Beechcraft Starship

what is it?

The Beechcraft Starship is an unorthodox twin-turboprop business aircraft designed and produced by Beech Aircraft Corporation. It is the first civil aircraft to feature an electronic flight instrument system as well as being one of the first to make extensive use of composite materials. The Starship originated in an effort to replace the Beechcraft King Air; development work commenced in 1979 as a relatively ambitious civil programme for the era.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 turboprops · 16.6 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 620 km/htop speed
• range 2,804 kmwithout refuelling
• size 6,759 kgmax take-off weight
• built 53made in total

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 40 years ago, in 1986.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 16.6 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 2,804 km: 16× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1986-02-15

number built

53

role

executive transport

makers

Beechcraft

engines

2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A

crew

1

length

14.1 m

wingspan

16.6 m

height

3.9 m

max take-off weight

6,759 kg

top speed

620 km/h

cruise speed

568 km/h

range

2,804 km

ceiling

12,500 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.