https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_18
The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a six to
11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the
Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937
to November 1969 (over 32 years, the world record at the time), over 9,000 were
produced, 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 aircraft.
light transport, light bomber (for China), aircrew trainer (for bombing,
navigation and gunnery), photo-reconnaisance, and "mother ship" for target
Navigator, 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 inthese 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 seeding, 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 now privately
owned, around the world, with over 300 in the U.S. still on the FAA Aircraft
Registry in December 2014.
Role
Trainer and utility aircraft
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Beech Aircraft Corporation
First flight
January 15, 1937
Introduction
1937
Primary users
United States Army Air Forces
United States Navy
Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Produced
Number built
9,000+
Unit cost
D18S: US$78,050 in 1952[1]
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.
Prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, the Beech 18 was outsold by the Lockheed 12 by
two-to-one. However, war priorities forced Lockheed to concentrate on its
heavier aircraft, and Beechcraft received a major boost through wartime
contracts.
Production got an early boost when Nationalist China paid the company US$750,000
for six M18R light bombers,[12] but by the time of the U.S. entry into World War
II, only 39 Model 18s had been sold, of which 29 were for civilian
customers.[9][13] Work began in earnest on a variant specifically for training
military pilots, bombardiers, and navigators. The effort resulted in the Army
AT-7 and Navy SNB. Further development led to the AT-11 and SNB-2 navigation
trainers and the C-45 military transport. The United States Air Force (USAF)
Strategic Air Command had Model 18 variants (AT-11 Kansans, C-45 Expeditors, F-2
Expeditors (the "F" standing for "Fotorecon", short for "photographic
reconnaissance"), and UC-45 Expeditors) from 1946 until 1951. From 1951 to 1955,
the USAF had many of its aircraft remanufactured with new fuselages, wing center
sections, and undercarriages to take advantage of the improvements to the civil
models since the end of World War II. Eventually, 900 aircraft were
remanufactured to be similar to the then-current Model D18S and given new
designations, constructor's numbers and Air Force serial numbers.[14] The USN
had many of its surviving aircraft remanufactured as well, these being
redesignated as SNB-5s and SNB-5Ps.[citation needed] The C-45 flew in USAF
service until 1963, the USN retired its last SNB in 1972, while the U.S. Army
flew its C-45s until 1976. In later years, the military called these aircraft
"bug smashers" in reference to their extensive use supplying mandatory flight
hours for desk-bound aviators in the Pentagon.
Specifications (UC-45 Expeditor)
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)
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)
(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)
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