Design and Development
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, streamlining the engine nacelles, addition of six-cylinder engines, and named the new aircraft name. In 1960, the Piper Aztec was introduced, utilizing two, 250hp Lycoming O-540 engines; Cessna too had improved their 310 with two Continental IO-470 D, producing 260hp. Meanwhile, Beechcraft's Bonanza had been improved with a Continental IO-470-N, and the answer was to make the true Twin Bonanza. The first model, the 55, was powered by two, six-cylinder IO-470-L engines, producing 260hp at 2,625rpm; it was introduced in 1961. It included the fully swept vertical stabilizer of the Debonair, while still retaining the four to four+five place seating of the Travel Air.
Since its inception, the Baron has always been near the top of the light airplane hierarchy. In 2008 a new Baron costs roughly $1,040,000. As expensive to operate as it is to buy, the 'next step up' from a Baron is a very big one. Faster aircraft, with greater range and more load-carrying capability are generally turbine-powered and far more expensive. The older Baron variants, mainly the 55 series, have dropped little in value, with their fair market prices numerically equal to that of their original pricing, in today's dollars.
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