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wind tunnel located at Wichita State University. After careful analysis, engineers chose the 23000 series design developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
Plans called for using the 23018 section at the wing root, transitioning to the 23012 airfoil outboard of the engine nacelles all the way to the wingtips. After further testing, the wing chord featured a 3.5-degree twist from the root to the tip that demonstrated good aerodynamic performance at approach and landing airspeed. The twist, known as “wash out” in aviation parlance, meant that the wing root had an angle of incidence that gradually decreased toward the wingtip, thereby promoting a smooth airflow over the ailerons for roll control when the wing stalled.
In addition, electrically-operated plain flaps were installed under the wings, and the ailerons, elevator and rudders were aluminum alloy covered in cotton fabric. The conventional landing gear arrangement was extended and retracted electrically. To reduce drag, the R-760E-2 engines were closely cowled and small blisters were fabricated to clover the rocker boxes. After 13 months of construction, on January 3, 1937, the prototype Model 18A rolled out of the factory and into the Kansas sunshine. Its first flight, however, was delayed nearly two weeks until all components of the retractable main landing gear were completed and installed on the ship.
Ted Wells’ twin-engine monoplane was finally declared ready for its maiden flight on January 15, 1937. The flight test crew included company test pilot Homer C. “Ding” Rankin serving as co-pilot, with James N. Peyton occupying the left seat. Peyton was a highly experienced aviator who had worked for the Bureau of Aeronautics and performed flight tests of the Beechcraft A17FS early in 1935. He was familiar with the general flying characteristics and handling qualities of multi-engine aircraft and, when hired temporarily by Walter Beech to fly the Model 18A, was serving as
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a pilot with Transcontinental and Western Air (later known simply as “TWA”).
To watch over the two R-760 engines, Wright Aeronautical sent field representative Robert E. Johnson to Wichita, rounding out the flight test crew. Following a multitude of inspections to ensure that the Beechcraft was airworthy, Peyton and his companions took the Model 18A aloft late that afternoon for an uneventful flight that lasted about 50 minutes.5
The successful first flight was quickly followed by a series of planned tests including five flights on January 18 that totaled five hours, 10 minutes. Although the prototype Model 18A flew well, there were a number of issues that had to be corrected before the government would grant certification. These included the propellers that occasionally failed to go into high pitch, and the main landing gear gave the crew a scare on January 28 when it jammed in transit. It was a cold, misty day and the low temperatures may have contributed to the problem, but James Peyton managed to extend the gear and land safely at the old Travel Air flying field adjacent to the Beech factory.
In the wake of that incident, Peyton told Ted Wells and Walter Beech that he refused to fly the ship until the main gear operated properly regardless of the weather conditions. During the next two weeks the sleek Beechcraft stayed on the ground, receiving extensive modifications to its main gear under the direction of Wells and his staff. Although the changes addressed Peyton’s concerns, in February he was replaced by Jack Thornburg, another pilot flying for Transcontinental and Western Air. In only two weeks Thornburg flew the Model 18A a total of 34 hours to complete a relatively smooth, seven-week flight test program leading to issuance of Approved Type Certificate No. 630 on March 4, 1937.6
Thornburg’s enthusiasm for the Model 18A prompted him to write a letter to Walter Beech extolling the
In 1934, Walter and Olive Ann Beech relocated production of the Model 17 to the former campus of the Travel Air Company. Curtiss- Wright Corporation closed the Wichita factory in 1932 in the wake of the national economic depression that struck America in 1929. (EDWARD H. PHILLIPS COLLECTION)
NOVEMBER 2015