I love the Beech 18. Just the sound of it starting on the ramp is a treat for the ears:
Hard to go wrong with two R-985's. Superb engines. Great sound! People ought to pay you, to make it!
Remember to lock the tailwheel before takeoff, and you need a left brake. Or so my best friend told me.
My fetish aircraft would be a Twin Bonanza. Everyone hates them, but those geared Lycoming GO-480 engines make a truly orgasmic sound:
If that doesn't give you a chubby, you have no soul.
EDIT - continuing on the topic of completely impractical fetish airplanes ...
Twin GO-480 Lycomings may not be a popular configuration these days, but I loved them as pushers:
That needed to get from Brantford to Belize in a hell of a hurry, where the retired AC pilot had shacked up with the nanny, who smoked too much.
Saw it tied down at Chetumal, later. Funny, running across old friends like that.
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 3:39 pm
by Colonel
"This book is about flying freight in an aircraft known as the Beech 18. It includes my stories, and stories from others, about a time when small air cargo loads were flown around the US in this iconic airplane. It is about the pilots, their cargo loads, and the weather they faced. It is about those who survived and those who didn't, all in one of the most classic airplanes ever built." --Scott H. Gloodt, author and airline pilot.
Richard Gilbert:
Finally got a copy of "I'll Take The 18". What a trip down memory lane.
Got my multi-engine in an Apache but then went straight into the Beech 18. First on a nightly mail run from LAX to Palm Springs and Thermal, CA. Two turns per might. On weekends I flew jumpers out of Burbank to Baker then back at the end of the day. In my spare time, I worked as a flight instructor out of Long Beach or El Monte. Through the late '60s and early '70s, I flew a Beech 18 out of Bi-State Parks just across the river from St, Louis. Often hoping over to Lambert, and loading Carter Carburators for Chevy in Detroit (Downtown airport) or Chrysler in Wilmington. Then again brakeshoes to Ford in Louisville, Kansas City (Downtown airport), powdered paint to Buick in Flint, Kenosha for American Motors.
Engine failures, electrical failures, extreme aft CGs, blinding snow, moderate icing conditions, occasional ass chewings from a short-tempered controller. Challenging six-month proficiency rides (my usual examiner was a former corp pilot who flew the 18 and he loved to see sweat dripping out from under my instrument hood. As soon as we broke ground, he would pull one engine to zero trust and not allow me to use rudder trim. Then it was off to a holding point for 10 minutes followed by an ILS front and backcourse approaches, VOR, and ADF approaches... I always knew I had passed when he called "My plane". He would then spend about 20 minutes "wringing" the Beech 18 out and conclude with a textbook three-point landing.
The Beech 18 taught me more about flying than any instructor it seemed. If anything, I would say it was a capable and forgiving plane. No other experience in life has been as exciting or as fulfilling.
Thank you Scott!
20th Century pilots.
Pop Quiz: why no rudder trim?
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:46 am
by Nark
I’m guessing not as pronounced slipstream effect on the tail?
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:06 am
by Slick Goodlin
Colonel wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 3:39 pm
Pop Quiz: why no rudder trim?
‘Cuz it’s leg day in the cockpit, baby!
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 4:52 am
by Colonel
Rudder trim effectively decreases the size of your rudder, and increases Vmc.
Oh yeah, that too. I guess I’m just used to staying at least 50-ish knots above Vmc and not thinking too hard about it.
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 4:32 pm
by Colonel
Yeah, it probably doesn't matter most of the time, but it's something that
a multi-engine pilot really should know about.
What I have learned in my life is that most fixed and rotary wing pilots
do ok, if nothing breaks and the wx isn't too bad.
But when something doesn't work perfectly (or the wx gets bad) look out.
If the aircraft is broken and in bad wx, well ...
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 3:06 am
by Colonel
Found this. Doesn't do the T-bone justice, but it's a teaser:
Incredibly cool. The T-bone is kinda the grandfather of the King Air.
Love that blue sky.
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 7:42 pm
by Nark
OSHA approved I’m sure:
195BEE49-E911-48D1-B8F4-376AE39207EB.jpeg
Re: Beech 18 info...
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 11:28 pm
by Big Pistons Forever
Colonel wrote: Sat Jul 03, 2021 3:06 am
Found this. Doesn't do the T-bone justice, but it's a teaser:
Incredibly cool. The T-bone is kinda the grandfather of the King Air.
Love that blue sky.
I always thought the T-Bone kind of looks like the parts bin airplane it is. IMHO the best place for a pair of GSO-480’s is on each wing of a Commander 680E. I was lucky enough to get a ride in an immaculately restored one 20 years ago. I still remember what a smooth solid ride it was, and as an added bonus you could channel your inner “High and the Mighty” on that overhead switch panel.
