The Adam A500 is an American six-seat civil utility aircraft that was produced by Adam Aircraft Industries. The aircraft is of pod-and-boom, push-pull configuration with its two Continental TSIO-550-E piston engines mounted to provide centerline thrust.

The A500 was developed from the M-309 CarbonAero technology demonstrator designed by Burt Rutan and built by Scaled Composites at the Mojave Airport. The "309" designation refers to this being Rutan's 309th aircraft design. The 309 first flew in March 2000, but the aircraft has since been gutted and was used as a static display outside the Adam Aircraft Industries headquarters. In 2006 the 309 was loaned to the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum and is now on display.

Compared to conventional twin-engine installations, the centerline thrust arrangement reduces drag and maximizes the controllability of the aircraft should one engine malfunction or fail. This engine configuration was used by the similar Cessna Skymaster. The A500 airframe is largely built of carbon fiber epoxy composite materials with a Nomex honeycomb core. Other features include cabin pressurization.

The prototype A500 first flew on July 11, 2002, and was FAA certified in May 2005.

Adam Aircraft ceased operations on 11 February 2008, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on 19 February 2008, having delivered seven A500s.

In April 2008 Adam Aircraft was purchased from bankruptcy by AAI Acquisition Inc. At the time of purchase this new company indicated that they would pursue certification of the A700 jet as a priority and that the A500 would not be produced due to the continuing poor market for piston-engined aircraft. AAI went out of business in April 2009 without producing any aircraft.

In April 2011 Triton Aerospace announced that they had acquired the assets of Adam Aircraft including the aircraft type certificate and intend to return the A500 to production.

In April 2011 Triton Aerospace announced that they will redesign the aircraft using what Thomas Hsueh, owner of Triton Aerospace, termed "proper engineering" to shed 1,000 lb (454 kg) of empty weight and recertify it with the intention of putting it back into production. The aircraft will also be changed to a turboprop, with twin engined and rear-engined-only versions. A new prototype was expected in 2013 with re-certification to follow. Hsueh indicated that for now production is planned for the US, but costs may require moving the assembly line to China or even a lower cost country such as Mexico.

By 2013 the Triton website had been taken down and the URL sold. It is likely that the company has gone out of business.

Wikipedia lists that 7 aircraft were built, but serial numbers 1 to 22 were registered according to airport-data.com.

A500

A700 powered by two Williams FJ33 turbofans.

Aero Vodochody produced the aircraft in 1947–1951, after which the Let Kunovice rolled out these planes until 1961. In 1958 the Ae-45S became the first Czechoslovak plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean.[it was the first product of the nation's postwar aviation industry and proved a great success, with many of the 590 produced being exported.

The Aero 45 had a sleek, teardrop-shaped fuselage, with a rounded, extensively-glazed nose affording excellent visibility. It had a low wing on which the engine nacelles were mounted, and a conventional tail. The main undercarriage was retractable but the tailwheel was fixed.

The design bears a superficial resemblance, viewed nose-on, to the German Siebel Si 204 which, among other German aircraft like the Messerschmitt Bf 109, were produced in Czechoslovakia while under German occupation.

Specifications below are for the Aero 145 model.

For more details of design,operational history and variants, click here.

The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.

The A-36 is a development of the Aeroprakt A-26 Vulcan. The design goals for the A-36 include operations over hostile terrain, the ability to take-off and land with only one engine running and the ability to operate from short runways. The resulting design features a strut-braced high-wing, T-tail, a two-seats in tandem configuration enclosed cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear with wheel pants and twin engines in pusher configuration.

The aircraft is of mixed construction, with the forward fuselage made from fibreglass and the tail cone from aluminum sheet. The wings and tail are aluminum, while the main landing gear legs, engine cowlings and fairings are fibreglass. Its 11.4 m (37.4 ft) span wing has an area of 15.7 m2 (169 sq ft) and mounts flaps. The standard engines used are the 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912S four-stroke powerplant.

The A-36 has an empty weight of 450 kg (990 lb) and a gross weight of 750 kg (1,650 lb), giving a useful load of 300 kg (660 lb).

The Aerosport Rail is an American minimalist ultralight aircraft, designed by Harris Woods and built by Aerosport Inc. The aircraft was first flown on 14 November 1970. Included in this category due to the dual engines.

The Rail is little more than a 2 by 5 inch squared aluminium tube (rail) with all-metal wings and a T-tail. The pilot sits on the tube, just ahead of and above the wings. Two small two-cycle engines derated to 25 hp (19 kW) are mounted on struts behind the seat on either side of centerline, driving pusher propellers. Individual 4 U.S. gallons (15 L; 3.3 imp gal) fiberglass fuel tanks are mounted in front of each engine. About 175 sets of plans were sold between 1970 and 1977. The follow-on design, the Aerosport Quail uses the Rail's wing design for an enclosed tractor configuration homebuilt aircraft.

It was a twin-engined light STOL utility transport, with two 300 hp Ivchenko AI-14RF radial piston engines. Serial production started in 1966, and about 300 examples were built by the time production ended in 1972. The An-14 failed to replace the more successful An-2 biplane, which was manufactured until 1990, (the An-2 is still manufactured on special order). The An-14's successor, the An-28 with turboprop engines, is still manufactured at PZL Mielec factories in Poland, under the names PZL M28 Skytruck and PZL M28B Bryza.

With very stable flight characteristics, the An-14 could be flown by most pilots after a few hours of basic training. A small number of An-14s are still in airworthy condition.

For more details of design and variants, click here.

The An-28 was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30, for use by Aeroflot as a short-range airliner. It first flew in 1969. A total of 191 were built and 16 remained in airline service as at August 2015. After a short pre-production series built by Antonov, it was licence-built in Poland by PZL-Mielec. In 1993, PZL-Mielec developed its own improved variant, the PZL M28 Skytruck.

The An-28 is similar to the An-14 in many aspects, including its wing structure and twin rudders, but features an expanded fuselage and turboprop engines, in place of the An-14's piston engines. The An-28 first flew as a modified An-14 in 1969. The next preproduction model did not fly until 1975. In passenger carrying configuration, accommodation was provided for up to 15 people, in addition to the two-man crew. Production was transferred to PZL-Mielec in 1978. The first Polish-built aircraft did not fly until 1984. The An-28 finally received its Soviet type certificate in 1986.

Variants.

An-28 Twin-engined short-range utility transport aircraft, three built.

An-28RM Bryza 1RM Search and rescue, air ambulance aircraft.

An-28TD Bryza 1TD Transport version.

An-28PT Variant with Pratt & Whitney engines first flown 22 July 1993.

 Planned for FAA certification under 14 CFR part 23, the Javelin had a design resembling a fighter aircraft, an unusual concept for civilian jets. The Javelin MK-20 derivative, developed in cooperation between ATG and Israel Aerospace Industries, was expected to fill the jet trainer role for various air forces. The first prototype took flight on 30 September 2005.

ATG halted all further development on the Javelin in December 2007 after failing to get $200 million to finance further development. The company subsequently declared bankruptcy in 2008, ending the development of the Javelin.

Javelin design rights were bought by Rud Aero, a very small airplane manufacturer. They have partnered with another very small firm, Stavatti Aerospace to offer a variant of the Javelin for the U.S. Air Force's T-X program.

The Discovery Aviation Model 201 aka Avia Accord 201 is a light utility aircraft that was re-introduced in 2013.

The Model 201 is a high-wing twin engine fixed tricycle gear aircraft with twin rudders. The aircraft was designed by Avia Ltd of Moscow, Russia as the Avia Accord 201. The aircraft was produced in the Sokol plant at Nizhny Novgorod. The aircraft features rear clamshell doors that can be removed, and has flown with an outrigger floats. The aircraft has been modified with updated avionics to be marketed for western sales by Discovery Aviation.

Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War.

The Avro Anson was a twin-engine, low-wing cantilever monoplane. Developed as a general reconnaissance aircraft, it possessed many features that lent itself to the role, including considerable load-carrying ability, and long range.[8] The structure of the Anson was relatively straightforward and uncomplicated, relying on proven methods and robust construction to produce an airframe that minimised maintenance requirements. Much of the internal structure had retained similar to the earlier Avro 652 airliner from which it had been developed. The Anson Mk I was furnished with a low-mounted one-piece wooden wing, composed of a combination of plywood and spruce throughout the wingbox and ribs. The fuselage was composed of a welded steel tubing framework which was principally clad in fabric; the exterior of the nose was clad in magnesium alloy.

The Anson was powered by a pair of Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, which were each rated at 350 horsepower (260 kW). Each engine was provided with its own duplicated fuel pumps and separate fuel and oil tanks; the tanks were composed of welded aluminium and mounted in cradles housed within the wing. The engine cowling were intentionally designed to have a reduced diameter in order to reduce their negative impact upon external visibility, which was considered to be valuable to the type's reconnaissance function. These engines each drove a set of two-bladed Fairey-built metal propellers.

The Anson was equipped with a retractable undercarriage arrangement, which was uncommon upon its introduction; it holds the distinction of being the first aircraft to feature such an innovation to enter service with the RAF. While the main undercarriage was retracted into recesses set into the bottom of the engine nacelles, the tail wheel was fixed in position. Commonly, the undercarriage was fitted with Dunlop-built wheels, tyres and pneumatic brakes and Turner legs. The retractable undercarriage was mechanically operated by hand; 144 turns of a crank handle, situated besides the pilot's seat, were needed. To avoid this laborious process, early aircraft would often perform short flights with the landing gear remaining extended throughout, which would reduce the aircraft's cruising speed by 30 mph (50 km/h).

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) initially ordered 33 Ansons in November 1935 to fill the maritime reconnaissance role. The first were delivered in 1936 and 48 were in service before the start of the war. The RAAF eventually operated a total 1,028 Ansons, the majority of these being Mk Is. These aircraft continued to be operated until 1955.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) operated 23 Ansons as navigation trainers during the Second World War, (alongside the more numerous Airspeed Oxford), and acquired more Ansons as communication aircraft immediately after the war. A preserved navigation trainer is in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum at Wigram.

On 29 September 1940, Avro Ansons L9162 and N4876 of No. 2 Service Flying Training School RAAF collided in mid-air and became locked together in flight. A successful emergency landing was made at Brocklesby, New South Wales. L9162 became a ground instructional airframe, whilst N4876 was repaired and returned to service.

For more information, including the large list of variants and operators, click here.

Specifications below are for the GR Mk 1 variant.

Beginning in the late 1950s the United States aircraft company Bay Aviation (formerly Oakland Airmotive) produced nine twin-engine conversions of the Beechcraft Bonanza called the Super "V" Bonanza. After production was shifted to Canada in 1962, five more aircraft were built for a total production run of fourteen. The basis of the conversion was the early Model 35 Bonanza with the original small V-tail surfaces. The Super-V competed with Beechcraft's own Travel Air twin-engine Bonanza derivative.

The Super-V is an extensive conversion of the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. Serial number records indicate the aircraft chosen for conversion range in production dates from 1947 to 1950. The original conversion was developed by David Peterson as the "Skyline Super-V" in 1955–56, assisted by W.D. Johnson, and the rights to the conversion were acquired by Oakland Airmotive on July 2, 1958. Oakland Airmotive became Bay Aviation Services on July 8, 1960. The main wing spar was strengthened considerably in the process. The airframe is so different from the original Bonanza that, rather than supplementing the original type certificate, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a completely new certificate for the Super-V.

Oakland Airmotive intended to produce converted planes starting in 1960, but never progressed beyond manufacturing and installing Super-V conversion kits on customer-supplied Bonanzas. Ed Gough was the President. FAA type certification was granted in June 1960. Production drawings, bills of material, and other documentation was prepared and there were several conversions in the pipeline. Flying Magazine published a story on the Super V in October 1960 and the marketing efforts were reaching a peak, with a Super-V (Registration N617B) completing a successful circumnavigation of the globe.

The cost of a standard conversion was priced in 1960 at US$22,500 (equivalent to $197,000 in 2020), not including the cost of the donor aircraft.

For further details of the development of the Super V, and detailed notes on each individual aircraft, click here.

The design of a twin-engined light transport began in 1960 and the prototype registered G-ARRM (designated the B.206X) first flew from Shoreham Airport, West Sussex on 15 August 1961. The prototype aircraft was a five-seat all metal low-wing monoplane powered by two Continental flat-six engines.

The second prototype (registered G-ARXM and designated B.206Y) was slightly larger with a larger-span wing and seating for seven.

Initial production was the Series 1 aircraft which were powered by 310 hp Rolls-Royce Continental GIO-470A engines, and the first aircraft (G-ASMK) first flew on 17 July 1964. This aircraft was then converted as the first Series 2 aircraft with 340 hp Continental GTSIO-520C turbocharged engines and first flew as such on 23 June 1965. The production Series 2 (initially known as the B.206S) was also fitted with a large freight door. The aircraft was soon in demand with air taxi companies and as a light transport for companies.

Three aircraft were delivered to the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Australia.

For more details, including the seven variants, click here.

Specification below are for the B.206 Series 2 variant.

The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known), has been continuously produced from 1937 to November 1969 (over 32 years, a world record at the time), over 9,000 were built, making it one of the world's most widely used light aircraft. Sold worldwide as a civilian executive, utility, cargo aircraft, and passenger airliner on tailwheels, nosewheels, skis, or floats, it was also used as a military aircraft.

 In the early postwar era, the Beech 18 was the pre-eminent "business aircraft" and "feeder airliner". Besides carrying passengers, its civilian uses have included aerial spraying, sterile insect release, fish stocking, dry-ice cloud seeding, aerial firefighting, air-mail delivery, ambulance service, numerous movie productions, skydiving, freight, weapon- and drug-smuggling, engine testbed, skywriting, banner towing, and stunt aircraft. Many are now privately owned, around the world, with 240 in the U.S. still on the FAA Aircraft Registry in August 2017.

The design was mainly conventional for the time, including twin radial engines, all-metal semimonocoque construction with fabric-covered control surfaces, and tailwheel undercarriage. Less conventional was the twin-tailfin configuration. The Model 18 can be mistaken for the larger Lockheed Electra series of airliners, which closely resemble it. Early production aircraft were powered either by two 330-hp (250-kW) Jacobs L-6s or 350-hp (260-kW) Wright R-760Es. The 450-hp (336-kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 became the definitive engine from the prewar C18S onwards. The Beech 18 prototype first flew on January 15, 1937.

For more details of the development and design and operational history of the Twin Beech, as well as its numerous factory variants, and many third party conversions such as the Hamilton Westwind and Volper Turboliner, click here.

The specifications below from Janes Fighting Aircraft of World War II are for the UC-45 Expeditor variant.

The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. They form the King Air line together with the King Air Model 90 and 100 series.

Beechcraft currently offers the 250 (design. B200GT) and the larger 350i (B300) models. The 350ER (B300CER) is available to government, military and commercial customers for special mission operations such as aerial survey, air ambulance, flight inspection and surveillance. The Beechcraft 1900 regional airliner was derived from the Model B200 King Air.

The Model 200 was originally conceived as the Model 101 in 1969, and was a development of the Model 100 King Air. The Model 200 had essentially the same fuselage as the Model 100, with changes to the rear fuselage to accommodate a new T-tail (in place of the 100's conventional tail with all-moving trimmable horizontal stabilizer) and structural changes to allow higher maximum pressurization. Apart from the T-tail, other changes included Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-41 engines rated at 850 shp (630 kW) instead of the 680 shp (510 kW) engines of the Model A100 then in production, and a wing of increased span and extra fuel capacity. Overall, the 200 was 3 ft 10 in (1.17 m) longer than the A100, with wingspan 4 ft 3 in (1.29 m) greater, containing 60 US gallons (230 L) more fuel. Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) was increased by 1,000 lb (450 kg).

For more etails on the 200 and 300 series King Airs, click here.

Specifications below are for the King Air 250 variant.

The Beechcraft Model 50 Twin Bonanza is a small twin-engined aircraft designed by Beechcraft as an executive transport for the business market. It was developed to fill a gap in Beechcraft's product line between the single-engined Model 35 Bonanza and the larger Model 18. The Twin Bonanza is dissimilar to the Bonanza, being much larger and heavier and using more powerful engines, while in its earliest form having only half the passenger capacity of the Model 18.

The Twin Bonanza was first flown on November 15, 1949 after rapid development, begun only in April of that year. The aircraft was first designed to use Franklin engines with superchargers, but engine company owner Preston Tucker diverted all of its aviation resources to support his ill-fated Tucker 48 automobile project, and the aircraft was hastily modified to accept the Lycoming GO-435. However, the engine nacelles were not redesigned to fit the smaller Lycoming, creating unusually generous internal clearances that facilitate engine maintenance. The Model 50's type certificate was awarded in 1951, and production began the same year.

The United States Army adopted the Twin Bonanza as the L-23 Seminole utility transport, making it the largest fixed-wing aircraft in its inventory at that time. According to Ralph Harmon, the airplane's designer, during an initial demonstration flight for the Army, Beechcraft test pilot Claude Palmer crashed while trying to land over a 50-foot (15 m) tree line with the aircraft full of soldiers and sandbags. Everyone on board walked away from the crash. The Army was impressed with the structural strength of the Twin Bonanza, eventually purchasing 216 of the 994 examples produced. It was also the first twin-engined aircraft in its class to be offered to the business market, but the Korean War was raging in the early 1950s and the US Army took almost the entire production for 1952 and 1953.

The Twin Bonanza is an all-metal low-wing monoplane with a cantilever wing, initially powered by two wing-mounted Lycoming GO-435 piston engines, each with a wooden two-bladed propeller. The cabin seats six people on bench seats, three in the front and three in the rear accessed by a side door on the right side. To gain access to the door a retractable three-tread steps is used. The Twin Bonanza has tricycle landing gear with the nose wheel retracting rearwards and the main landing gears retracting partially into the engine nacelles, leaving the tires exposed to assist in the event of a belly landing. The 260 hp (190 kW) GO-435 was replaced by the 275 hp (205 kW) Lycoming GO-480 in 1954; this engine was subsequently upgraded with fuel injection and then superchargers, increasing power to 295 hp (220 kW) in 1956 and 340 hp (250 kW) in 1957.

Despite its name, the Twin Bonanza is a substantially larger and heavier aircraft that is mostly dissimilar to the single-engined Bonanza; the only major shared parts are the front fuselage sides and windows, and on early models, the main cabin door. The Twin Bonanza fuselage is 12 in (30 cm) wider than that of the Bonanza.

For details of operational history and fifteen variants, click here.

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, the engine nacelles were streamlined, six-cylinder engines were added, and the aircraft's name was changed. In 1960, the Piper Aztec was introduced, using two 250 hp Lycoming O-540 engines; Cessna too had improved their 310 with two Continental IO-470 D, producing 260 hp. Meanwhile, Beechcraft's Bonanza had been improved with a Continental IO-470-N, but the answer to competition was to make a true twin engined variant of the Bonanza. The first model, the 55, was powered by two, six-cylinder IO-470-L engines, producing 260 hp 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.

For more details, including variants, click here'

The aircraft has retractable tricycle landing gear and a pressurized cabin. The two piston engines are turbocharged and the turbochargers also pressurize the cabin with bleed air.

The development of the Beechcraft 60 began in early 1965, and it was designed to fill the gap between the Beechcraft Baron and the Beechcraft Queen Air. On December 29, 1966, the prototype made its first flight. On February 1, 1968, the FAA issued the type certificate. Distribution to customers began in July 1968. The passenger cabin is fitted with club seating and entry is by means of a port-side airstair entry door in the rear fuselage.

The Beechcraft A60, which came onto the market in 1970, represented an advancement over the Baron, with an improved pressurized cabin utilizing advanced bonded honeycomb construction, lighter and more efficient turbochargers, and improved elevators. The last variant, the B60, was introduced in 1974. The interior arrangement was renewed and the engine efficiency again increased by improved turbochargers. The Beechcraft 60 was, despite its very good performance, only a moderate seller, principally because the complicated technology demanded a high expenditure on maintenance. Production was stopped in 1983.

For more information, including the turbine powered model, click here.

Piston Engined.

Turbine Powered

The Model 76 was designed as an economical twin-engine trainer for the Beech Aero Centers and to compete with the similar Gulfstream Cougar as well as the Cessna 310. The Duchess is an all-metal low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear and a T-tail. It seats four.

Construction of the Duchess was set for a new factory built at the Liberal Division, with deliveries beginning early in 1978. Production of the Duchess continued until 1983, with no significant changes. A single example was tested with turbocharged engines in 1979, but did not proceed to production. The design used components and the bonded wing construction from Beechcraft's single-engined Musketeer line.

For more information, click here and here.

It was designed to fill the gap between the single engine Model 35 Bonanza and the much larger Model 50 Twin Bonanza, and ultimately served as the basis for its replacement, the Baron.

Designed as a competitor to the Cessna 310 and the Piper Apache, the Travel Air (developed as the Badger) took many design features from previous Beechcraft airplanes. It took its basic design from the Model 35 Bonanza, fitted with the vertical stabilizer from the T-34 Mentor, and two four-cylinder engines. Its wing spar was borrowed from the large Model 50 Twin Bonanza, along with thicker gauge aluminum on the leading edge; landing gear systems had been taken from the United States Navy Mentor, which was a stronger structure built for training pilots for later aircraft carrier landings. Power came from, in the 1958 model year, two Lycoming O-360-A1A at 180 horsepower (130 kW) at 2700rpm each. With 75% power, the Travel Air was capable of 200mph at 7,500ft.

During its ten-year model run, between 1958 and 1968, the Travel Air saw four distinct variants emerge. All use the ICAO aircraft type designator BE95.

Specifications below are for the D95A Travel Air.

The Beechcraft Premier I is a light business jet aircraft manufactured by the Beechcraft division of Hawker Beechcraft. The aircraft was designed to compete with the Cessna CitationJet series of aircraft.

Design of the Premier I began early in 1994 under the designation PD-374 (PD for Preliminary Design), and development was authorized to continue early the following year. The aircraft was officially launched at the annual National Business Aviation Association Convention in September 1995 and construction of the first prototype commenced late in 1996. In the mid-1990s, the light jet was to be priced at $5 million.

The Premier I prototype was rolled out on 19 August 1998 and its first flight was on 22 December 1998; four prototypes were used in the flight test program. Its FAA Type Certificate was issued on 23 March 2001. After development delays, the aircraft entered service in 2001 but with poor runway performance, erratic lift dump and brakes, a noisy cabin and a substandard cockpit. It was upgraded as the Premier IA in 2006 for $7 million with improved brakes, avionics and cabin, and 163 were built in five years. It was certified on 22 September 2005.

The Premier I is constructed with a high-strength composite, carbon fiber/epoxy honeycomb structure fuselage. The Premier I and IA can be certified as light aircraft for operation by a single pilot. The powerplants are Williams International FJ44-2A engines.

Its cabin is nearly as wide as a Citation Excel with 3 in (76 mm) less headroom, and seating is 11.2 ft (3.4 m) long, similar to a CJ2, with a four-seat club plus two aft chairs and an enclosed, 2.3 ft (0.70 m) long aft lavatory. BOWs are usually around 8,400 lb (3,800 kg), leaving 570 lb (260 kg) for the payload at full tanks. The Premier 1A has a Mach 0.8 MMo, 451 kn (835 km/h) cruise at FL310 and a 817 lb (371 kg)/h fuel burn at 424 kn (785 km/h) and midweight. It can fly four passengers over 1,105 or 1,365 nmi (2,046 or 2,528 km) with two passengers and can take off within 3,792 ft (1,156 m) at ISA temperatures and sea-level.

Line maintenance comes at 200-hour intervals, A checks at 600 hours and B checks at 1,200 hours, plus calendar inspections, approximating $300 per hour (2019). Engine maintenance is budgeted for $300 per hour for both (2019), with 2,500-hour hot section inspections and 5,000 hour TBOs.

Variants

Premier I - basic version, introduced in 2001.
Premier IA - new cabin interior and improved systems.   (Specifications below)

It has a series of Model numbers for different variants: 60, 65, 70, 80, A80, B80 and 88.

1978. Based upon the Twin Bonanza, with which it shared key components such as wings, engines, and tail surfaces, but featuring a larger fuselage, it served as the basis for the highly successful King Air series of turboprop aircraft. It is often used as a private aircraft, a utility, or a small commuter airliner. Production ran for 17 years.

The Queen Air is a twin-engined nine-seat low-wing cantilever cabin monoplane with a retractable landing gear with a nose wheel. It was initially powered by two 340 hp (250 kW) Lycoming IGSO-480 six-cylinder, horizontally opposed piston engine.

The Model 65 received a Federal Aviation Authority type certificate on February 4, 1959 and the first deliveries were made soon after. On February 8, 1960 a Queen Air achieved a new height record of 34,862 feet.

The basic Model 65 was in production until 1967 when the improved Model A65 with a swept rather than vertical tail was introduced. Production continued with further variants introducing pressurisation and turboprop engines.

For more details click here.

The Starship is noteworthy for its carbon fiber composite airframe, canard design, lack of centrally located vertical tail, and pusher engine/propeller configuration.

Carbon fiber composite was used to varying degrees on military aircraft, but at the time the Starship was certified, no civilian aircraft certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had ever used it so extensively. Beech chose carbon fiber composite for its durability and high strength-to-weight ratio. According to Beech, the Starship weighs less than it would have if it were built from aluminum. Nonetheless, the empty weight of production aircraft exceeded the target by several thousand pounds.

Beech studied several configurations before settling on a canard configuration in early 1980. As configured, the Starship is difficult to stall; the forward surface stalls before the main lifting surface, which allows the nose to drop and more-normal flight to resume.

A traditionally located vertical tail would have transmitted propeller noise into the airframe. In its place, directional stability and control is provided by rudders mounted in the winglets (Beechcraft called them tipsails) at the tips of the wings.

A total of 53 Starships were produced between 1983 and 1995.

For more information on the development, design, operational history and variants, click here.

Specifications below are for the 2000A model.

The Berkut 360 is a tandem-seating, two-seat homebuilt canard aircraft with pusher configuration and retractable landing gear, built primarily of carbon fiber and fiberglass.

The Berkut 360 is featured in the 2010 movie Kill Speed (Fast Glass).

The prototype Berkut was designed and built by Dave H. Ronneberg as part of a business partnership between Ronneberg and Donald S. Murphy, called Experimental Aviation, that lasted from 1989 to 1992.

In 1992 the partnership dissolved and Ronneberg, incorporating as Experimental Aviation, Inc., brought the aircraft to market as a kit, while Murphy wanted to shelve the project entirely. A subsequent series of lawsuits between the two resulted in bankruptcy for Ronneberg and Murphy as individuals and for Experimental Aviation as a corporation. The kit was resurrected in 1996 by Richard Riley and Renaissance Composites, with Ronneberg working as a consultant.

In January 2001, under pressure from Ronneberg, Renaissance sold the assets to Vicki Cruse, an American aerobatic pilot,[failed verification – see discussion] who then formed Berkut Engineering and Design, Inc. That company withdrew the aircraft from the market in 2002. Ronneberg continued with the project, which is now directed at UAV markets. A deal was struck in 2003 to sell the project to Republic Aerospace, but the deal fell through. Cruse was no longer involved with day-to-day operations, but maintained ownership until her death on August 22, 2009, when the aircraft she was flying — a borrowed Zivko Edge 540 — crashed in Buckinghamshire, England, during a qualifying flight for the World Aerobatic Championships.

Through the various incarnations, approximately 75 kits were sold and 20 airplanes completed.

The Berkut is derived from the Rutan Long-EZ, with the primary differences being retractable main landing gear, dual canopies, and molded fuselage, strakes, and wing spar. Like the Long EZ, the Berkut carries two people in a tandem seating arrangement. The front seat occupant has access to all instrumentation and controls. The rear seat, normally holding the passenger, is equipped with a side stick and throttle, but no rudder pedals, brakes, or instruments. Aerodynamic optimizations to the original Long-EZ airframe were made to increase performance and interior space. The fuselage was stretched and the nose, canard, instrument panel and pilot moved forward one foot (300 mm), to allow a heavier engine to be used in the rear. The main wing trailing edge was straightened, removing a small bend in the trailing edge of the Long EZ wing. The lower winglet was removed and the aileron size increased in both chord and span, significantly increasing roll rate.

Early Berkuts used wings and canard that were structurally similar to the Long-EZ and used solid blue 2 lb/cu. ft. density Dow STYROFOAM PI cores cut to shape with a hot-wire foam cutter, but with carbon fiber reinforced polymer skins instead of fiberglass. The fuselage and winglets remained fiberglass. Later versions (kits produced after spring 1999) used fully molded carbon fiber canards and wings with high density, 5 lb/cu. ft. 1/4" thick PVC or SAN foam cores, leaving only minor fairings and tip surfaces to be carved from foam. The Berkut has always used the Roncz 1145MS canard airfoil, which is more tolerant of insect and rain contamination than the GU 25-5(11)8 airfoil originally used on the Long-EZ.

The Berkut used a retractable main (rear) landing gear system designed by Shirl Dickey for his E-Racer homebuilt. Originally, Berkut used gear parts produced by Dickey, but over time they were repeatedly re-engineered and strengthened. Later kits had gear components produced entirely in-house. Like the earlier Vari-Eze and Long EZ, the Berkut kneels with its nose gear retracted to prevent the aircraft from tipping over backwards when parked without a pilot in the front seat. Some early Berkuts utilized hydraulic nose-gear extension systems, but most have used an electro-mechanical jack-screw. With the electric system, the pilot and passenger can climb into the cockpit, then extend the nose gear, raising the airplane with occupants inside.

While the Long-EZ, originally designed for the Lycoming O-235 108-118 hp engine, was closer in the design of the Berkut, the latter was designed from the outset for the larger Lycoming IO-360 180 hp engine. The aircraft was later adapted, with a different engine mount, cowls and battery location, to accept the 260 hp Lycoming IO-540, which most builders chose. With the O-540, some have reportedly reached speeds of 300 mph in level flight.

Variants
Berkut 360
Original configuration, retractable gear, Lycoming 4-cylinder 360-cubic-inch, fuel-injected, 180 hp engine.
Berkut FG360
Fixed-gear version of the 360. (Offered but never built, except as a UAV by Geneva Aerospace )
Berkut 540
Lycoming 6-cylinder, 540-cubic-inch, 260 hp engine upgrade. Changes consisted of larger cowls, a different engine mount, custom engine mount ears, stiffer engine isolators, a custom sump modification and different cooling baffles.
Berkut FG540
Fixed-gear version of the 540. (offered, but never built)
Mobius
A modified Berkut with a single canopy and automated flight equipment where the second seat would be located, for UAV research and development with a 20-hour endurance. Two aircraft have been built with a third one in development. N442LT is the first tail number. N497LT is the second.
Berkut Jet
A Berkut using a modified GE T-58 turbine engine, built by Jerrold Jorritsma, registration number N3255U. Crashed in Loveland, Colorado on May 9, 2010.
Berkez or Berk-EZ
Heavily modified Rutan Long-EZ homebuilt with Berkut components.

The Blackburn B-1 Segrave was a 1930s British twin-engine four-seat touring aircraft built by Blackburn Aircraft.

The aircraft was designed by the racing driver (and world land speed record holder) Sir Henry Segrave as a twin-engine four-seat touring monoplane. A wooden prototype, designated Saro Segrave Meteor I was built by Saunders Roe at Cowes. The prototype (registered G-AAXP) first flew on 28 May 1930. Development was delayed by the death of the designer on 13 June 1930 in a speedboat accident. The aircraft was demonstrated in Rome to the Italian Air Ministry, and a licence agreement was signed to produce the aircraft as the Piaggio P.12, although only two appear to have been made. With lack of space at Cowes and with the decision to build a metal version, two aircraft were built by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough Aerodrome with the designation Blackburn CA.18 Segrave. Blackburn changed the designation system, and the aircraft became the Blackburn B.1 Segrave.

Despite sales tours around Europe, the aircraft was not ordered, and only one further example was built. This was completed by Blackburn as the Blackburn CA.20 Segrave II to test a new single-spar wing.

Aircraft

Segrave Meteor (registration G-AAXP)
After use as a demonstrator, it was in private use until withdrawn from use at Brough in 1932.
Segrave I (registration G-ABFP)
The first metal version was used by the British Air Navigation Company for cross-Channel charters, then sold for private use; scrapped at Brough in 1934.
Segrave I (registration G-ABFR)
Was used by the North Sea Aerial & General Transport Company until 1935, mainly as a ferry across the River Humber, when it was sold to British Air Transport at Redhill Aerodrome. It was withdrawn from use in 1938.
Segrave II (registration G-ACMI)
First flown 2 February 1934, it was used by Blackburn for trials, until it was dismantled at Brough in 1935. It was later presented to Loughborough College as an instructional airframe.
Piaggio P.12
Licensed version, two built.

Announced at the 1999 Paris Air Show, the Challenger 300 made its maiden flight on 14 August 2001, received its Canadian type approval on 31 May 2003 and was introduced on 8 January 2004. The Challenger 350 was approved on 11 June 2014. By December 2017, over 650 were delivered including over 200 Challenger 350.

The fuselage and the wing are semi-monocoque aluminum structures, the winglets are composite. Outboard ailerons are manually actuated, elevators and rudder are hydraulic with a mechanical backup, fly-by-wire spoilers augment roll control, act as speedbrakes and dump lift on the ground, hydraulic single-slotted fowler flap have four positions : 0/10/20/30°. The Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics include four LCD displays, an EICAS and Maintenance Diagnostics Computer, an EGPWS, a TCAS II and an ELT.

For more details of both models, click here.

The specifications below are for the mdel 350.