Based upon the Twin Bonanza, with which it shared key components such as wings, engines, and tail surfaces, it had a larger fuselage, and served as the basis for the highly successful King Air series of turboprop aircraft.

The result was the Beech 65, the first of the Queen Air series, a twin-engined nine-seat low-wing cantilever cabin monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear.

It was initially powered by two 340 hp (250 kW) Lycoming IGSO-480 six-cylinder, horizontally opposed piston engines.

The prototype Beech 65 first flew on August 28, 1958, with the production model receiving a Federal Aviation Authority type certificate on February 4, 1959; initial deliveries were made soon after.

Fitted with short span (45 feet 10+1⁄2 inches (13.98 m)) wings and a straight unswept tail.

First flown on June 22, 1961, and certified on February 20, 1962,[6] it was powered by 380 hp (280 kW) Lycoming IGSO-540 and had a gross weight of 8,000 lb (3,600 kg).

[8] Introduced in 1966, the B80 became the final Queen Air and had by far the longest production run in the series, some 12 years.

Th Excalibur is an up-engined aftermarket modification to the 65 performed by supplemental type certificates (STC).

This eliminated the need for a gearbox or superchargers and their associated maintenance and potential reliability problems, at the expense of being limited to a cruising altitude below fifteen thousand feet.

The ownership of the pictured aircraft changed hands many times over the years, and was Bemidji Aviation, an operator of Excalibur Queen Airs as well as other charter and freight aircraft in the upper mid-west of the United States, at the time of the photo in 2011.

Production numbers of Beechcraft Queen Airs by variant:[1][2] Data from Janes's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77.