Engineering:Beechcraft Duchess

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Short description: American light twin-engined airplane
Model 76 Duchess
N60244 1978 Beech 76 Duchess.jpg
A Beech 76 Duchess on final approach
Role Four-seat cabin monoplane
Manufacturer Beechcraft
First flight September 1974[1]
Introduction 1978[1]
Primary user Flight schools[1]
Produced 1978-1983
Number built 437
Developed from Beechcraft Sierra
US registered 1979 model Duchess
1979 model Duchess

The Beechcraft Model 76 Duchess is an American twin-engined monoplane built by Beechcraft intended partly as a low cost introduction to twin-engine aircraft.[1][2]

Development

Developed as Model PD289 (Preliminary Design 289), the prototype was unveiled on November 4, 1974, although it had first flown in September 1974.[1][3]:409–410 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.[1][4]

The first production version flew on 24 May 1977, and the name "Duchess" was chosen through a company competition.[1][3] Construction of the Duchess was set for a new factory built at the Liberal Division,[5] with deliveries beginning early in 1978.[3]:473

Production of the Duchess continued until 1983, with no significant changes.[6] A single example was tested with turbocharged engines in 1979, but did not proceed to production.[7]:56

Design

The Duchess is an all-metal low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear and a T-tail. It seats four.[8] The design used components and the bonded wing construction from Beechcraft's single-engined Musketeer line.[7]:55 The basic fuselage and wing structure was adapted from the Model 24 Sierra, a Musketeer variant with retractable landing gear, but the Sierra wing spar was redesigned to support the added weight of the engines.[9] Nose landing gear from the A36 Bonanza was used.[9]

The Model 76 incorporates right and left "handed" Lycoming O-360 engines that rotate in opposing directions to eliminate the critical engine during single engine operation.[10]

In 1979, a single example was converted to test the turbocharged versions of the engine. The cowlings were reshaped and the exhaust moved to accommodate the aft-mounted turbochargers.[7]:56

The Duchess wing is of aluminum honeycomb construction fastened by bonding, rather than rivets, to reduce cost and produce a smoother aerodynamic surface.[10]

T-tail

The use of a T-tail on the Model 76 met with mixed critical reception when the aircraft was introduced. Plane & Pilot pronounced: "Outstanding design characteristics of the new Duchess include an aerodynamically advantageous T-tail, which places the horizontal surfaces above the propeller slipstream for better stability and handling.",[10] while Gerald Foster said: "[Beechcraft's] interest in T-tails was perhaps an affectation triggered by their wide use on jet airliners".[11] AVweb wrote that Beechcraft adopted the T-tail after flight tests revealed that the initially used conventional horizontal stabilizer was too small and suffered from buffeting problems, increasing noise and vibration during flight; moving the horizontal stabilizer out of the propeller slipstream eliminated the buffeting and the need for enlargement while adding only 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of weight.[9] Additionally, the T-tail design moved the stabilizer rearward, increasing its effectiveness and giving the aircraft a broader center of gravity range.[9] The later Piper Seminole also adopted a T-tail.[9]

Variants

Model 76 Duchess
Four-seat, twin-engine (Lycoming O-360), low-winged trainer with bonded aluminum construction.
Model 76TC Duchess
Unofficial designation for single test aircraft using turbocharged Lycoming O-360.

Operators

The aircraft remains popular with flight training schools.

  • Beechcraft - Tested one Duchess to investigate its spin recovery characteristics in conjunction with NASA.[12]
  • National Test Pilot School - Operates one Duchess.[13]
  • Purdue University - Uses a Duchess modified with air sampling equipment as Airborne Laboratory Atmospheric Research (ALAR).[14]
  • Scaled Composites - Uses one Duchess as a test aircraft.[15][16]

Specifications

1976 model Duchess instrument panel

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81.[17]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 3 passengers
  • Length: 29 ft 0 1⁄2 in (8.852 m)
  • Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
  • Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
  • Wing area: 181 sq ft (16.8 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 7.973:1
  • Airfoil: NACA 632A415
  • Empty weight: 2,460 lb (1,116 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 3,900 lb (1,769 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 100 US gal (83 imp gal; 380 L)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming O-360-A1G6D air-cooled flat-four engines, 180 hp (130 kW) each
  • Propellers: 2-bladed Hartzell HC-M2YR-2C(L)EUF/F(J)C 7666A constant speed propellers

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 158 kn (182 mph, 293 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
  • Stall speed: 60 kn (69 mph, 110 km/h) power off, flaps down, IAS
  • Never exceed speed: 171 kn (197 mph, 317 km/h)
  • Range: 780 nmi (900 mi, 1,440 km) at 12,000 ft (3,700 m), econ cruise
  • Service ceiling: 19,650 ft (5,990 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1,248 ft/min (6.34 m/s)

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Green, William: Observers Aircraft, page 48. Frederick Warne Publishing, 1980. ISBN:0-7232-1604-5
  2. ↑ Collins, Richard L. (February 5, 2008). "What Happened to the Piston Twin?". Bonnier Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171007032608/https://www.flyingmag.com/what-happened-piston-twin. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 McDaniel, William H. (1982). The History of Beech: Fifty Years of Excellence. Wichita, Kansas: McCormick-Armstrong Co.. ISBN 0-911978-00-3. 
  4. ↑ Phillips, Edward (8 June 2017). "The "Baby Beechcraft" - Part Two". KingAir Magazine. http://www.kingairmagazine.com/article/2465/. 
  5. ↑ "To provide increased final assembly facilities". Aviation Week & Space Technology: 15. 20 December 1976. 
  6. ↑ "Beech Plans to Close Plant at Liberal, Kan.". Aviation Week & Space Technology: 27. 18 February 1985. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Phillips, Edward H. (1992). Beechcraft: Pursuit of Perfection (2nd ed.). Eagan, Minnesota: Flying Books. ISBN 0-911139-11-7. 
  8. ↑ Frawley, Gerard (2003). The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003-2004. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd. p. 41. ISBN 1-875671-58-7. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "Beechcraft Duchess". 5 August 2005. https://www.avweb.com/features/beechcraft-duchess/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Plane and Pilot: 1978 Aircraft Directory, page 84. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. ISBN:0-918312-00-0
  11. ↑ Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition, page 92. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. ISBN:0-395-62888-1
  12. ↑ Stowell, Rick (2007). The Light Airplane Pilot's Guide to Stall/spin Awareness: Featuring the PARE Spin Recovery Checklsit. Rich Stowell, Master CFI-A. p. 447. ISBN 9781879425439. 
  13. ↑ "Beech 76A Duchess". https://www.ntps.edu/aircraft/beech-76a-duchess.html. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
  14. ↑ "Army Instrumentation Facility: Airborne Laboratory Atmospheric Research (ALAR)". Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180324183013/http://jafci.chem.purdue.edu/projects/alar.html. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
  15. ↑ "Rutan Voyager". https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/rutan-voyager. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
  16. ↑ "Scaled Composites: SpaceShipOne". p. 3. https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/outreach/SignificantIncidents/assets/combined-white-knight---spaceshipone-flight-tests.pdf. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
  17. ↑ Taylor 1980, pp. 268–269.
  • Taylor, John W. R. (1980). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81. London: Jane's Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7106-0705-9. 

External links



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