Beecraft Queen Bee

Beecraft Queen Bee
The Queen Bee in flight
Role	Four-seat cabin monoplane
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Bee Aviation Associates
Designer	William S. Chana, Ken S. Coward
First flight	1960
Number built	1

The Beecraft Queen Bee was an American V-tailed four-seat cabin monoplane, designed and built by Bee Aviation Associates (Beecraft). ^[1]

Development

The Queen Bee was an all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane powered by a Lycoming O-320-A1A flat-four piston engine. ^[1] It had a V-tail and an electrically retractable tricycle landing gear. ^[1] The canopy shared a similar shape to the Ryan Navion. The wings were outfitted with fiberglass tip tanks. A 180 hp Lycoming O-360-A-1-A was planned as an optional engine. ^[2]

Only a prototype was built and the aircraft did not enter production. The Queen Bee prototype was destroyed when the original San Diego Aerospace Museum burned down in 1978. ^[3]

Specifications

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62 ^[4]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 3 passengers
• Length: 21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
• Wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
• Height: 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m)
• Wing area: 130 sq ft (12 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,190 lb (540 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,150 lb (975 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-320-A1A flat-four piston engine, 180 hp (130 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed Hartzell Model HC-82XG-1B

Performance

• Cruise speed: 155 mph (249 km/h, 135 kn)
• Stall speed: 55 mph (89 km/h, 48 kn)
• Never exceed speed: 193 mph (311 km/h, 168 kn)
• Range: 650 mi (1,050 km, 560 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
• Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)

References

Notes

1. Orbis 1985, p. 516
2. Sport Aviation. April 1960.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. "American airplanes:Ba - Bll". www.aerofiles.com. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
4. Taylor 1961, p. 205.

Bibliography

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
• Taylor, John W. R. (1961). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company.