Aircraft Quiz #88

[Doug Robertson]

I feel we need a bit of levity here in these quizzes-but truthful levity! Ergo, what successful seminal production aircraft was redesigned specifically because the builder aviation company's tall founder bumped his head in flight while urinating in the aircraft's "head" (nautical slang for toilet-I served in U.S. Naval Aviation many years ago.)

1. Name the aircraft company.

2. Name the Founder/President of the company.

3. Name the first company aircraft (full nomenclature) that resulted from the redesign/makeover of the aircraft series.

[Doug Robertson]

With more than 250 views and no answers-here are the answers.

1. Beech Aircraft Company. Founded April 1932.

2. Walter H. Beech, company founder with wife Olive Ann Beech.

3. Beech model SUPER E18S twin engine, a development of a series of earlier twin Beech metal aircraft radial-powered both civil and military that raised the cabin roof 6 inches in the first of the Beech Super series of the 18, all with two radial engines. The first of the Beech 18 series was the 18A prototype with design beginning in December 1935. A seminal aircraft, the first all-metal Beech aircraft and the first twin-engine Beech aircraft that spawned many civil and the several military versions used by the US Army Air Corps and the US Navy. A twin floats seaplane version was the Model S18A also capable of operating on skis, hence the S prefix with multiple versions. All conventional wheeled landing gear versions of the Beech 18 had retractable landing gear.

The civil SUPER E18S with higher cabin series progressed through the SUPER G18S of 1959-1963 and SUPER H18, which was built from 1963 to 1970. Along this way Volpar designed a retractable tri-gear version of the SUPER 18s, which STC subsequently was purchased by Beech from Volpar and installed in Beech's factory to customer order.

My connection to a Beech 18 twin series was cross-country round trip rides in a US Navy SNB navigation trainer version in the early 1950s. The Navy also operated a JRB personnel transport version. The US Army Air Corps and subsequent US Air Force also operated versions of the Beech 18-namely the C-45s and the AT-11s in a number of configurations each. These were all retractable gear tail-draggers.

The many twin engine metal Beech productions put the company on a solid footing and success in the market place before introduction of the revolutionary civil light aircraft Model 35 Bonanza design that first flew on December 22, 1945 and was certified on March 25, 1947 with first production in 1947-'48.

Were you aware that the final Beech G17S Staggerwings of tube and fabric construction were not made/sold by Beech? The final five were assembled and sold by a Texas firm-Henry Seale of Dallas, Texas.