Beech 18 nicknames..

[ross1]

Hello all...an odd request perhaps...has to do with one of my paintings...I'm looking for some of the nicknames of the Beech 18. Good, bad, common, uncommon ..whatever you've used or heard over the years.

Thanks
RB

[duCapo]

"The Bitch" but in an affectionate manner:-)

[Moose47]

G'day

In the Air Force we called the 'Bug Smashers' and 'Exploders'.

Another name was 'Wichita Wobbler'.

Cheers...Chris

[ross1]

...this is the painting...




...some of your replies might help with a title.

cheers
RB

[TG]

Superb!

"Flying snag" used to be one nickname too.. Or "La Bitchette"

[bizjets101]

I'm guessing he calls her LUCKY . . . On September 21, 2007, at 1326 eastern daylight time, a Beech H-18, N123MD, operated by Monarch Air Group, LLC, was destroyed when it impacted terrain during a forced landing after takeoff from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The certificated airline transport pilot, was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cargo flight, destined for Pindling International Airport (MYNN), Nassau, Bahamas. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 135.

Click Here You'll never forget these photos . .

Click Here here's the conversation with the pilot afterwards . . .

[EA757]

ross1,

Outstanding painting.

We had a Beech-18, in the early '70's
CF-OHL, named Ole Horny Lizzie...

But generally we called the 18's just
about every name you could think of.

Late for everything.
The airplane you can hear before you can see it.

[bizjets101]

You may want to check out the Beech18.net Forums.

[ross1]

Thanks...those crash photos are incredible in that he survived at all ! I'll check out the Beech 18 site. Closest I ever got to flying one was almost 40 years ago at age 16...working as the line boy when there was an airport just outside of Orangeville...there was one without wings but still up on its gear. I could make airplane noises all day. Great fun.

Ross

[bizjets101]

I remember that little airport, we used to land there in Brampton Flying Club C172's,
there used to be a derelict Aero Commander 112 there (for years).

click here . . .

[ross1]

Yup...I watched that Rockwell slowly sink into the mud. Damn shame. I remember someone once flew in with a Rockwell 690 in the spring...watched that sink into the mud a lot faster. A few red faces that day.

[mantogasrsrwy]

I remember an old guy with a few thousand hours in the Beech 18 once telling me, "Bad things will happen to you eventually if you fly a Beech 18 long enough". Fortunately I survived a thousand hours of it.

[Dr. Mcillicuddy]

One name that comes to mind with the old oil leaker is The double breasted witcha wonder. cheers

[oldtimer]

I used to fly an 18, actually a 3NM, on floats with registration CF-WWV. Naturally it was refered to as Word War 5.

[flyer 1492]

I actually walked by WWV while she eas tied up to a dock in yellowknife. Nice looking aircraft.

Flyer

[Meatservo]

I had a chief pilot once who called it the "double-cun!ed cow"... but the rest of us just called it "the twin beech". Not very imaginative, I know.

[howard40]

Thread creep. Ahh Orangeville, one of the largest towns in Canada without a municipal airport, no smart comments about "Brampton" or Pearson.

[Liquid Charlie]

Spent many a day entertaining myself at the "old" Orangeville airport -- Townsend Air Services the Lake dealership was there then - also a private farm strip (AC Pilot I think) immediately south an old cat that was the size of a dog and had the scars to back it up -- watched them take a J-3 off on a hay wagon there towed behind a T-Bird convertible - damn those days I had a lot of fun -- Pallet Fruit Farm strip (where Banty's Roost Golf course is today) was the gathering point and yes it was the days of the original BFC ---

Beech 18 -- one of the nicest aircraft I ever flew -- great on floats and even better on wheels -- never considered the airplane to have many bad habits and contrary to legend it was a damn fine xwind airplane. Twin Beech and Bug Smasher were the 2 most common generic names I heard.

[Colonel Sanders]

Expeditor. Exploder. Pinnochio. C-45.

If you haven't seen a Younkin fly a Beech 18, do so.

[GUMPS]

Expeditor. Exploder. Pinnochio. C-45.

.

^Ummmm?

Also heard the term "widow maker" used about the beech. Personally I loved the aircraft.

[EA757]

CS,

That's a C-47 right?

[Colonel Sanders]

I thought the C-47 was the USAAF version of the DC-3?
R4D if you didn't like women?

PS "widow maker" for the Beech 18?! That's what some
people called the -104. Not many people were killed in
Beech 18 groundloops. I do remember the wings folding
on one, though - center section failed IIRC. A long time ago.

Here's ours:



I think I was flying the 450hp Stearman as the photo ship -
credit to Eric for the photo.

[ross1]

Too bad about the Orangeville/Caledon airport....I wonder what it would be like now if the plans for the "Fly-in Community" had been realised. Did my private and commercial there....had to skip school and fly down to YKF a couple of times a week to work on the instructor rating...I think the c-150, VZW cost $17.00/hour back then. The school principal (Mr. Yates) used to instruct on Yales so he understood....started instructing before the end of high school then they shut the place down...ran the developer out of town I think. You can stiil see the scars he left behind on Google earth...and yes a little south (mislabeled "Orangeville Airport") was Irwin's strip...I do believe he was an AC captain...and I seem to remember they had an old Apache there too.

Fun times for a teenager. Wash and wax the airplanes...then the bosses car..(again)...rags soaked in Meguires...learned to love the smell of fresh dope on fabric. Almost setting myself on fire trying to thaw out the grader. (Yeah...funny now!) And once in a while take the Citabria down to Brampton for gas...best job I ever had.


Thanks for the Beech 18 references...the original concept for the painting was of a new aircraft just picked up from, or on delivery from Wichita to it's new oilman/rancher owner somewhere in Texas...(all fictional)...I think I'll go with the title "The New Girl" ...as a reference to the first impression she must have made, and to the later names she would certainly have aquired in her lifetime.

Cheers all
RB

[I_Drive_Planes]

I have no idea about any nicknames for the Beech 18 (I've never even seen one up close), but that is a beautiful painting!

[Colonel Sanders]

Beech 18 doesn't look like much, but with two R-985's
it makes a truly wonderful sound overhead, though it's
a tad lacking in doppler.

Almost as good as the two GO-480's in the T-Bone!