Page 9 - Dec15

BARONTurns FiftyThe Beechcraft Baron C55, the first of the Baron line to use Continental’s big-bore IO-520 engines, achieved certification on August 18, 1965. In the half-century since, it continually retained its status as the foundation of fast personal transportation, and was eventually expanded into stretched-cabin and pressurized variants. Further upgrades with a new panel and 300-hp engines came along with the 1984 Baron 58.The C, D and E version of the Baron 55 is often overlooked, viewed as something thirstier and heavier than the smaller B55 but less capable than the Baron 58. Given that it’s not as suitable for a six-seat mission, it is, in all other aspects, a great business and family traveling tool, often priced near, or below, single-engine competitors. Admittedly, its upkeep and training needs are fully multi-engine requirements. But older Barons still represent near-turbine capability in a compact package with relatively simple systems.To review, the foundations of the Beech Baron were laid in 1957, when Beech Aircraft certificated its firsttrue “twin Bonanza”, in the form of the Model 95 Travel Air, originally called the “Badger” until someone realized NATO had tagged a Russian bomber with the same name. To create the Model 95, the Bonanza airframe was given the T-34 trainer’s tail and a 180-hp Lycoming on each wing. A good little airplane, the Travel Air was limited by its small engines, but its type certificate #3A16 was later amended, in late 1960, to create the Model 55 (technically, 95-55) Baron, with a massive swept tail and 260-hp Continental IO-470 engines.Going Up A SizeGrowth, in the go-go days of the 1960s and 70s, was a given. By 1964, Continental had reworked the IO-470 into the IO-520 and, suddenly, everyone building Continental-powered airplanes had more horsepower to work with. The Baron C55 was introduced as a 1966 model with a foot-longer nose than its B55 sibling, a one- piece windshield and 200 pounds more gross weight. The tail span was increased to 16 feet, versus the B55’s 13.75. The better-looking profile and extra useful load made it a hot seller from the outset.The C55 was changed to a D55 designation in 1968 and the E55 came along in 1970, concurrent with the introduction of the Baron 58. A steady seller, the E55 remained in the line until production ended in 1982. Some 1,200 C55 through E55 Barons were made (serial number prefix “TE”), most of them produced at a 150- 200 per year clip in the first four years, before the Baron 58 drove annual demand down to 25 or so in the 1970s.Our subject airplane is the personal transport of Kansas City entrepreneur Chris Hall, a stock 1966 Baron C55 which has seen careful tending over the past five decades and still serves splendidly. Hall flies a King AirDECEMBER 2015TWIN & TURBINE • 7