The Beechcraft Model 38P Lightning was an experimental pressurized turboprop aircraft that Beechcraft built and tested in the 1980s. It was created by fitting a Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-9 engine in the nose of a Baron 58P fuselage and joining that fuselage to the wing of a B36TC Bonanza instead of the Baron twin-engine wing, which gave a low-wing aircraft with six seats including the pilot. It first flew on 14 June 1982, and after more than a hundred flights the engine was replaced with a Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-40, the configuration that made its last flight on 8 August 1984. Beechcraft planned to put it into production, but a downturn among United States general aviation manufacturers led to the project being shelved, and deposits collected by dealers were returned.
Facts
Engine Class Comparison
Body StyleAircraft (no road body style) 1 Connections
Exemplifies
Source Beechcraft Lightning (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Beechcraft Lightning (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Beechcraft Lightning (Wikipedia)
History, first flight
The aircraft flew for the first time on June 14, 1982
Lead
was an experimental turboprop aircraft built and tested by Beechcraft in the 1980s
Specifications (Model 38P, PT6A engine)
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-40 turboprop
History, project shelved
led to the project being shelved shortly after the first flight with PT6A power
Lead, manufacturer
The Beechcraft Model 38P Lightning was an experimental turboprop aircraft built and tested by Beechcraft in the 1980s.
History
the economic downturn among general aviation manufacturers in the United States in the 1980s
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