For Bonanza owners looking to step up to the world of light twins, the Baron has always been a logical choice. On the other hand, without the right transition and recurrent training, any Baron can be a handful. Still, we can’t think of many light twins that impress both passengers and pilots alike.
With large rear cargo/entry doors, it’s a passenger-friendly ride with decent comfort for long trips. In Beechcraft tradition, the Baron 58 has a solid feel and excellent handling. The other thing the Baron has going for it is supportability because it won’t be tough to find a shop that can wrench one. But maintenance won’t be cheap and for many owners, neither will insurance. Still, when it all comes together, the Baron 58 delivers big on owner satisfaction and capability.
Aging well
The good thing about buying a Baron is there are plenty to choose from, and its direct ancestry goes back to the Model 95 Travel Air, which became the 55 Baron. Flash back to 1969 when the first Baron 58 was introduced as a 1970 model. It shared genes with the Bonanza, making use of essentially the same landing gear and systems, along with a fuselage similar to the six-place 36 series. The Model 58 had a 10-inch-longer fuselage compared to the smaller “baby Baron” 55 series and an initial list price of $89,850 (roughly $740,000 in 2025 money), just about $6000 more than the shorter E-55 Baron. Average equipped prices were up around $117,000. The extra room in the fuselage did a lot to boost the 58’s utility, and it quickly became one of the all-time favorite Barons. A big, double aft cargo door and three-blade propellers were popular options. The aft doors became standard very quickly and are the same as those on the 36 Bonanza. The three-blade props became standard around 1972.
Engines on the first 58s were Continental IO-520-Cs of 285 HP each. These engines had the so-called light crankcases, notorious for cracking. Later, the IO-520-CB became standard, but earlier 58s may be fitted with either.
The 58 was such a solid design that few changes were made in the first several years of its production. That’s not surprising, since Beech had worked out the details of the 55 nicely by the time the 58 was introduced. The 58, by the way, is approved as an amendment to the same CAR (or CAM) 3 certificate that covers the 55s. Creating new airplanes out of existing type certificates is something that some manufacturers, notably Piper, developed to a fine art in the 1960s and 1970s.
Pressurized Baron
Those two words are enough to make a maintenance shop owner lick his chops. In 1976, Beech introduced two new airplanes based on the 58: the turbocharged 58TC and the pressurized 58P, both with 310-HP Continental TSIO-520-Ls. These engines, too, had light cases, later replaced by the heavy-case LBs. Recommended TBO on the L/LB is 1400 hours. The WB is 1600. The 58’s C/CB now is 1700 hours. These two airplanes differed from the 58 in more than just equipment. Both were built to FAR 23 standards, and both empty and maximum takeoff weights were significantly higher, with a net gain of useful load in both cases. The most obvious visible difference among the three is that the aft door is on the port, or left, side of the 58P fuselage and is a single door. The now-standard double doors (originally identified as cargo doors) are on the right side of the 58 and 58TC. The interior configuration is the same in all three 58s, except that the center fuselage windows in the 58P can’t open for ventilation on the ground.
In 1979, the TC and P models were upgraded to the TSIO-520-WB rated at 325 horsepower. Maximum takeoff weight was increased from 6100 to 6200 pounds. Pressure differential of the P was slightly increased from 3.7 to 3.9 psi.
The 58TC was discontinued after the 1982 model year, with a total production run of only 151 aircraft. It couldn’t match the popularity of the P Baron, which outsold it nearly three to one. Worth mentioning is that the GA slump caught up to the P Baron in 1986. Still, the normally aspirated 58 kept plugging right along.
A major change happened in the 1984 model year: The 58 got an engine and power upgrade to the Continental IO-550-C rated at 300 HP. Maximum takeoff weight was increased 100 pounds, to 5500.
The panel was also revised, with the new one much better designed, and the cockpit was completely reworked. The center control column, with the throw-over yoke (or large bar for dual control airplanes), was replaced with individual control columns. The big news was that Beech bit the bullet on switch placement: It reconfigured the arrangement of the gear and flap switches to the accepted industry standard of gear selector on the left, flap selector on the right.
You’ll find that the majority of Baron 58 models are equipped with dual controls, though the large control bar obscures many key switches, gauges and controls. Larger pilots find the yoke sits low enough so that legs can interfere with control inputs. You can also tell the newer panels by the smaller turbine-type vertically placed engine instruments. This and the rearrangement of many subsystem elements free up a lot of the panel for avionics. Also, one of the most important changes came late in the 58 series life cycle: known-icing approval, which was not obtained until 1984 or 1985 for the 58 (the 58P was approved earlier). Many Barons are equipped with boots, electric or alcohol props and alcohol windshield anti/deice equipment.
Flying them
As light twins go, all of the 58s have comparatively good payload with full fuel. A typically equipped older 58, with auxiliary fuel giving a total of 166 gallons usable, can lift 724.5 pounds and fly for approximately 5.5 hours at an intermediate power setting—a still-air range of just over 1000 NM—with IFR reserves. Newer 58s can carry six people (that’s FAA 170-pounders) and luggage roughly 600 nautical miles with reserves. A typically equipped 58P has a full-fuel payload of just over 700 pounds and a range at roughly 60 percent power of more than 1100 NM at either 15,000 or FL 250 (TAS is 201 at the lower altitude and a smoking 218 at the maximum of FL 250).
All three versions have loading flexibility. The 58TC and 58P are biased toward the forward CG limit. In fact, with many airplanes, full fuel and two people up front (only one in some) can put weight and balance out beyond the front limit. With baggage space in the nose and aft cabin as well as a smaller space between the cockpit and middle seats with the club seating arrangement, there are a lot of options for maintaining loading within the allowable CG range.
Overall, we think the 58 is a good-flying airplane throughout its intended speed range. It can handle fairly rough and relatively short strips better than some other twins when properly operated. The relatively fast gear operating speed also reduces the time of maximum exposure (from liftoff to positive climb after retraction).
While Barons are generally considered good instrument platforms, and the 58s the best of the group, workload is relatively high because of the responsiveness. They have light control pressures and are highly responsive, but there’s a slight price to pay in turbulence when in IMC, but that’s tamed by a good-working autopilot. Garmin’s GFC 600 (and the integrated GFC 700 in G1000 models) are good performers, while the GFC 600 supports Garmin’s Smart Rudder Bias Vmc roll protection. Many Barons have King KFC200 (or Century) systems and you should look carefully at their performance during a prebuy. Repairs for older systems can be expensive.
Comparatively high gear and flap operating speeds help the Baron fit in easily in high-density traffic areas. The basic good handling extends into the lower end of the envelope. Many operators praise the short-field capabilities of the 58. But, beware of the weight and weight distribution differences between the 58 and TC/P and you could find yourself operating out of short fields where careful performance calculations are a must.
Visibility is good from all seats. From a passenger standpoint, the middle seats, particularly with club seating, are the most comfortable. The big aft door and separate over-wing door to the cockpit make loading more graceful than many other light twins, plus you sit high in a Baron’s seats, which encourages a good posture and leads to decent comfort on long trips. Plus, modern seating upgrades with good lumbar support help even more. Noise level is about standard for the class: noisy, although it pays to replace the soundproofing in older models.
Other than good ANR headsets, the two best aids for noise and vibration are cruise climb and cruise power settings with lower RPMs and good dynamic balancing of rotating components. Don’t ignore worn engine mounts.
Wrenching them
No, shops won’t feel sorry for anyone pulling up in a Baron and if you have a shoestring maintenance budget, you’re in the wrong plane. Savvy operators (and techs) spend a fair amount on preventive maintenance effort on the gear system, ensuring that elements are kept clean and properly lubricated in addition to thorough, regular inspection. Before buying one, make sure that the multiple FAA ADs have been kept up with. 97-9-9 called for inspection of the window upper longeron for cracks and missing rivets. 93-1-23 called for replacement of the fuel crossfeed check valves. 92-23-4 mandated modification of the engine control mount supports.
For mods, a variety of engine packages are available from Beryl D’Shannon, RAM and Mike Jones Aircraft (previously Colemill) to make the Baron go faster. To help slow it down, Spoilers Inc. offers a spoilers mod. VGs are available from a couple of different manufacturers and we think they serve the Baron well. We think any prospective Baron owner should join the American Bonanza Society. Visit them at www.bonanza.org.
Owner comments, market
“Insurance is considerably higher than the Bonanza was, with yearly premiums running about $5000 over the last two years. Despite the higher fuel costs, unexpected maintenance and not having flown as much as usual, I estimate all-in operating costs (fixed and variable) last year were around $300 per hour,” Christian Nichols told us of his Baron. “I owned a Baron 58TC for over 15 years, and I studied the normally aspirated 58 before buying it, but the advantages of safety made the 58TC a better choice. Things like a Va of 170 knots instead of 156 knots and a single-engine service ceiling of 14,400 feet instead of about 7000 feet were important when flying in the West (although the single-engine rate of climb was lower because of the much higher gross weight),” Larry Weitzman said.
There’s no shortage of Barons for sale at all price points. At press time in mid-2025 we found a 1972 58 for sale for $170,000 with almost 9000 hours on the airframe and 900 hours on each IO-520. A 1992 58 with a fresh annual,1600 hours on each engine and Garmin GNS navigators was on the market for $495,000. A 2017 G58 Baron with only 600 hours total time had an eye-widening asking price of $1.3 million.
No matter what Baron you decide to buy, don’t even think of closing the deal without doing a detailed prepurchase inspection at a neutral shop that knows what it’s looking at. Last, get an insurance quote.