1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Duke2: Brian Lynch Black Eagle ( talk )· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Beechcraft 60 Duke is an American-built twin-engine, piston-driven fixed-wing aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft has retractable tricycle landing gear and a pressurized cabin. The engines are turbocharged, which also pressurize the cabin with bleed air.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 12 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 60 years ago, in 1966.
- Top speed is 3.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 12 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 2,272 km: 13× Amsterdam to Brussels.
- Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1966-12-29
- introduced
- 1968
- number built
- 596
- role
- light aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Beechcraft
- engines
- 2× Lycoming TIO-541-E1C4
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 5
- length
- 10.3 m
- wingspan
- 12 m
- height
- 3.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,073 kg
- top speed
- 459 km/h
- cruise speed
- 330 km/h
- range
- 2,272 km
- ceiling
- 9,144 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q814001, Wikipedia: Beechcraft Duke (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.