Beechcraft QU-22 Pave Eagle

The Beechcraft QU-22 Pave Eagle was an American aircraft designed to serve as an optionally piloted radio relay platform, built on the foundation of the Beechcraft Bonanza. It was created to take over the role of the Lockheed EC-121R Batcat, which required a crew of 15 and proved too expensive. The QU-22 saw brief service with the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War, from 1968 to 1972.

The project began with the YQU-22A Pave Eagle I, a modified Model E33A Bonanza intended for Operation Igloo White. It was powered by a Continental TSIO-520-D engine and fitted with tip tanks, and could fly without a pilot. However, this version proved inadequate, so Beechcraft secretly developed an improved model, the QU-22B Pave Eagle II, based on the Model A36 Bonanza.

The QU-22B used a 375 hp Continental GTSIO-520-G engine—a model not recorded by Teledyne Continental Motors—and a custom propeller combining blades from a Mitsubishi MU-2 with a unique hub, driven by a reduction gearbox to lower noise. An AiResearch turbocharger, which the company said came from a semi truck, was also fitted. The aircraft carried deicing boots, a sensor array, and remote-control equipment, all powered by a large generator mounted atop the engine. Although based on the Bonanza, the QU-22B used the wing spar and landing gear from the Beechcraft Baron.

Its pilot’s operating handbook listed a maximum gross weight of 5,800 lb, far above the later G36 Bonanza’s 3,650 lb. With tip tanks, it could hold 220 US gallons of fuel, compared to the G36’s 74. Explosive bolts in the wings allowed the aircraft to self-destruct if control was lost during unmanned flight.

In 1970, Beechcraft also developed a low-cost close air support variant, the YAU-22A, for the Air Force’s Pave COIN program. It used the fuselage of a Model A36 Bonanza, wings from a Model 95-B55 Baron, and a 350 hp Continental GTSIO-520 engine.

The YAU-22A competed against the Fairchild AU-23A Peacemaker, Helio AU-24 Stallion, and Piper PA-48 Enforcer. The Air Force initially selected it, but flight tests showed it was underpowered and unsafe to fly with weapons. Only one prototype was built before the program was canceled in 1972.

Operational history

The YQU-22A was evaluated by the 553rd Reconnaissance Wing at Nakhon Phanom Airport from December 1968 to August 1969. Two aircraft were lost in combat.