The Beechcraft Model 38P Lightning was an experimental turboprop aircraft built and tested by Beechcraft (now a division of Hawker Beechcraft) in the 1980s.
The Model 38P (Pressurized) (also known as the model PD.336) was created by installing a Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-9 engine in the nose of a Beechcraft Baron 58P fuselage, which was mated to a Beechcraft B36TC Bonanza wing in place of the Baron's wing with two engines.[1] This resulted in a low-wing aircraft with six seats including the pilot's. The aircraft flew for the first time on June 14, 1982.[1] After 133 flights over almost 18 months the aircraft was temporarily grounded so that the TPE331 could be removed and a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-40 engine fitted in its place.[1] The aircraft flew in this configuration for the first time on March 9, 1984 and the last flight was on August 8 the same year.[1] Beechcraft originally planned to put the Lightning into production but the economic downturn among general aviation manufacturers in the United States in the 1980s led to the project being shelved[2] shortly after the first flight with PT6A power.[1] Several Model 38Ps were pre sold to customers by the Beechcraft dealer network, but the purchase deposits collected were returned when the decision was made not to produce the aircraft.
beechcraft, lightning, beechcraft, model, lightning, experimental, turboprop, aircraft, built, tested, beechcraft, division, hawker, beechcraft, 1980s, lightningrole, civil, utility, aircraftmanufacturer, beechcraftfirst, flight, june, 1982introduction, 1982re. The Beechcraft Model 38P Lightning was an experimental turboprop aircraft built and tested by Beechcraft now a division of Hawker Beechcraft in the 1980s LightningRole Civil utility aircraftManufacturer BeechcraftFirst flight June 14 1982Introduction 1982Retired 1984Number built 2Developed from Beechcraft Baron Contents 1 History 2 Specifications Model 38 P PT6A engine performance estimated 3 See also 4 ReferencesHistory EditThe Model 38P Pressurized also known as the model PD 336 was created by installing a Garrett AiResearch TPE 331 9 engine in the nose of a Beechcraft Baron 58P fuselage which was mated to a Beechcraft B36TC Bonanza wing in place of the Baron s wing with two engines 1 This resulted in a low wing aircraft with six seats including the pilot s The aircraft flew for the first time on June 14 1982 1 After 133 flights over almost 18 months the aircraft was temporarily grounded so that the TPE331 could be removed and a Pratt amp Whitney Canada PT6A 40 engine fitted in its place 1 The aircraft flew in this configuration for the first time on March 9 1984 and the last flight was on August 8 the same year 1 Beechcraft originally planned to put the Lightning into production but the economic downturn among general aviation manufacturers in the United States in the 1980s led to the project being shelved 2 shortly after the first flight with PT6A power 1 Several Model 38Ps were pre sold to customers by the Beechcraft dealer network but the purchase deposits collected were returned when the decision was made not to produce the aircraft Specifications Model 38 P PT6A engine performance estimated EditData from Jane s 1983 84 Aviation Review 3 General characteristicsCrew 1 Capacity 5 passengers Length 29 ft 11 in 9 12 m Wingspan 37 ft 10 in 11 53 m Powerplant 1 Pratt amp Whitney Canada PT6A 40 turboprop 550 650 shp 410 480 kW Performance Cruise speed 316 mph 509 km h 275 kn max cruise at 25 000 ft 7 600 m Range 1 285 mi 2 068 km 1 117 nmi Service ceiling 25 000 ft 7 600 m See also EditAircraft of comparable role configuration and era Piper Malibu Meridian Socata TBMReferences Edit a b c d e Phillips Edward H Beechcraft Pursuit of Perfection A History of Beechcraft Airplanes Flying Books Eagan Minnesota 1992 ISBN 0 911139 11 7 The Beeches that got away Wings Over Kansas website Archived April 7 2013 at the Wayback Machine retrieved December 20 2007 Taylor 1983 p 80 Taylor Michael J H ed Jane s Aviation Review 1983 84 London Jane s Publishing Company 1983 ISBN 0 7106 0285 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beechcraft Lightning amp oldid 1090450416, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
