Beechcraft Queen Air 65 vs Cessna 421C Golden Eagle

Side-by-side specs, range, and operating costs.

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Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Beechcraft Queen Air 65
50.7 × 35.3 ft 14.2 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Unpressurized
Cessna 421C Golden Eagle
44.5 × 36.8 ft 11.5 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Pressurized

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Mission Performance

Stall, approach, cruise, range, ceiling and climb: best values are at the top.

Mission performance specifications
Specification Beechcraft Queen Air 65Cessna 421C Golden Eagle
Stall speed 86 kt
Approach speed 95 kt98 kt
Cruise speed 183 kt241 kt
Range 883 nm1197 nm
Service ceiling 27000 ft30200 ft
Rate of climb 1300 fpm1940 fpm
Fuel burn 36.9 gph47.0 gph

Each axis is scaled independently across the compared aircraft and printed in its own units; every vertex sits at the published figure. Higher is better on all axes: Stall, Approach and Fuel Burn are inverted (lower = higher). A missing figure breaks the line at that axis.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Beechcraft Queen Air 65 Avgas
36.9 gph
Baseline
883 nm range 5.0 nm/gal 178 gal usable $240 fuel/hr 4h 49m endurance
Beechcraft Queen Air 65: 36.9 gallons per hour at cruise, 883 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 49 minute endurance, 5.0 nautical miles per gallon.
Cessna 421C Golden Eagle Avgas
47.0 gph
Baseline
1,197 nm range 5.1 nm/gal 213 gal usable $306 fuel/hr 4h 31m endurance
Cessna 421C Golden Eagle: 47.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 1,197 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 31 minute endurance, 5.1 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
$465 /hr
Baseline
Beechcraft Queen Air 65: $465 per flight hour — fuel $240, maintenance and reserve $225.
$598 /hr
Baseline
Cessna 421C Golden Eagle: $598 per flight hour — fuel $306, maintenance and reserve $292.
$17,540 /yr Baseline
Beechcraft Queen Air 65: $17,540 per year — insurance $4,440, hangar $6,600, annual inspection $6,500.
$32,155 /yr Baseline
Cessna 421C Golden Eagle: $32,155 per year — insurance $16,000, hangar $9,600, annual inspection $6,555.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

lb

+ lb / pax

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Beechcraft Queen Air 65
9 / 9 seats 178 / 178 gal fuel 932 lb wet payload 2,000 lb useful 7,700 lb MTOW
Cessna 421C Golden Eagle
10 / 10 seats 213 / 213 gal fuel 922 lb wet payload 2,200 lb useful 7,450 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Payload-Range Map

Origin: · two fingers to move map

lb

+ lb / pax

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