Beechcraft Model 18
Beechcraft Model 18
Type	Utility aircraft with modifications for many applications
Manufacturer	Beech Aircraft Corporation
Produced	1937-1970

Beechcraft 18 on floats.

Beechcraft 18/C-45 at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force

The Beechcraft Model 18 was a small six- to 11-place, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Construction was all-metal semi-monocoque with fabric covered control surfaces. This model saw service during and after World War II in a number of versions including the C-45 Expeditor and AT-11 Kansan for the United States Army Air Forces and SNB for the United States Navy. An estimated aggregate total time in service for the aircraft time is in excess of 20,000,000 hours of flight time. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... The Beech Aircraft Corporation, purchased by Raytheon Aircraft on February 8, 1980, and often called Beechcraft after the name they give their aircraft, is a manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. ... The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official national museum of the United States Air Force and is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, east of Dayton, Ohio. ... Monocoque (French for single shell) is a construction technique that uses the external skin of an object to support some or most of the load on the structure. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was a part of the U.S. Army during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ... USN redirects here. ...

The Beech 18 is the most modified US-certified aircraft design, with over 200 FAA approved Supplemental Type Certificates on record for the aircraft. A Type Certificate (sometimes called Airworthiness Certificate), is awarded by aviation regulating bodies (such as FAA in US and EASA in EU) to aerospace firms after it has been established that the particular design of aircraft, engines or propeller submitted has fulfilled the the regulating bodies current prevailing airworthiness requirements...

The aircraft uses have included aerial spraying, sterile bug release, fish seeding, dry ice cloud seeding, aerial fire fighting, airborne mail pick up and drop, ambulance service, numerous movie productions, skydiving, freight, gun and drug smuggling, engine test bed, skywriting and banner tow. A number of them were operated as passenger aircraft, The Model 18 was also the First aircraft flown under Philippine Airlines, Asia's First and oldest airline. Many are now in private hands as highly prized collectibles. Skydiver about to land Parachuting, or skydiving, is a recreational activity, competitive sport and method of deployment of military personnel (and occasionally, firefighters). ... Philippine Airlines is the national airline of the Philippines. ...

Operational history

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 horse power R-1340 Pratt and Whitney powerplant configuration. The added weight of approximately 200 pounds per engine with R-1340 engine was not satisfactory due to the weakest structural area of the aircraft being the engine mounts. With the exception of the center truss, the central component around which the entire aircraft is built, nearly every airframe component has been modified at one time or another.

While legendary for rugged construction, in the event of a very hard (crash) landing it is not uncommon for an engine to snap off the mount and roll ahead of the wreckage like a large bowling ball. In one instance in 1996 a California skydiving operator landed in a plowed field during a forced landing due to fuel exhaustion. One engine rolled nearly 500 feet ahead of the airplane while the other smashed through the tail plane. The pilot walked out unharmed and the airplane was successfully sold for scrap.

The USAF Strategic Air Command had Beechcraft Model 18 (AT-11 Kansans, C-45 Expeditors, F-2 Expeditors, the "F" standing for "Fotorecon", and UC-45 Expeditors) from 1946 through 1951. Seal of the Air Force. ... The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was the operational establishment of the United States Air Force in charge of Americas bomber-based and ballistic missile-based strategic nuclear arsenal from 1946 to 1992. ...

Some aircraft were almost unrecognizable as having originated as a Beech 18. In one case the aircraft was modified to a triple tail, tri-gear, hump backed configuration and appeared similar to a miniature Lockheed Constellation.

Some of the modifications created by independent engineering entrepreneurs were adopted in concept by the factory in later production versions in similar fashion to the current practice Harley Davidson copying of custom motorcycles built in the 1960's and 1970's. Among the most notable cooling air and exhaust modifications were those engineered by Benjamin Israel while employed by Conrad Conversions. His modifications were based largely on creating a more efficient use of cooling air to reduce cooling drag, a major detriment to aircraft cruise performance. The difference in cruise performance was a significant 10% or better at the same power settings as before the modifications. These modifications were largely copied on the factory produced G and H models.

This D-18S Beech is used frequently for nostalgic skydiving events in the southwestern United States. It was a corporate aircraft for Lay's Potato Chips in the 1950's

A factory option at one point was the addition of JATO bottles on each engine nacelle which added the equivalent of 200 horse power per engine for about 12 seconds. The most successful powerplant upgrade was that of the Pratt and Whitney turbine PT-6 engine and Hartzell propellor. The combination of engine and propellor successfully extended the commercial life of an aging aircraft. A number of these turbine conversions are still flying on freight, skydiving or med-fly abatement assignments. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1544x1024, 627 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1544x1024, 627 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ...

Military Operators

• Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, India, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom (Royal Air Force, Royal Navy), United States (US Army, US Army Air Corps, US Army Air Force, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy), Uruguay, Venezuela, Zaire.

Côte dIvoire (often called Ivory Coast in English; see below about the name) is a country in West Africa. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... 1. ... USAAF recruitment poster. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

Specifications (UC-45 Expeditor)

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2 pilots
• Capacity: 6 passengers
• Length: 34 ft 2 in (10.41 m)
• Wingspan: 47 ft 8 in (14.53 m)
• Height: 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
• Wing area: 349 ft² (32.4 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,175 lb (2,800 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,500 lb (3,400 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 8,727 lb (3,959 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-1 "Wasp Junior" radial engines, 450 hp (336 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 225 mph (195 knots, 360 km/h)
• Range: 1,200 mi (1,000 nm, 1,900 km) at 160 mph (260 km/h)
• Service ceiling: 26,000 ft (7,930 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,850 ft/min (9.4 m/s)

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... The Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior was an engine widely used in American aircraft starting in the 1930s. ... Radial engine in a cut-away view. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...

References

Related content

Comparable aircraft

• Lockheed Hudson

Designation sequence

• Beechcraft: 17 - 18 - 19 - 23 - 24
• Army Air Corps:
  • Cargo C-41 - C-42 - C-43 - C-44 - C-45 - C-46 - C-47 - C-48
  • Advanced trainer: AT-8 - AT-9 - AT-10 - AT-11 - AT-12 - AT-13 - AT-14

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• List of military aircraft of the United States

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