Airplane review: Beech Musketeer 

I learned how to fly in a Piper Tomahawk. Owned a 172 for a couple years and liked it. Bought a 64 musketeer flew and operated it for a couple of years. This was in the late 70s early 80s. Great airplane It just felt solid when you flew it. Did have to watch the weight. especially since I flew out of St Petersburg Florida. A lot of hot Summer days. Had great room inside. I miss that airplane.

I used to be in a club with 6 guys. We had a 63 Musketeer. It was a beautiful airplane with new paint, interior and a fresh 0320. I trained in Cessnas, and I liked them. I flew the Musketeer one time and was hooked. It is the easiest plane in general aviation to make greased butter landings in as long as you manage your power. Don't land too fast or it will go into oscillations. Too slow, and it will land hard. Hold it off until you feel it sinking, then add 200 rpm and you will feel a butter smooth landing. The Musketeer also handles like a fighter plane. It has a fast rate of roll. Unfortunately, our club plane was destroyed in an overloaded landing (not by me...) The important thing was that nobody was hurt in the accident because the Musketeer is built SOLID!! I sure miss my Musky!!

Wow!!! This is really by far one of the best reviews I’ve seen with sooo much information & comparisons.

This is my favorite airplane by far. A true cross country performer, and easy on the pocketbook to operate. Thanks for sharing

I flew it to Oshkosh for it’s 50th birthday. Coming home at near gross at 9000’ MSL it still climbed at 250’/ min. Over the Lake Michigan clouds. Great visibility.

I have a 1968 Musketeer with the Continental IO-346A engine. Plenty of spare parts, works great. It has more horsepower than the rated 165. I've been flying it since 1972 when my Dad bought it.

Thank you for this clear and informative video! I feel your assessment is spot on and without ego or bravado. These are the kinds of RU-vid videos that we can learn from and count on! Much appreciated!

I have a lot of hours in a Beech Sport that I had installed the droop tips vgs and powerflow exhaust and it was a different plane! My stall speed dropped to 48 mph and on a good day climb at 1000 feet per minute! Handled crosswinds well and cruised at 115 knots! I did clean up that draggy landing gear and removed one of the steps. great airplane!!

Great review! It’s nice to see you flying it around as you review it. I like that you’ve taken care of it, as well as your passion for flying it.

I owned this aircraft for 5 years. I see you kept the aluminum side window scoop bracket I made. I like the glass panel you put in.

Nice review, I went from from a 75, C172 to a 66 Bonanza, 22 years ago, never looked backed, Beechcraft is a joy to fly.

Outstanding review of the plane. I had a 64 A23A with the much maligned IO-346 engine. Though I agree a couple of parts were difficult to attain the performance was superior to the O-360 Lycoming engine as it was a true 165 Hp and much lighter than the Lycoming 180. The useful load pushed to 995 lbs. and the performance was significantly better. Lastly its a great IFR platform as the plane is naturally very stable. The only downside, for some, is you have to fly the plane onto the runway; a lax approach can lead to porposing but fly the the plane and it can manage a 25 kt Xwind. Thanks again Fastback Flying nice job.

Very nice ride. Thank you, sir.

great video, thanks for sharing!

Mice are adorable. I fly a '63 Musketeer (C-GWHG - another Canadian) and agree with your assessment: a delight to fly, roomy cabin, not exactly over-powered, landings require a certain finesse.

Thanks for sharing. Another BIG plus for me (in later models when they became Sundowners) are the 2 doors.

Great to see this review... definitely on “the list” for my next aircraft... would love a Sierra model. Keep the videos coming.

very nice review

I owned a1976 C23 Sundowner (Musketeer with an O-360 180 hp engine) for nearly five years before I upgraded to a C33 Debonair which I had for 10 years.

The Musketeer was developed into the Sundowner, right? Then the Sierra. Not to mention, there were several models that were offered in the aerobatic version. Very nice sportsman aerobatic maneuvers can be performed!!

Thanks for the informative review, looking for a Sundowner/Musketeer here in Ont.

Great stuff! I just bought a B19 sports! So looking forward to fly it!

Awesome review, any at ypq for sale?

What nice review!!! Just watched again ad we found such a plane in Switzerland and it flies great but a bit slow, could this be because of the forward CG and whith balast in the back in flies faster?

Great review James! Our Musketeer is working like a clock since you took care of our annual last year! Chat soon.

Fir $13,000 in 1963 you could have purchased a Ferrari 250 GTO. Current value $32MM+.

Another great video! Thanks for sharing. How does it handle on unprepared runways? (grass, gravel, etc.)

Great video sir! I am currently looking at one for sale and wanted to get a good idea as I’m new to aircraft buying. If only you were local (TX) and could take a look for us. Keep up the good work!

Great, great video. Thank you for your comprehensive review! I’m looking to purchase one of these. At the five minute mark, you mentioned with 4 people and a good amount of fuel near gross weight, your climb performance degrades and it needs a lot of runway. Can you put some context around your rate of climb and a comfortable runway length at 30 decrees C (worst case) in that scenario? Thank you.

How's the pilot seat for Space and head room? I'm tall, 6'4" and wide shoulders. Would this aircraft be a good fit?

Great information. I'm just in ground school, but like to think ahead. Seems like this might be an excellent 1st plane??

Hi, Nelson here in Ottawa. Looking at getting a Beech Sport 150 1972. Looking for a CFi with beech experience that knows the habits of the mouse. Can you come down to Ottawa for 3-5hrs of instruction? If not, do you know of any CFI closer to me? Thanks.

Would you say musketeer II very similar?

Do you recommend buying one? I’ve heard landing the musketeer can be hard

is anyone watching this for entertainment instead of actually looking to buy one?

how tall are you boss? do the seats adjust up/down?

using an inflation calculator, that 13k in 63 would be 120k in todays money... cant get a new beech for that and that makes me sad

Not a 4 seat airplane, just like the Cherokee and 172!!

GOOD VIDEO. Since this will be "out there" for a long time, please correct the grammar of your intro. Second sentence should be, If YOU'RE considering purchasing your own airplane...

TOOOO MANY ADDS BY BY BY !!!!!!

Any noteworthy ADs on the airframe to watch for?