1946 Beechcraft D18S
“Twin Beech”
The Beechcraft Model 18 (or “Twin Beech“, as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engine, low-wing aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November 1969 (over 32 years, a record at the time), over 9,000 were built, making it one of the world’s most widely used light aircraft. Sold worldwide as a civilian executive, utility, cargo aircraft, and passenger airliner on tailwheels, nosewheels, skis, or floats, it was also used as a military transport.
During and after World War II, over 4,500 Beech 18s were used in military service—as light transport, light bomber (for China), aircrew trainer (for bombing, navigation, and gunnery), photo-reconnaissance, and “mother ship” for target drones—including United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) C-45 Expeditor, AT-7 Navigator, and AT-11 Kansan; and United States Navy (USN) UC-45J Navigator, SNB-1 Kansan, and others. In World War II, over 90% of USAAF bombardiers and navigators trained in these aircraft.
In the early postwar era, the Beech 18 was the pre-eminent “business aircraft” and “feeder airliner”. Besides carrying passengers, its civilian uses have included aerial spraying, sterile insect release, fish stocking, dry-ice cloud seeding, aerial firefighting, air-mail delivery, ambulance service, numerous movie productions, skydiving, freight, weapon- and drug-smuggling, engine testbed, skywriting, banner towing, and stunt aircraft. Many are privately owned, around the world, with 240 in the U.S. still on the FAA Aircraft Registry in August 2017.
By the late 1930s, Beechcraft management speculated that a demand would exist for a new design dubbed the Model 18, which would have a military application, and increased the main production facilities. The design was mainly conventional for the time, including twin radial engines, all-metal semimonocoque construction with fabric-covered control surfaces, and tailwheel undercarriage. Less conventional was the twin-tailfin configuration. The Model 18 can be mistaken for the larger Lockheed Electra series of airliners, which closely resemble it. Early production aircraft were powered either by two 330-hp (250-kW) Jacobs L-6s or 350-hp (260-kW) Wright R-760Es. The 450-hp (336-kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 became the definitive engine from the prewar C18S onwards. The Beech 18 prototype first flew on January 15, 1937.
The aircraft has used a variety of engines and has had a number of airframe modifications to increase gross weight and speed. At least one aircraft was modified to a 600-hp (447-kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 powerplant configuration. With the added weight of about 200 lb (91 kg) per engine, the concept of a Model 18 fitted with R-1340 engines was deemed unsatisfactory due to the weakest structural area of the aircraft being the engine mounts. Nearly every airframe component has been modified.
In 1955, deliveries of the Model E18S commenced; the E18S featured a fuselage that was extended 6 in (150 mm) higher for more headroom in the passenger cabin. All later Beech 18s (sometimes called Super 18s) featured this taller fuselage, and some earlier models (including one AT-11) have been modified to this larger fuselage. The Model H18, introduced in 1963, featured optional tricycle undercarriage. Unusually, the undercarriage was developed for earlier-model aircraft under an STC by Volpar, and installed in H18s at the factory during manufacture. A total of 109 H18s was built with tricycle undercarriage, and another 240 earlier-model aircraft were modified with this.
Construction of the Beechcraft Model 18 ended in 1970 with a final Model H18 going to Miyazaki Aviation College, Japan. Through the years, 32 variations of the basic design had flown, over 200 improvement modification kits were developed, and almost 8,000 aircraft were built. In one case, the aircraft was modified to a triple tail, tri-gear, humpbacked configuration and appeared similar to a miniature Lockheed Constellation. Another distinctive conversion was carried out by Pacific Airmotive as the PacAero Tradewind. This featured a lengthened nose to accommodate the tricycle nosewheel, and the Model 18’s twin tailfins were replaced by a single fin.
This particular aircraft, serial number A-223 used to be owned by the Holman family of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500, under the US registration number N500. The registration number was kept, hence the current registration N5QQ, to keep the aesthetics and history preserved as close as possible. The aircraft was acquired by the Ala Doble Flying Collection currently resides at Ala Doble Flying Ranch where it is kept in flying condition.
1946 Beechcraft D18S "Twin Beech"
- Crew: 2 pilots
- Capacity: 6 passengers
- Performance:
- Maximum speed: 225 mph (362 km/h, 196 kn)
- Range: 1,200 mi (1,900 km, 1,000 nmi) at 160 mph (260 km/h; 140 kn) and 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
- Service ceiling: 26,000 ft (7,900 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,850 ft/min (9.4 m/s)
- Dimensions:
- Length: 34 ft 3 in (10.44 m)
- Wingspan: 47 ft 8 in (14.53 m)
- Height: 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
- Empty weight: 5,420 lb (2,458 kg)
- Gross weight: 7,500 lb (3,402 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-1 “Wasp Junior” radial engines, 450 hp each
