Beechcraft Lightning

The Beechcraft Model 38P Lightning was an experimental turboprop aircraft built and tested by Beechcraft (now a division of Hawker Beechcraft) in the 1980s.

History

The Model 38P (Pressurized) (also known as the model PD.336) was created by installing a Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-9 engine in the nose of a Beechcraft Baron 58P fuselage, which was mated to a Beechcraft A36TC Bonanza wing in place of the Baron's wing with two engines.^[1] This resulted in a low-wing aircraft with six seats including the pilot's. The aircraft flew for the first time on 14 June 1982.^[1] After 133 flights over almost 18 months the aircraft was temporarily grounded so that the TPE331 could be removed and a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-40 engine fitted in its place.^[1] The aircraft flew in this configuration for the first time on 9 March 1984 and the last flight was on 8 August the same year.^[1] Beechcraft originally planned to put the Lightning into production but the economic downturn among general aviation manufacturers in the United States in the 1980s led to the project being shelved^[2] shortly after the first flight with PT6A power.^[1]

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Piper Malibu Meridian
• Socata TBM
  

References