Beech 18 resto

alfadog

Final Approach
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alfadog
So I'm having fun with my self-directed A&P apprenticeship here in South Florida. Self-directed means that the boss tells me to do something and I figure out how to do it. We are restoring a fleet of Beech 18's to fly cargo to the Bahamas. The first is about ready to take to the air and today I moved over to the next.

This is an H model and I'm told it's the last factory tailwheel job. We also have the next serial number which is the first factory nose wheel job. There are earlier Beechs with the Volpar conversion but we have the first where they made the switch over to exclusively tricycle gear.

The paint has been stripped and I'm going to go over it for any sheet metal work needed. I'm also going to redo the interior cargo space. This aircraft was flown from Mississippi to Florida.

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Looks like a cool project. Do you have any pics of the finished one?
What kind of “products” you shipping back and forth anyway :fingerwag::fingerwag:
 
Whoa what a project! Glad these old gals are getting a second lease on life. I too would like to see the restored ones.
 
Best I can do right now. It's behind the another Beech 18 in the hanger. The one in front of it is set up as a passenger executive transport and it's for sale.

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Very Cool! Thanks for posting.


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Thanks. The blue paint job came with the airplane and it's rather low quality but it looks fine from a distance. My contribution was the gray and blue on the cowlings.

The stripped airplane I'm working on now is going to be painted professionally with a professionally designed color scheme.

Wow. Love the paint !!!
 
Then there is this one. It came in for a pre-buy inspection with us but the landing gear collapsed on landing. The insurance company took it and auctioned it off. We bid on it but someone else won. I might be involved in getting it ready to ferry as some side work as my boss doesn't want to have anything to do with it.

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So cool. I love the Beech 18. Thanks for posting.
 
Glad y'all appreciate the pics.

Here is one more for you. This is the executive transport job. It is for sale as it does not meet our mission requirements. This one is flying occasionally for pleasure.

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Always liked the beech 18,unfortunately can’t afford the gas,just for fun.
 
And sitting in a hangar in Mississippi, the boss owns one of the Air America turbo-18's. Sadly, it may well be past the point of economically viable restoration.

"Finally, since 1966 a total of 14 Air America Beech C-45s was converted by Air
Asia, Tainan, to Volpar Turbo Beech, whose two Garrett TPE-331-47 turbo-prop engines gave
it a maximum take-off weight of 10,286 lb., including a useful load of 3,886 lb., a true air
speed of 245 mph. and a range of 1,040 s. m."
 
That last one is a great looking plane, but I’ve gotta admit - I don’t think I could buy a Beech 18 with a nosewheel.

Like buying a Corvette with an automatic.
 
So I'm having fun with my self-directed A&P apprenticeship here in South Florida. Self-directed means that the boss tells me to do something and I figure out how to do it. We are restoring a fleet of Beech 18's to fly cargo to the Bahamas...

Aren't Beech 18's mostly used to fly cargo from tropical countries? :confused:

This is an H model and I'm told it's the last factory tailwheel job. We also have the next serial number which is the first factory nose wheel job. There are earlier Beechs with the Volpar conversion but we have the first where they made the switch over to exclusively tricycle gear.

Now that's just wrong...
 
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