Бичкрафт Мускитер: Жеңіл Ұшақтар Отбасысы

Family of light single engine aircraft

The Beechcraft Musketeer is a family of single engined, low wing, light aircraft that was produced by Beechcraft. The line includes the Model 19 Musketeer Sport, the Model 23 Musketeer, Custom and Sundowner, the Model 23 24 Musketeer Super III the retractable gear Model 24R Sierra and the military CT 134 Musketeer. The Musketeer line was in production from model years 1963 to 1983, during which time a total of 4,366 were produced. The type certificate for the Musketeer family of aircraft has been owned by Hawker Beechcraft since March 26, 2007.

The first of the line was the Model 23. It was introduced under the "Musketeer" name as a 1963 model at an initial price of $13,300 and was powered by a Lycoming O 320 D2B engine of The next year this engine was replaced by the Continental IO 346 A engine of This engine was not a success and was in turn replaced by the Lycoming O 360 A4J engine of starting with the B23 Musketeer Custom of 1968. In 1970 the C23 version was introduced also under the name "Musketeer Custom". In 1972 the C23 was renamed the "Sundowner". When properly equipped, the B23 and C23 are approved for limited aerobatics.

The Canadian Forces purchased twenty four 1971 model B23 Musketeers, with the first CT 134 arriving at CFB Portage la Prairie on March 23, 1971. The initial batch of CT 134s was replaced in late 1981 with twenty four 1982 model Beechcraft C23 Sundowners, which were designated by the CF as CT 134A Musketeer II.

A significant difference between the Musketeer line and other similar light aircraft is the Musketeer's landing gear. While the competitive Cessna 172s use spring steel main gear, the Piper PA 28 Cherokees use oleo struts and the Grumman American AA 5s use fiberglass sprung main gear, the Musketeer family use a trailing idler link gear system with compressed rubber pucks for shock absorption. This gives the aircraft quite different landing characteristics compared to the competition; light touchdowns are often accompanied by the idler links skipping and producing a landing that is less graceful than anticipated. Nevertheless, with practice, smooth landings are easy to accomplish. As a result of this type of landing gear design, Beechcraft did not design or offer wheel fairings for the fixed gear models. Several aftermarket manufacturers have designed and tested wheel fairings for Musketeers.

During their production years the Musketeer family of aircraft were popular trainers and were used by many flying schools. Most Musketeers are now privately owned.