Beechcraft Sierra 24

Piston single engine • Low Wing • Retractable gear

Range Map

Origin:

• nm at current load

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Payload vs. Range

Configure weights

Occupants

lb + lbs / pax

Select payload

gal

Fuel on board

lbs

Extra weight

Range

Available Range / nm

Mission capable. Aircraft can handle the current load with full fuel tanks.

Fuel capacity reduced by gallons ( gal usable for nm range).

Over max gross weight. Reduce payload by lbs to safely operate this aircraft.

Extra weight is the additional payload available with your selected passengers.

Mission Profile

Used market

131

KTAS

Cruise Speed

647

Max Range

14,350

Service Ceiling

Occupants

700

lbs

Wet Payload

Endorsements & ratings:

Complex

Estimated Ownership Costs

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About the Beechcraft Sierra 24

Type certificated 1976 Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet

Overview

The Beechcraft Sierra (Model C24R) is the retractable-gear, 200-horsepower top of the Musketeer family, certified in 1976 with a fuel-injected Lycoming IO-360, a constant-speed propeller, and up to six seats. It is the complex, cabin-class member of the line, the step up for a pilot who trained in a Sundowner or Sport and wants retractable time without leaving the wide Beech cabin behind.

The Sierra is for the buyer who values cabin volume and useful load over speed in the retractable-single class. It cruises around 131 knots, slower than a Piper Arrow or a Mooney on the same horsepower because the airframe carries more frontal area, and while certified for six it is realistically a four-adult airplane once fuel and bags are aboard. The pilot who picks it is choosing room, the trailing-link gear, and Beech build quality, and accepting that an Arrow or Mooney would get there sooner on the same fuel; the pilot who shops the class on speed will look elsewhere.

Key Features for GA Buyers

Wide cabin for the class. The Sierra brings the family’s 44-inch cabin and two doors to the 200-horsepower retractable bracket, with a baggage door on later models.
Useful load. Often over 1,000 pounds, enough to make the four seats genuinely usable with fuel aboard.
Trailing-link main gear. The rubber-disc main gear tolerates imperfect landings, an asset for a pilot new to retractables.
Shared handling with fixed-gear siblings. Handling carries over directly from the Sundowner and Sport, which removes one variable for a pilot new to complex airplanes.

Trade-offs

Slower than its rivals. At about 131 knots it trails the Arrow and Mooney on equal power; the wide cabin costs cruise speed.
Complex-airplane costs. Retractable gear and the constant-speed propeller raise maintenance and insurance above the fixed-gear siblings, and add a pilot endorsement.
Six seats with an asterisk. The aft seats suit children or bags more than adults once the tanks are full.
Modest ceiling. A service ceiling near 14,000 feet limits high-and-hot performance.

Base model

Beechcraft Sundowner 23

Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Height: 8.4 ft
Length: 25.75 ft
Parking area (ft²): 1314.56 ft²

Max Takeoff Weight: Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 2,750 lbs
Max Landing Weight: 2,750 lbs
Useful Load: 1,054 lbs
Fuel Capacity: Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 59 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed: 131 KTAS
Never-Exceed (V_NE): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 168 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (V_NO): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 144 KIAS
Approach Speed: 75 KIAS
Stall, Clean (V_S₁): Source: third-party reference 65 KIAS
Range: 647 NM
Service Ceiling: 14,350 ft
Rate of Climb: 891 fpm
Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle: 1,630 ft
Landing ground roll: 1,462 ft

Engine

Sources

Where the figures on this page come from. Beechcraft Sierra 24 specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.