The Beechcraft Model 40A was an experimental twin-engine aircraft based on the Bonanza. Only one prototype was built in 1948. It featured a unique over/under arrangement of two 180-hp Franklin engines mounted on top of each other and driving a single propeller.
The plane had a different engine cowl from a standard Bonanza, and the nose gear could not fully retract, but otherwise it greatly resembled the production Bonanzas of the time.
Certification rules demanded a firewall be fitted between the two engines, however, thus stopping development.
The status of the prototype is unknown.
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