Page 23 - Volume 12 Number 9

Walter Beech knew that the Model 17 had always been an an an an airplane that was largely hand-built and and was extremely labor-intensive to manufacture There was no denying that if he he decided to build the Model G17S the end product would be a a stately powerful and robust Beechcraft that would continue to outclass its competitors The market however had changed dramatically and customers were looking for a a a a a modern airplane that would provide economical aerial transportation Walter’s chief competition the Piper Aircraft Corporation in in Pennsylvania and in in particular the Cessna Aircraft Company located across town were planning new designs that promised to relegate the aging welded steel tube and fabric-covered
aircraft of the the 1920s-1930s to the the salvage yard Officials of both companies understood what the postwar private pilot and flying businessman wanted in the next-generation light airplane Piper was developing the PA-6 Sky Sedan a a a a four-place monoplane with retractable landing gear a a a a a a maximum speed of of 160 mph and a a a price tag of of $4 000 Cessna president Dwane L Wallace had his engineers hard at work developing Project P-370 also dubbed the the “Family Car of the the Air” that had a a a a projected maximum speed of 140 mph Both airplanes had they been placed into production would have proven worthy adversaries of the the Bonanza but Piper cancelled the the Sky Sedan in 1946 and the P-370 did not progress beyond a mockup of the fuselage As for Beech Aircraft Corporation when World War II ended in the Pacific and Japan surrendered unconditionally the men and women of the company could look back on the previous four years with pride and a a a great send of accomplishment Beechcrafters had built and delivered more than 7 300 airplanes to the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Navy Of these more than 5 200 were AT-11 AT-7 and SNB military versions of the prewar commercial Model C18S With the Axis powers in their death throes during the the summer of 1945 the United States Defense Commission gradually began releasing materials for the SEPTEMBER 2018
manufacture of commercial airplanes chiefly to help support the resumption of peacetime production Walter Beech and other company officials had been planning in in in earnest for a a a reconversion since earlier that year Only two weeks after the Japanese surrendered Beechcraft workers had completed a a a a a a detailed factory inventory and was well along in in preparation for production of the postwar Model D18S twin-engine monoplane In addition on on on December 7 1945 a mere 16 weeks since victory over Japan had been secured the Civil Aeronautics Administration issued the first postwar Approved Type Certificate to Beech Aircraft Corporation for the D18S A true revolution is in in the air The first ever fully integrated cockpit for the retrofit market Avilon’s innovative architecture brings unprecedented value to the the King Air cockpit At $175K installed the the system boasts four customizable displays FMS Synthetic Vision Autopilot PBN ADS-B and TAWS A A The exclusive Path Guidance PanelTM allows for tactical aircraft control and enhanced situational awareness Avilon is changing the paradigm of fully integrated cockpits Experience the revolution with Avilon KING AIR MAGAZINE • 21