#17 1978 Baron B55 For Sale - Quick Test Flight to Oxnard and Back 

Agree - your estimates pretty close. Really like this airplane as well - we sold and set to close soon. We do have another 55 we’re working on getting on the market.

@@FlyingwithRich congrats on the sale. I hope something this nice in this price range turns up when I really start looking. I would like to come by there if I ever have a Long Beach overnight.

Just let us know when!

There will ALWAYS be unexpected MX expenses with the first annual of a new-to-you plane. Not good if you’re already financed to the hilt…

Only a legit crazy person would by a Barron these days.

@El Sucio Federali No but he had his license since he was 16, hes 64 now. Lots of hours, we flew it between the central valley and bay area.

@@TacticalPortugee Same story. My dad was a Central Valley boy, pilot at 16. We flew all over the West in his Baron. It was my favorite of all the planes he owned. Good times!

Can you find out why he sold it? This example looks like it’s been amazingly well cared for, most older planes with original cockpits are worn down and beat up, they look all raggedy with the steam gauge dashboards. This one at least from this video looks new like a museum piece.

@@wayneco He needed more cargo capacity so we got a 421 after

I flew this exact plane yesterday.

That's really cool! Always love to hear from previous owners. She still flies great to this day and looks very good.

Me too, also one of my aviation movie classics . Should be remade as well as the original one from 1969. Did you know that Airport ‘75 Baron( N232Z..movie number)was actually involved in a real midair in CA a few years later near SCK, with a C180. Sadly, sometimes, you can’t escape irony.

@@B1970T Interesting - that's definitely a sad coincidence.

Couldn't agree more!

Very nice story and thank you for watching! :)

It is a sweet old Baron - a real pleasure to fly. Thanks for watching!

This plane has a radar.

Really liked that airplane!

Such a pleasure to fly too!

Thank you - glad you enjoy the videos.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thanks for watching!

Thanks!

Agree this is a great 55 Baron - would be a lot of fun to upgrade the panel! Thanks for watching!

Glad it brought back some memories! Thanks for the comment!

Me too!

Thanks - come out and fly with me!

Thanks a lot! That means a lot to us! More to come soon!

Thank you.

I prefer the Baron as well. Thanks for watching!

Me too!

Please fly safe and be safe with this Global Virus Problem.

👍

@@FlyingwithRich You are welcome. Fly safe always.

Thank you!

Nice take off. I can't wait to start my training

When are engines susceptible to failures? Power changes or wide varies of internal temperature changes. Being smooth with power changes with reciprocated engines will definitely lower the risk factor. I see guys slam the the throttle levers all the way forward with no transition time....your asking your power plant to eventually fail

Centerline is reserved for professionals!

Thank you!

I sure love the 55 Barons!

Thanks for watching!

It was great while it lasted!

Barons always bring the smiles!

I love the 310s - especially the way the early ones look. One of the planes I would like to restore to original condition one day. Thanks for watching!

@@FlyingwithRich Me too! Straight tails and canted nose gear. I do hear occasional bummer stories about collapsed nose gear…

Me too!

It’s in great condition - video probably makes it look a little better than reality. Thanks for watching!

Yes it is! Thanks for watching!

I think you could spend that much but he more I fly that airplane, the more I think I would leave it alone. Maybe a few upgrades - thanks for watching!

The weather looked worse than it was but some really pretty clouds. It was a great flight. Thanks for watching!

Interesting - thanks for message!

I have flown the Travelair- seems like there are a couple schools who use them for training - where did you get your multi?

@@FlyingwithRich Above All Aviation in Santa Barbara.

Very nice! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks a lot and all the best for your flight training.

Will do!

Haha I agree! The Baron is listed for $143,900 on Controller!

@@FlyingwithRich thanks...I hope your not associated with Tom’s there at Long. beach. They lost me years ago when they didn’t work in my airplane when I was out of town and I came back to find nothing done. When I asked they said “they didn’t want to work in it”. (Fuel Cell replacement). I guess I didn’t have a expensive enough plane for them. I never spent another dollar there. I wasn’t a big dollar customer but I ordered all my Cessna parts through them. Hope they are out of business. I go back to Rainbow Air where I learned to fly and Foley’s where I kept our Cessna. Been several years since I’ve been to LGB.

I believe that in 1975 they greatly simplified the fuel system, no real fuel management except you have to make sure you have some. Big plus. Fuelers are often looking for the extra fuel caps but there is only 1 per wing. You can load 6 passengers but not with full fuel (136 usable). Better make sure 5th and 6th seats have little tiny kids or a lot less fuel than topped off. Useful load is north of 1500 lbs but with full fuel youre left with about 700 lbs. 3 fat guys and full fuel and you’re at max weight. Then you have to make sure you’re in the weight and balance envelope. Easy with ForeFlight set up right. It can get dicey at max weight. I flew my 78 Baron from ABQ to ca central coast at 2150 or 2200 and pumped 93 gallons on arrival so I had 43 gallons left. Yes, it took an extra 30 or 40 minutes but I didn’t have to land for gas enroute. I think the trip was 4.5 hours, 725 nm ish. When I did the math I used about 21 gph. Great airplane, very stable and easy to fly. As with all light twins, stay away from Vmc. Lots of dead guys out there after messing with that for the sake of training. Rotate at 84 kts, positive rate gear up, and accelerate to blueline 99 kts. Only takes a few seconds.

Agree. Love the Barons!

Thanks a lot for the info! Our editor is trying to cap low frequencies as much as possible but we weren't aware of the song causing uncomfortably low frequencies! Really appreciate it! Thanks!

Don’t recall - normally would run at 24RPM and 24”. Thanks for watching.

Good catch. It’s an old EDM and I noticed it was erratic too. Not worth trying to fix it - lots of better options to upgrade. Thanks for watching.

Yes it is. Thanks for watching!

Send me the info.

Sorry the listing is not online yet. I will post the link here for you once it's online! Thanks for watching!

@@FlyingwithRich thanks. Although if I had the money I’d take the 340 u have over this.

It is a NorthStar M1 Loran - the message not the screen reads, "NO POSITION INFO AT ALL"

@@FlyingwithRich Yes, I know them well. We had one in our Cardinal from 1987 until 2019 when it was removed during our ADS-B upgrade, along with DME and ADF. Of course, LORAN-C has been OTS since 2009. It now rests in repose in a cardboard box in our hangar because we can't bear to junk it. "NO POSITION INFO AT ALL" is what it displays after it's given up searching for LORAN stations....before that the left display shows "NOT READY YET" and the right alternates between "WESTERN U.S." (the installed database) and "SEARCH: GRI 9940" which was the West Coast station chain: Fallon NV, George WA , Middletown CA and Searchlight NV - see +01:51

Makes for good decorations - I love old avionics! Thanks for watching!

@@FlyingwithRich Nostalgia is all well and good, but I love flying with our two-year-old GTN750 in our 1977 model C-177B. We have a project laid on to replace the vacuum gyros with GI275s and this means replacing the "Nav-O-Matic" single axis analog autopilot. Your remarks about having a good autopilot like the KFC150 are appreciated; I've never flown with a good A/P but hope to have a GFC500 in the stack soon. Flying clubs are a great way to go; we have ten pilots sharing the Cardinal and it's kept in great condition.

Enjoy your training - thanks for watching!

There are no accidents, the algorithm knows everything about you lol

Sorry the listing is not online yet. I will post the link here for you once it's online! Thanks for watching!

In cruise more like 12 gph. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching!

Per side at the altitude we were at.

@@FlyingwithRich thanks for the quick reply. I figured it was per side, if you had told me total I would be adding a b55 to the list of planes I'm considering 😂

Mini iPad. Thanks for watching!

@@FlyingwithRich Thanks

15 gph per engine!

Way behind. It’s not up yet. E-mail me and I’ll send you specs & more pics.

Don't really have a law away program! Thanks for watching!

Strong!

Nice airplane - thanks for watching!

I would probably buy a Citation Mustang for travel. In my opinion, one of, if not the best value in GA when you consider what you get for the money & cost to operate. If just for fun, short trips and some back country flying - Cessna 185. Thanks for watching!

How about you?

@@FlyingwithRich For domestic, cross country travel, I would love to have a phenom 300.. For shorter missions, the cirrus sr22T really appeals to me.. it’s like the BMW m3 of the sky lol. Thanks for replying, keep up the good work!

Gabe, I hope you don’t mind me chiming in! If I won the lotto, I’d buy either a PC-12 or a TBM 940. While I love jets and in fact worked for three years as a Citation II and V instructor for FSI, I’m not a high time pilot like Rich and probably you are. I recently read the entire POH on the Citation Mustang and loved its new features, etc. I’d have to fly the turboprops for awhile to get more experience before buying a Mustang (which I would love to do).

@@rfresh1011 I like the TBMs..They are sleek, fast and quite efficient when comparing to light jets.

I like the Baron better, smaller cockpit but overall I’d take the Baron.

Comparing a Baron to a Seneca is like comparing a Bentley to a Kia

The best kind! Thanks for watching.

It's going to be listed for around $150k.

Listing will be online soon. I will keep you posted! Thanks!

Sounds like a good video - “200KTS in a stock 55 Baron!”

You do get 190.

Thanks for watching!

They fixed that in 1984!