Beechcraft Queen Air 65

Beechcraft · United States · first flew 1958 · light aircraft

The Beechcraft Queen Air 65 is the original production variant of the Queen Air family, a twin-engine piston executive and light transport aircraft first flown in 1958.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	10.82 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Twin piston executive transport with bonded wet-wing fuel tanks
Beechcraft twin-fin tail unit and oval cabin windows
IGSO-480 Lycoming geared supercharged engines on low tapered wing

Low tapered wing with twin oval-window cabin, twin-boom-style twin-fin tail, and distinctive geared-engine cowlings with cooling gills mark the Queen Air family.

Specifications

The Beechcraft Queen Air 65 has a length of 10.82 m (35 ft).
It has a wingspan of 15.32 m (50 ft).
Its maximum speed is 370 km/h (230 mph).
Typical crew: 1-2 + 7 passengers.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Beechcraft introduced the Model 65 Queen Air as a step up from the Twin Bonanza, sharing its structure but stretching the cabin and upgrading to geared Lycoming engines. It entered production in 1960 and sold widely to corporate, commuter, and military customers. The airframe formed the basis for the later King Air turboprop family.

Variants

The 65 was followed by the Queen Air 80 (more powerful engines), A65, B80, and other variants; the military U-21 Ute used a closely related airframe.

Where you'll see it

Sold to corporate and commuter operators across North America and internationally; military examples served with the US Army as the U-21 and with various foreign air arms.

Related aircraft

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