Baron 58

[Rowan]

Does any one have any information on this particular plane

[djschaut]

Rowan,
Yes, I do have information. I owned one. I'll send more when home from work.

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DJSchaut

[djschaut]

Rowan,

I owned a 1978 Baron 58P (pressurized). It is powered by twin turbocharged Continental 520 engines. You can check out its performance statistics at the risingup homepage.

This airplane had a cockpit door on the right, and a rear door behind the left wing. The non-pressurized Baron 58 models have double doors behind the right wing, similar to a Bonanza.

The operating cost will run you about $300 hour now for one of these birds, and their certified ceiling is at FL250. For performance below 10,000', the B-Barons or E-Barons are just as quick.

They are stable and a pleasure to fly, though a bit pricey for the name. As I've mentioned in previous postings, if you've ever flown in a Beech 1900 turboprop commuter, the Baron feels like a miniature model--or baby King Air. They are very stable in turbulence and a very stable instrument platform.

The gear operates quickly and is very sturdy. The left engine draws from the left wing tank and the right engine draws from the right, but you can cross-feed them if you want. It's a very simple and well-designed fuel system.

Most of the Beech 58 Barons have club seating. They are not a 'cabin class' airplane, and feel like a 'personal' twin. That is, the cockpit is separate from the back seats, where the kids or friends ride, and the plane is responsive to the pilot's needs directly--like a high performance single.

The Baron 58s have a rather large baggage comparment in the nose, accessible from the right, and a radar cone at the nose. They are very comfortable for long trips, though their range is about 4hrs with instrument reserves at altitude.

The non-turbo Barons are every bit as fast as the turbo models at the lower altitudes, and likely make it closer to TBO. The turbo-Barons, if flown up high, don't make it to TBO.

These are fast planes, but you can slow them down by extending the landing gear at 167kts indicated. Above FL200, this would be at about 200kts true.

They can be slightly noisy from the prop wash, as any twin can. Though I didn't have them, noise cancelling headsets would be best. They stay warm, though, and there is good avionics cooling.

Although people like the LCD King Avionics, the older models may have Collins Nav-Coms. I liked the Collins, though Garmins and other GPS units are now in vogue. The Collins were very sturdy and required no maintenance while I had my plane. I didn't use the radar enough to really understand it.

The 58s gross out at over 6000lbs., so it's a heavy bird. They have a lot of get up and go, so there usually isn't a problem at maximum weights.

The B-Barons are popular twins for multi-engine training. A very fast Baron was the A-56TC, which was equipped with two 380hp Lycoming engines--like the Dukes have. They only made them for a few years, though.

They still make the 58 models, and you can likely log onto Raytheon and look at them. They run about $1M.

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DJSchaut