[2] The type certificate for the Musketeer family of aircraft has been owned by Hawker Beechcraft since March 26, 2007.

It was introduced under the "Musketeer" name as a 1963 model at an initial price of $13,300 and was powered by a Lycoming O-320-D2B engine of 160 bhp (120 kW).

The Super Musketeer typically has a useful load of 1050 to 1080 pounds – giving it one of the highest payloads of four-cylinder, fixed gear, simple single-engined aircraft available.

One of the few weaknesses of the Model 23-24 was that it had a simple heat distribution system that provided warm air via the firewall to the area under the instrument panel only.

Later aircraft featured increasingly better ducting designs that provided heat to all four seating positions.

In the last few airframes of the series a new instrument panel with the same "vertical tape" gauges that were used in the early Sierras was introduced.

The Model 24R completed the Beech line between the fixed gear Musketeers and the much larger, faster, more complex and expensive Beechcraft Bonanza.

1974 saw the introduction of the improved B24R Sierra powered by the Lycoming IO-360-A1B6 engine and new propeller variant as a 1974 model year.

Sierra production ended at the same time as the Model 23 Sundowner assembly line was closed up, during the aviation economic downturn of 1983.

[5] The Canadian Forces purchased twenty-four 1971 model B23 Musketeers, with the first CT-134 arriving at CFB Portage la Prairie on March 23, 1971.

The initial batch of CT-134s was replaced in late 1981 with twenty-four 1982 model Beechcraft C23 Sundowners, which were designated by the CF as CT-134A Musketeer II.

[8] During their production years the Musketeer family of aircraft were popular trainers and were used by many flying schools.