RealAir - Turbine Duke v2 with Prepar3d V4

Introduction
Most of our readers will have heard of the B60 Duke, the piston engined light business twin class aircraft, and most will also have heard of RealAir, one of the premier flight sim developers, renowned for realism and quality. Match these two and you have an aircraft that meets expectations and quite rightly wins awards.

So why make another version of the same aircraft? Can there be that much difference? Well yes! Just on performance alone, look at the table below; This extra power extends the practical use of the aircraft to visit airfields not accessible to its piston-engined brother.

The version modeled here features the P &WC PT6A-35 engines producing 550 shp each, up from 380 shp from the Lycoming engines.

	Turbine Duke	Standard Duke
Engine model	P&W PT6A-35	Lycoming TSIO-541
TBO (Time Between Overhauls)	3,600 hrs	1,400 hrs
Passenger Seats	6	6
Length	33' 10"	33' 10"
Height	12' 4"	12' 4"
Wingspan	39' 9"	39' 9"
Max Take-Off Weight	7,050 lbs	7,000 lbs
Standard Empty Weight	4,650 lbs	5,000 lbs
Max Useful Load	2,400 lbs	2,000 lbs
Max Useable Fuel	260 gal	232 gal
Payload @ Max Fuel	750 lbs	608 lbs
Take-Off Runway	1000 ft	2,660 ft
Landing Runway	900 ft	3,000 ft
Max Climb Rate	4,000 ft/min	1,550 ft/min
Time to Climb (25,000 ft)	9 min	25 min
High Speed Cruise (29,000 ft)	290+ kts	240 kts
Fuel Flow	66 gph	56 gph
Max VFR Range (no wind)	1,100 nm	1,100 nm

Flying a turbine aircraft takes far more care and concentration, as balance of temperatures, torque levels and turbine rotation speeds is required to maintain a healthy engine, more later.

History
Beechcraft began design work on their new Model 60 in early 1965, with the first flight of the prototype occurring the following year. FAA certification was awarded on February 1 1968. Production ceased in 1982 mostly due to falling sales, complex engine management and high running costs.

The Duke sits between the Baron and Queen Air in size, performance and general capabilities, the Duke was a pioneer in the pressurised high performance light business twin class.