Is This Better Than A Cessna? In Depth Review of the Beechcraft Musketeer - Part 2/2

[@williamdecker5238]

You are very thorough in ur description of flying ur aircraft. Im glad u take flying seriously,but at the same time enjoy flying

[@tomi6261]

I own a 1976 B-19 Sport that originally came with the the O-320 150HP engine. When the engine needed overhaul, I hired a DER and we used pre-approved data to install a 180hp O-360. My bird is now referred to as a "Sport 180". She blows away most 172's and Cherokees on our field. Cruises at about 117kts, roomier with two doors, and now with the O-360, max TO weight is increased to 2450lbs so she has a 940lb useful load. I will never understand why people overlook these planes.

[@scrawnylonjohn]

As a owner of a B-19 with the O-320, let me just say how incredibly jealous I am for you to be flying that rocket ship.

[@tomi6261]

@@scrawnylonjohn 🤣

[@kalvinwinder]

@@tomi6261 that sounds fantastic! Maybe if I still have the plane once it needs overhaul, I’ll consider engine swapping instead of rebuilding the O-320. Mine had a prop strike in the early 80’s, and was converted to the 160hp O-320. Not much more than the original, but I’ll take every ounce of performance I can get especially with my home airport elevation being 5500’ MSL. Do you by chance have the STC number for the 180hp conversion?

[@tomi6261]

@@kalvinwinder In 1976, Beechcraft converted approx 24 B-19's to 180hp for a flight school in Illinois. Unfortunately, they did not create an STC. It was more of a "one time" thing. I just happen to have a friend who owns one of these factory converted planes. So I then hired a DER to create a Data Package for my airframe using the "pre-approved data" from my friends plane. Now, my plane is essentially a C-23 Sundowner without the third row windows and cargo door.

[@twest344]

Watched 2 minutes and I'm already commenting...I've noticed that 1) GoPros really smooth out buffeting and turbulence so the video stays smooth while IRL you might be bouncing around 2) as you say, the stall warning cannot be heard in the audio. I did a short video about flying right at my personal minimums, I almost didn't publish it because while in reality I was bouncing all over, the GoPro footage made it look like no big deal. Oh, and to pile on, I've heard about some musketeer pilots putting about 25 lbs of weight in the baggage compartment if you are worried about being nose heavy, although it seems to fly fine as is.

[@kalvinwinder]

I’ve noticed the same thing, everything seems a lot less eventful on camera. I’ve heard of people putting cases of water in the baggage compartment to move the cg more aft. Only problem is the earlier Musketeers, which I have, don’t have a baggage compartment, so the furthest aft you can add weight is the rear seat. But, I honestly haven’t found the forward cg to be an issue at all, the plane flies like an absolute treat. Thanks for tuning in once again!

[@DirkLarien]

Neat little bird. Prices are especially interesting. BTW you had it right with the pitch stability. But wrong with roll. It is not called inverse stable but simply unstable. And what you are demonstrating is static instability. Static means the first reaction. Does it want to correct or its first reaction is make it worse, Yes? = statically stable, No? = Statically unstable. Static stability is prerequisite for dynamic to be even considered. So if It wants to correct the upset, Does it correct and dampen the oscillation *with time* ? Or does it over-correct and in time makes the oscillations stronger? Yes, dampen = statically and dynamically stable. No, it over-corrects = statically stable but dynamically unstable. Still thank you for the plane demonstration.

[@minnesnowtan9970]

Yesterday some flight school guy told me that Sundowners had wing delamination problems because they were glued and not riveted. Anything to that? And they are a piper place.

[@kalvinwinder]

I’m not sure where they got the information from, I haven’t heard that before. I believe some portions are glued, like the outer wing ribs to the forward portion of the skin, however all the critical portions that could become a serious safety issue are covered in rivets. Granted, it could be different for the sundowner, but that’s beyond my scope of knowledge. Unlike the piper, they do not have a wingspar AD

[@minnesnowtan9970]

@@kalvinwinder Thank you! I forgot about the Piper spar AD. He also told me that instructor rates went from 90 to 110 if I had my own plane because they had to add my plane to their insurance. Another school adds 5 or 10 to instructor rate for having own plane. The guy is not honest.

[@kalvinwinder]

@@minnesnowtan9970 that’s interesting, I’ve never heard of learning in a privately owned aircraft while the instructor is still associated with a specific flight school. I thought by that point it’s essentially just a private instructor situation. My instructor rates were $10 more the one time I flew with him outside of the flight school. Are those rates similar to all the schools in your area? 90 seems very high for instruction. I’m used to seeing rates in the 50-60 range

[@kmslegal7808]

I heard that's a problem on some Grumman planes (Tiger, Cheetah etc)

[@jameshilaire6846]

I think Beech put on a landing gear designed for a bomber on purpose! So it would not fly faster ! That is where all the drag is!!

[@rajanyt7343]

bruh you look like Georgie Cooper from young sheldon show

[@scholes481]

Hello

[@Dan-cn3ei]

I few all the little Beech Craft nice big cockpit but hopeless underpowered.

[@kalvinwinder]

They fly terrific but definitely not power houses. I wouldn't say they're hopelessly underpowered, but a little more would be nice. Highest I've had mine was 12,300msl with 2 people on board and half tanks and it was still climbing at 200fpm. Not much performance, but still some left to work with.

[@eddorman6015]

Junk..Landing gear junk..underpowered as well

[@kalvinwinder]

It could definitely use more power, but for training and normal flight operations it’s more than plenty. The gear are controversial since they have rubber disks instead of oleo struts. As an aircraft owner, I personally like the rubber disks since they require little to no maintenance even though the suspension is a bit stiff. And since it’s a Beechcraft, it’s built like a tank so the airframe is super solid.

[@sparkie951]

@@kalvinwinder Rubber Disks are great... And they never leak and last a heck of a lot longer than an Oleo Strut vs the Doughnuts (Rubber Disks).

[@avstlbeatz]

​@@kalvinwinderare there any performance enhancements or speed mods available for the musketeer?

[@kalvinwinder]

@@avstlbeatz There are mods like vortex generators and high lift wingtips available to help slow speed handling. The only climb/cruise performance increasing mod I can think of would be the powerflow exhaust. They claim it increases hp by 20-30 and climb performance by 100fpm, all while using 1gph less fuel. However this comes at a heavy price tag of $6k+ so it's highly unlikely I'll ever install one. The beechcraft sundowner is the same as the musketeer but has a 180hp power system, and I believe you can also get them in 200hp+ configurations, though I haven't looked too far into it. The next step beyond that is the Beechcraft sierra, which is the same basic airframe as the mouse and sundowner, but with retractable gear and most have constant speed props.

[@avstlbeatz]

@@kalvinwinder that sounds like some options I could possibly look into the way it's going now I'm leaning more towards the beechcraft musketeer (40k) it's more economical than the piper arrow 55k, and Mooney m20c ( 53k )I'm looking at ..I have eliminated the Cherokee 140 and c-172 so far.... maybe I can find a sundowner in price range .who knows in this market

[@Pilotc180]

To compare a Beech Mouseketeer to Cessna is like comparing a Kia to a Bentley

[@kalvinwinder]

I’m not sure which is the Kia and which is the bentley in your analogy, though everyone has their preferences

[@RustyClam]

Hey, I like my Kia. But no matter how fast I get going I can’t get it off the ground.

[@MikeM275]

A bit of exaggeration don't you think? lol. How bout this...To compare a Beech Mouseketeer to Cessna is like comparing a 1974 Mustang II to a 1985 Mustang GT. The GT is better...but a layman wouldn't much know it....😊

[@kalvinwinder]

@@MikeM275 I’d say it’s like comparing a golf gti to a ford focus st. (I’m definitely not biased to the gti at all…) Basically the same thing with the same capabilities so it really comes down to personal preference. And I find it hilarious that I still don’t know which car refers to which plane. For comedic effect, let’s see how long we can go without clarifying. Thanks for tuning in guys!

[@MikeM275]

@@kalvinwinder Chevy Cavalier to a Ford Taurus? Could go on all day.....😅