Beech Model 18, C-45, AT-11 & the Rest

[Mossie]

I was watching an old episode of 'The A-Team' (guilty as charged!) & a C-45 was used in the opening of the episode, with a drugged B.A. as passenger & promptly crashed by Murdoch.  I've always liked this machine, up there with the DC-3 in terms of longevity but doesn't quite get the same kudos.  So I had to pick up PM Models rough & ready kit when I saw it, can't go wrong for four quid!

It's been modified like crazy over the years, but always seems to look the same.  Air America ran some with Garret Turboprops, but as far as I know there's been no real official conversion.

So, how do we go about re-engining it, bombing it up, or generally hacking it apart & rebuidling it???

[jcf]

Turbine conversions of Beech 18.
American Turbine Aircraft Corp. Edward West Jr.:
Westwind with PT6A
Some with tricycle gear

Dee Howard Co:
PT6A
Expeditor Mk.3N

Hamilton:
Purchased West's company in 1970
Westwind III PT6A-20, -27, -34
Available with optional cargo door and extended nose.

Pacific Airmotive:
Volpar nosewheel kit
Single fin and rudder
Turbo-Tradewind with PT6A

SFERMA:
collaboration with Beech
Turbomeca Bastan turbo-prop

Volpar Inc.
tricycle gear
Volpar Turbo 18 (25 aircraft converted)
Garrett TPE-331-25, 47, -101
Volpar Turboliner I (23 aircraft converted)
81 inch fuselage stretch
TPE-331-101B

There were several tricycle gear conversions and trike gear and an extended nose
were available as factory installed options on the H18 series.

Dumod produced stretched airliner versions and projected some re-engined versions:
PT6A, Garrett TPE-331, Astazou or R-1340 radial
Dumod liner mods include stretched fuselage, tricycle gear

The JRB-1 Drone controller is one of the more interesting variants.


The Beech Model 28, XA-38 Grizzly, was not a modified 18 (being larger and powered by two R-3350), however, it did benefit
from the experience Beech gained from the Model 18.



So I suppose one could turn a Model 18 into a sort of mini-Grizzly.

Jon

[Acree]

I was considering a Marine JRB with a modified 75 mm M-8 Pack Howiitzer firing out the door (ala AC-47), with a ring and bead sight (ring on the pilot's left side window and bead on a long probe off the left wing).  I thought about building it for the "Trainers with Teeth and COIN" GB, but didn't build it because I can't find a 1/72 scale Pack Howitzer and I didn't feel up to scratch-building it.  The backstory was going to be something about Marines using it to attack remote cave and pillbox holdouts on Okinawa.  Even thought about calling it the Grizzly Cub as an homage to the XA-38!

Cheers,
Chuck

[Mossie]

Jon/Chuck, both your posts are roughly around what I was thinking.  I had the Grizzly in mind when thinking about some kind of middlegound between the Model 18 & the XA-28.  Model 18's, bespoke manufactured by some small post war outfit to provide an attack aircraft to nations that didn't have the kind of cash to buy new.  A new nose with some MG's or cannon.  Upgraded engines, R-1830's or PT6A turboprops for something a little more modern & I happen to have a half-dead DC-3 in the stash & a Twin Otter that may be useful.  Modify the fuselage to accept a bomb pallet & add mounting points on the wings.

Another idea was that the Model 18 was pretty much analgous with the Lockheed Electra, so you could up-size it in a similar way for a Ventura competitor (Would take a lot of plastic hacking though).  Either that or you could go with a mini-version, PM's AT-11 kit modified pretty much as above.

[Mossie]

That might not be a bad idea, stick a twin wasp on the front & you're ready to go.

[jcf]

For civvie street, how about a single-engined Expeditor? Kind of a big brother to the Spartan Executive...

It would be much in the tradition of the Lockheed Orion, Vultee V1 and the Clark GA-43.

Vultee V1


GA-43

The Clark design originally had fixed gear, which might look good on your Beech.

Jon

[jcf]

Speaking of spats, the Beech 18 would look good with a fixed gear ala the Barkley-Grow T8P.



Jon

[Radish]

Cool.

I've got a couple of C-45 thingies.
The C-45 is to be straight from the box, French and for "Biggles" and the AT-11 is to be a bomber for an as yet unspecified South American Air Force.