition’s ever-expanding product offerings were not going unnoticed, and Beechcraft decided to expand into new market segments. In the early 1960s, general aviation was experiencing tremendous growth, and Beechcraft wanted a bigger slice of the pie.
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