Beech Model 60 Duke

Beech entered the field of pressurised general aviation aircraft following a first flight of the Beech Model 60 Duke on 29 December 1966. Slightly larger than the members of the Baron family, the Duke was intended as a luxury four/six-seat aircraft, and was provided with an extensive range of equipment as standard. Overall configuration was similar'to that of other Beech twin-engined models, but because it was intended for operation at a higher gross weight it had strengthened landing gear, and much more powerful Avco Lycom-ing TIO-541-E1C4 turbocharged engines. The pressurisation system installed in the then current production aircraft had an advanced controller which allowed selection of cabin altitude before takeoff or landing, and the system was able to maintain a 3050m cabin pressure altitude to a height of 7660m.

Only two revised versions of the original Model 60 appeared during the production run, the Model A60 and Model B60 introduced in 1971 and 1974 respectively. The first provided a 23kg increase, in maximum take-off weight, the second a slightly larger cabin and increased fuel capacity. Such an aircraft was by no means cheap and, by American standards, was built in comparatively small numbers, with a total of 596 completed by the end of production in 1983.