THE BEECHCRAFT BARON
The brochure states that the Baron is for those who love to fly and that it gives you the cabin, capability and confidence to go anywhere, anytime. Sounds good to me.
The Baron seats six in relative comfort and has a cruising speed of 200 knots (230 mph). With twin engines, it can attain a maximum altitude of 20,000' with a range of 1500 nautical miles (1725 statute miles). They have been manufacturing the Baron since the 1950's and have continued to improve it over time. It is a very nice airplane.
Ours is a 1999 Baron 58 with tons of neat avionics to make flying easier and more fun. It actually has better avionics than the Boeing 727s I flew in the airlines.
There is a screen that shows us where every other airplane around us is located, including their altitude above or below us, and it warns us if they are getting too close. An integrated GPS shows our position on the screen with a color map of the entire area. We never have an excuse to be lost. There is even a weather data link that overlays on the same screen the same weather picture you see on TV. And even air conditioning!
She is truly a joy to fly. However, maybe the best part is that you don't have to go through airport security or transfer through Atlanta.
