| Model 18 | |
|---|---|
 A Model 18 over Little Gransden Airfield in 2019 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Trainer, transport aircraft and utility aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Beech Aircraft Corporation |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | United States Army Air Forces |
| Number built | 9,000+ |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1937–1970 |
| Introduction date | 1937 |
| First flight | 15 January 1937 |
The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat,[1] 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, a world 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 aircraft.[2][3][4]
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.[2][3][5]
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.[2][4][6][7]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
TC710was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "Beechcraft D18S Twin Beech." Archived 30 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Retrieved: 17 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Fact Sheet: Beech C-45H Expeditor." National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Retrieved: 5 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Twin Beech: The 1930s airplane that set Beech Aircraft Corporation on a course towards 50 years of success" Flying Magazine, February 1982, pp. 26-30, Retrieved: 5 August 2017
- ^ "Fact Sheet: Beech AT-11 Kansan." National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Retrieved: 5 August 2017.
- ^ Bauschspies, James S. and William E. Simpson, "Research and Technology Program Perspectives for General Aviation and Commuter Aircraft", NASA Contract NASW-3554 for NASA, Sept. 1982, N83-17454#. Retrieved: 18 Dec. 2014. (In particular, see: Table 2.4 "COMMUTER CARGO FLEET IN 1981 - TOP TEN AIRCRAFT MODELS - NUMBER IN FLEET," which notes Beech 18 units are more than the next two aircraft combined (Convair 500/680 and Douglas DC-3), and more than the next three general aviation aircraft combined.
- ^ "Beech 18" FAA Aircraft Registry. Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved: 5 August 2017.