Beech 50 Twin Bonanza
This twin piston airplane is called Twin Bonanza, but it has less in common with the true Beechcraft Bonanza than the later model 95 Travelair. The Beech 50 was the first Beechcraft plane to have the straight wings with a slightly swept leading edge outside of the engine nacelles. The latter are rather big for this size of airplane, at least for the original horizontally opposed piston engines. The gear is also quite similar as is used on the King Air 90 series that was produced until recently. Typical is that the main gear wheels are inside the gear leg. This main gear retracts forward in the nacelles, but leaves out a part of the wheels when retracted. Hence, the gear doors have a cut-out. The single wheel nose gear is placed at the front of the fuselage and is slightly tilted forward. The Twin Binanza furthermore has a straight, non-swept vertical stabiliser.
Different versions
The different versions of the Beech Twin Bonanza can be distinguished by:
- the number of cabin windows
- the shape of the cabin windows
- the shape of the engine nacelles
Details will follow later.
Confusion possible with
Cessna 310
The straight tail and forward tilted nose gear at the very front of the fuselage are similar in appearance on the Cessna 310 as on the Beech 50. However, the 310's main gear retracts sideways in the wings. Additionally, the Cessna 310 always has tip tanks.
Beech 95 Travelair/Baron
The straight tail Travelair (and to a lesser extend swept fin Baron) is smaller in size and appearance than the Twin Bonanza. They have a longer nose, so the nose gear not as far forward as on the Beech 50. The most important external difference is the shape of the main gear doors however, as those of the Beech have a typical triangular shape. Additionally, the main gear retracts sideways in the wings.
Piper PA-23 Apache
Piper's first piston twin, the PA-23 Apache, looks quite similar to the Beech Twin Bonanza, with its short nose and nose gear close to the tip, retracting rearward, and rather large nacelles. Moreover, the PA-23's main gear retracts forward in the nacelles. The vertical stabiliser is a non-swept trapezoid with a rounded top however.
Piper PA-34 Seneca
Another twin prop Piper aircraft in the same class but more modern is the Seneca. This always has a swept vertical fin and long nose, in which the nose gear retracts forward. The Piper has small cabin windows with rounded corners, somewhat like on the Beech 50.