Beechcraft baron 55. Comfort for big guy

[philly3229]

hello all! I am a 26 year old pilot with my instrument rating. All my training has been done in a C172. I am considering starting my commercial multi in a beech baron 55. I am wondering if anyone has experience in this plane and would be willing to share how comfortable the cockpit is for a larger guy compared to a c172. I am about 240lbs and 6 ft tall. I have looked up the width of the be55 and know it is only a few inches wider than the c172 but was hoping to get some first hand opinions. Is it comfortable enough for myself and a CFI? This is really a big decision for me. A lot of money and I really would like to know if the cockpit is wide enough for myself and the CFI to be comfortable (relatively) while I do this training. Not the biggest fan of the idea of entering the plane through one door either.

Thanks so much !!

 

[N747JB]

Go try it on! It should be fine, and it's only for 8-10 hours, so it's not a lifetime commitment. If you're going to fly twins, you better get used to one door, a few have rear doors, but not much with left and right front doors.

 

[Dr. O]

You will be vastly more comfortable in an Aztec or Apache.
Barons have a slim fuselage.

 

[FlightofTwo]

We had a Baron 55 for awhile, and the owner was 6' 4" and 250 lbs. It was a tight fit for him, and he ended up selling it because of that. I'm not super big, so him with his seat all the way up and me with my seat all the way forward worked out, but if the CFI is also a big dude, the cockpit will get filled up pretty fast.

Our Baron had the Colemill Conversion, 300 hp/side, VGs, etc., and it was a sweet airplane though. You lost an engine, and weren't over gross, it was not a big deal. Going to Vyse meant you'd climb around 500 fpm on average, no drag out. Really liked that plane...