Beechcraft Model 2000 Starship

Business Passenger Pusher Aircraft [ 1989 ]

The futuristic Beechcraft M2000 Starship failed to make a market impression in sales - leading to little success for the project.

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The Beechcraft 2000 "Starship" was the bold initiative pushed by the company (with defense powerhouse Raytheon as its parent) to deliver a new, advanced business aircraft as a possible successor to its popular "King Air" series of twin-turboprop multi-role aircraft. The driving force behind the new design was enhanced performance with greater passenger-carrying capabilities. In early 1980, the futuristic aircraft emerged under project "PD330" and further work was handled through Scaled Composites who constructed the critical "Model 115", a 85% scale model to prove the design sound.

The resulting aircraft was a streamlined, eye-catching product with rear-set mainplanes (located aft of midships), pusher-prop arrangement, and canards (small-area foreplanes). The canards were of particular note for they were completed with a variable-geometry capability, able to changed their angle depending on phase of flight. The turboprop engines were another physical quality of note mainly due to their placement at the rear of the aircraft, along the trailing edge of the wing mainplanes, and driving propulsion forces rearwards ("pushing" the aircraft as opposed to "pulling" it). As such, no traditional vertical tail surface was featured - the mainplanes were capped with fins at their tips to compensate. Construction involved heavy reliance on carbon fiber composites, another advanced feature of this aircraft. A conventional retractable wheeled tricycle undercarriage was fitted for ground-running and the entire cabin was pressurized for higher altitude flight. The aircraft was given the Rockwell Collins AMS-850 series avionics set which became the first-ever Business aircraft application of an "all-glass", digitally-driven cockpit.

Power was from 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) PT6A-67A turboprop engines outputting 1,200 horsepower each used to drive five-bladed propeller units.

The proof-of-concept scale model by Scaled Composites, went to the air for the first time in August of 1983 as a bare bones offering lacking many of the key internal features planned for production-quality offerings. Beechcraft then followed with three full-sized prototypes for additional testing, these encompassing NC-1 (first-flight February 1986), NC-2, and NC-3. On April 25th, 1989, the first production-quality Model 2000 went airborne.

The initial production models were designated "Model 2000" and twenty were constructed including the three aforementioned prototypes. The "Model 2000A" followed as a finalized design form and included enhanced cabin noise reduction, removal of stall strips, and a slight reworking of the fuel system. The resulting variant was heavier than the original and was offered by the company as an upgrade kit.

The aircraft was crewed by two in a side-by-side cockpit seating arrangement aft of the well-sloped nosecone. Up to six passengers could be carried in comfort, offering all of the luxuries expected of a business industry hauler. Dimensions included an overall length of 46 feet, a wingspan of 54.5 feet, and a height of 12 feet. Empty weight was 10,085lb against a gross weight of 15,010lb. With its unique design and engine arrangement, the airframe could reach speeds of 353 miles-per-hour and range out to 1,742 miles. Landing speed was 112 mph.

In all, fifty-three examples were completed but sales proved hard to come by - just eleven were purchased in the first three years, forcing incentives such as leasing options to be presented by the company. Unfortunately for the Model 2000, the aircraft was too advanced for its own good, the features driving up development costs and creating a prohibitively expensive end-product as a time when the U.S. economy was slowing and a luxury tax was in place. The final Starship airframe was manufactured by the company in 1995.

A preserved example (Model 2000A variant, NC-49) of the Starship is on full display at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Others exist across the country and a limited set continue to fly.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Beechcraft - USA
Manufacturer(s)

United States
Operators

1989
Service Year

United States
National Origin

Active, Limited
Project Status

2
Crew

53
Units

COMMERCIAL AVIATION
Used in roles serving the commercial aviation market, ferrying both passengers and goods over range.

BIZJET
Used in roles serving the business aviation market, primarily VIP and regional travel.

MULTI-ENGINE
Incorporates two or more engines, enhancing survivability and / or performance.

PUSHER-PROP
Design incorporates rear-facing pusher-prop arrangement, a contrast to the more conventional puller-prop layout.

WINGLETS
Mainplanes capped with winglets, providing improved fuel efficiency and enhanced handling.

CANARDS
Small foreplanes ahead of the mainplanes reduce wing-loading and / or enhance maneuverability during high angle-of-attack or stall actions.

HIGH-SPEED PERFORMANCE
Can accelerate to higher speeds than average aircraft of its time.

HIGH-ALTITUDE PERFORMANCE
Can reach and operate at higher altitudes than average aircraft of its time.

EXTENDED RANGE PERFORMANCE
Capability to travel considerable distances through onboard fuel stores.

SUPER PERFORMANCE
Design covers the three all-important performance categories of speed, altitude, and range.

MARITIME OPERATION
Ability to operate over ocean in addition to surviving the special rigors of the maritime environment.

CREWSPACE PRESSURIZATION
Supports pressurization required at higher operating altitudes for crew survival.

ENCLOSED CREWSPACE(S)
Features partially- or wholly-enclosed crew workspaces.

RETRACTABLE UNDERCARRIAGE
Features retracting / retractable undercarriage to preserve aerodynamic efficiency.

46.1 ft
(14.05 meters)
Length

54.5 ft
(16.60 meters)
Width/Span

13.0 ft
(3.95 meters)
Height

10,086 lb
(4,575 kilograms)
Empty Weight

14,903 lb
(6,760 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

+4,817 lb
(+2,185 kg)
Weight Difference

monoplane / low-mounted / swept-back, w canards
Mainplane Arrangement

Monoplane
Design utilizes a single primary wing mainplane; this represents the most popular modern mainplane arrangement.

Low-Mounted
Mainplanes are low-mounted along the sides of the fuselage.

Swept-Back
The planform features wing sweep back along the leading edges of the mainplane, promoting higher operating speeds.

Swept-Back, with Canards
The planform features wing sweep back along the leading edges of the mainplane, promoting higher operating speeds, with added controlling provided through smaller foreplanes ('canards') seated ahead of the mainplanes.

2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) PT6A-67A turboprop engines developing 1,200 horsepower each driving five-bladed propeller units in pusher fashion.
Propulsion

385 mph
(620 kph | 335 knots)
Max Speed

353 mph
(568 kph | 307 knots)
Cruise Speed

+32 mph
(+52 kph | 28 knots)
Speed Difference

41,010 ft
(12,500 m | 8 miles)
Ceiling

1,743 miles
(2,805 km | 1,515 nm)
Range

2,748 ft/min
(838 m/min)
Rate-of-Climb

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

None.

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