Page 36 - Volume 15 Number 7

path, even in the frugal days of the Great Depression. The Model 18, as it was always officially known (never a “Twin Beech” in corporate earshot), was a radical departure from the wood, steel-tube and fabric Model 17 Staggerwing biplane, just as that plane had been from its contemporaries. Beech intended to offer an all-metal light twin-engine airplane that was suitable not only for business travel but for feeder airline, charter and bush operators as well. He and designer Ted Wells succeeded admirably, particularly when the early Wright and Jacobs engines of around 300 hp were exchanged for 450-hp Pratt and Whitney Wasp Juniors. During most of the airplane’s reign, there was simply no competition for it.Construction of the first Model 18 began in 1935, with certification of the 18A with 320-hp Wright R-760-E2 engines taking place on March 4, 1937. Grossing only 6,500 pounds, it performed well and even at $37,500, a steep price for the times, it found willing customers. It was instantly compared to the Lockheed 12, a similar- but-vastly-different dual-tail twin, but was more adaptable to various uses with convertible interiors, float and ski landing gear and a slow landing speed. The 18S appeared in 1939 with the R-985s, a match made in heaven, and within a year the airplane had been discovered by the military, anxious to use it for pilot, gunner and navigator training, photo-recon, and just general utility. The Beechfactory expanded exponentially as the war effort built up, eventually producing over 5,000 Twin Beeches.The improved D18S came out in 1946, the only light business twin then available. Even after the Aero Commanders and Twin Bonanzas came along in the early 1950s, the hefty Twin Beech remained the optimum corporate carriage below converted DC-3s. To keep it superlative, Beech Aircraft brought out the E18S Super 18 in 1954, featuring a taller cabin and extended, squared wingtips. Gross weight kept creeping up, and a G18 with a picture-window cabin appeared in 1960. The final H18 was introduced in 1963, ostensibly with a choice of conventional gear or Volpar Corporation’s STC’d tricycle landing gear, but only the tri-gear version was ordered. As the smaller-but-modern King Air appeared in 1964, the end was approaching; the last H18s were delivered in 1969 to Japan Airlines, for training use. It had been a great run, for an airplane without peer that remained in widespread use for freight hauling, mail routes and every other imaginable job.With some 8,000 Model 18 Beechcrafts built over three decades, it’s doubtful that any corporate utility transport can ever supplant its r•ecord. The Twin Beech served in all its roles superbly, most notably as business aviation’s carrier of commerce. T&TJetPROP Turbine ConversionsPerformance, Economy, Safety265 ktas @ 33 gph (8 nm/gallon)JetPropHalf Page4/C AdPrime Tur- bines Sixth Page 4/C AdJetPROP AVIDYNE GLASS JetPROP LLCSpokane Felts Field 509-535-6445 www.jetprop.comModified by Rocket Engineering34 • TWIN & TURBINEJULY 2011