The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production.
The direct predecessor of the Baron was the Beechcraft 95 Travel Air, which incorporated the fuselage of the Bonanza and the tail control surfaces of the T-34 Mentor military trainer. To create the new airplane, the Travel Air’s tail was replaced with that of the Beechcraft Debonair, the engine nacelles were streamlined, six-cylinder engines were added, and the aircraft’s name was changed. In 1960, the Piper Aztec was introduced, using two 250 hp Lycoming O-540 engines; Cessna too had improved its 310 with two Continental IO-470 D, producing 260 hp. Meanwhile, Beechcraft’s Bonanza had been improved with a Continental IO-470-N. But the answer to competition was to make a true twin-engined variant of the Bonanza. The first model, the 55, was powered by two six-cylinder IO-470-L engines producing 260 hp at 2,625rpm each; it was introduced in 1961. The first Baron included the fully-swept vertical stabilizer of the Debonair while still retaining the four to four+five place seating of the Travel Air.
Barons come in three basic types: the Baron 55 (short body), Baron 56 (short body) and Baron 58 (long body), with several sub-variants each.
Beechcraft Baron G58 Aircraft Liveries