New Aircraft Quiz #17

1. Name an American-designed fixed gear aircraft that offered as a priced option for training purposes an installed, simulated landing gear retraction and extension lever. I will require the exact full make/model designator of the version offering this optional feature.

2. A., 2. B., 2. C. Describe three unusual features of/about this aircraft's construction. Acceptable will be two out of the three as the third might be less than apparent.

This aircraft was designed and built for the light, single engine market, but spawned something more.

3. For bonus, name that spawned offspring make and exact model name/number.

No other clues will be provided. Good luck in your answer searches. I appreciate your continued interest in these quizzes.

Gosh, John-I am not sure what your response has to do with the quiz question.

The term SR2x is used by COPA, the Cirrus Owners & Pilot's Association to refer to any past or current production model Cirrus aircraft. It is not a Cirrus aircraft model nomenclature, of which there are several for the SR22- models.

The Cirrus CAPS system you refer to is a ballistic-deployable parachute airframe recovery system intended to save occupants' lives. It is not the optional landing gear retraction and extension simulation system offered in a production aircraft that the quiz asks for.

My question is about something totally different- an optional landing gear lever system on the instrument panel used to practice simulated landing gear retraction and extension; in the airport takeoff and landing pattern while a student is under dual instruction in a fixed gear aircraft. This simulator may help a student transition to flying a complex retractable-gear aircraft without the possibility of a gear up landing accident. Ergo, your listed unusual features of an aircraft construction also do not apply to the quiz question. And, I don't consider this response as another clue-just an explanation of the requested questions. Please reread the terms of the quiz, and do try again.

With over 500 views and no right answers, here are the answers, which may surprise you.

I. Beech A23 MUSKETEER II introduced in 1964 model year.

2.A. All three trailing link landing gear are interchangeable.

2.B. The wing uses honeycomb ribs with bonded smooth airfoil aluminum skin without rivets.

2.C. An oddball Lycoming IO-346 fuel-injected four cylinder engine of 165 Hp at 2,700 rpm was used, derived from a six-cylinder Lycoming engine block. This problematic engine ran hot in the Beech installation, downing at least two MUSKEETER aircraft that I personally am aware of in SoCal in the late 1960s. To my knowledge, this engine never was used in any other production aircraft.

An alternate answer 2.C. could be that an entirely new plant was built in Liberal, Kansas by Beech that began manufacturing operations exclusively for the MUSKETEER series in June, 1964 for production of the Beech A23, A23A and A23-24 models.

Beech also offered an optional left side door in these models, in addition to the right side door, which was unusual for low priced four seat aircraft at the time. Because of the size, construction and usual Beech quality of these models, they were heavier than comparably powered Piper low-wing Cherokee series aircraft and were not good performing aircraft with four seats occupied. The optional dummy practice landing gear lever of the quiz question was probably not often selected for installation.

Incidentally, I met John Elliott, Beech's chief project engineer on the Model 23 MUSKETEER series in the Summer of 1966 in Minnesota at Lake Elmo Airport during a Sunday demonstration sales trip of his. He subsequently left Beech and formed Elliott Aviation. I had flown over in a Piper Cherokee from Anoka County Airport.

3. Bonus answer. The Beech MUSKETEER series evolved into retractable gear models and the Beech SIERRA of the MUSKETEER series spawned the Beech model 76 DUCHESS twin engine trainer that used a SIERRA fuselage, bonded honeycomb wings and shared structural components. The Model 76 DUCHESS heralded a new class of light twin engine trainers including the Grumman/Gulfstream American GA-7 COUGAR and Piper PA-44 SEMINOLE.

The Duchesses were also built at Beech's Liberal, Kansas facility because of the common technology.

The MUSKETEER line introduced bonded honeycomb rib rivetless wing construction to light aircraft from Beech's experience building truss-grid honeycomb core material control surfaces for the Convair F-106 jet fighter.