Page 29 - Volume 15 Number 7

Steve Craig has an ideal cabin-class twin for business and personal traveling, one guaranteed to turn heads on any ramp.thereafter, it can fly 1,000 miles and still have nearly two hours of fuel left. The de-icer boots on the wings and tail are in good shape, the Hartzell three-blade props are electrically de-iced and the alcohol-deiced windshield has six gallons of glycol supplying it. The windscreen is made of real glass, not plexiglas, and is fitted with dual windshield wipers.A Lot To SeeWalking around the big Beech is like pre-flighting an airliner. The extended nose of the Volpar tri-gear modsteer, but Craig says the rudders are quite effective with any forward speed. Even though Beech purists disparage it, the tricycle gear makes the airplane vastly easier to handle in a snorting wind. All three of the H18’s tires are 8.5 x 10 size, slightly smaller than the main wheels on earlier Twin Beeches.The massive P&W radials are fitted into tight cowlings. Electrically adjustable cowl flaps are on the right side of each nacelle, where the big oil tank is also located. He keeps the oil level at six gallons, out of the 8.5 gallons capacity.With the tri-gear mod, the landing lights were relocated from the nosecone to the wings’ leading edges, and an ice-detection light on each nacelle is as big as an ordinary landing light. A combustion heater is in the right wing, outboard of the nacelle. Stall strips are found on each inboard leading edge and the stall warner vane is on the left wing. Dual pitot tubes at the nose are plumbed with yoked static ports on the aft fuselage.The carefully shaped wingtips are the signature feature of the Super 18’s wing, incorporating a distinct twist for washout and a scooped profile under the square tip. Earlierallows for a stand-up inspection of its interior. All three wheels swing forward during the electrically powered retractioncycle; the nose gear does notTwin Beeches, prior to the introduction of the Super 18 in 1954, carried a 47.66-foot wingspan with elliptical tips, increased by two feet on the Super 18.Most of the time, a collectible airplane just sits in the hangar. In Steve Craig’s case, the 1965 Beech Super 18 is serious business transportation.JULY 2011TWIN & TURBINE • 27