:( It's up on the website and available now! :( An old friend has had an Extreme Makeover(for those of you who aren't aware, SimTech Flight Design was reborn last year as CR1-Software. The venerable Beech-18 has undergone a winter-long revamp and is now available as affordable payware)Beech-18Various enhancements, including new panels, new paints(cockpit and exterior paintkits)New Flight Dynamics, comprehensive Operating Manualbut best to go see for yourselfhttp://cr1-software.com/addons/beech-18-revamp/Rob

Well, I quite like the Beech 18 and was considering buying it? I went to the website and found NO screenshots, whatsoever and no pictures of the cockpit? Does it have a cockpit and how does it compare with Milton Shupe's version please?

Well, I quite like the Beech 18 and was considering buying it? I went to the website and found NO screenshots, whatsoever and no pictures of the cockpit? Does it have a cockpit and how does it compare with Milton Shupe's version please?

Just took alook - loads of screen shots!Dave

Well, I quite like the Beech 18 and was considering buying it? I went to the website and found NO screenshots, whatsoever and no pictures of the cockpit? Does it have a cockpit and how does it compare with Milton Shupe's version please?

http://cr1-software.com/addons/beech-18-revamp/If you go to the link above and scroll down the page there are 23 screenshots, including both cockpit versions (one with older-style gauges)There are differences between the two models and as we all know, a lot of those will be subjective. As well, the flight models are different - in the details. Just like moving from one aircraft to an other of the same type in r/l the difference is in the details and "feel" - they are, after all both Beech 18's :( In addition there are lots of 'extras' - DXT3 textures if you need them, a paint kit, a panel kit, a comprehensive Operators' Manual and an FSX version is included. The package comes as an InstallShield .exe (to reduce the size of the download and for those who need it's ability). For those who want to be selective, the installer can be pointed to a temp. directory of your choice so you can manually move the parts you want into Flight Sim if you are more adept.Rob

Thanks guys. Fact was, they wasn't there before sending them a message. ;)

Neat, I hjave flown in a Beech18 a few times.Here is a clip from one of the flights....

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A small fix was added to the download today to correct a mis-alignment of the switches in one of the 2D panels. As well, the installer was updated to cure occasional problems when installing to FSX with non-default locations. Existing customers have been sent the fix and it's incorporated in the d/l as of this morning (MST).FSX users will notice a texture issue with the props but otherwise reports indicate it runs fine in all versions.Rob

Got an email from Tom today...We are pleased to announce that starting on Friday 21st of May 2010 there will be a 50% off sale on the Beech 18.The sale will run from Friday morning May 21st 2010 to Monday evening of May 24th 2010.With a brand new release coming up in a few weeks we want to get to know more of the community and offer an affordable good quality add-on for Fs 2004 and Fsx. Full customer support will be available. The sale will only be available from the home Cr1-Software website and at no other store. (Note: PCAviator may also be offering the sale price - to be confirmed)CR1 SoftwareWe would like to thank our loyal supporters for your generous support of our step into a new market for us and we hope to have a long and healthy relationship with our new friends. It was you who made the Beech 18 launch the huge success it is and continues to be. We would like to extend the invitation to those who have not come to know us to come to our 1st big sale.If you missed it at release you might want to think again...half of $7.95 is.. pretty affordable.Rob

Thanks for the heads up -- even if it were at full price she looks like quite a bargain. I just picked one up and I'm really looking forward to flying with it this weekend.

Looks much the same as the Howard 500 :(

Well, I bought this since it was inexpensive, but it actually won't install, the installer comes to a halt, reporting I don't have enough space on my disk to install it, and it also reports that the FSX installation is 0k in size, so I don't know whether the thing is any good or not LOLEDIT - I got a (very fast) email reply to a query I placed on the product website about this problem, which gave me a link to an updated .installation file, and that does install okay (although you do have to manually drag it into FSX), so if you get an install file that is 'CR1-Beech18-installer_FS9-FSX_v1.1', send em an email or post a query on their website and get a link for 'CR1-Beech18-installer_FS9-FSX_v1.2b', which does install okay.There are some minor issues with textures in FSX, notably the fact that the windows all appear totally black from the VC, so you literally cannot see a thing from the cockpit! This might make it the ultimate IFR trainer - I'm presuming I can sort that out with a Photoshop tweak to the textures though, so I'm not unduly concerned about it, although it did mean that I had to test it from the external view. The props do the regulation FS9 trick of disappearing against clouds in FSX. Minor problems aside, it flies quite well and sounds good. Some of the bare metal textures are bit too shiny for my tastes, but then again, the Canadian Airways paint job is really excellent. Definitely worth a punt for the price, and I'm seriously impressed with how fast they got back to me with that updated exe file.Al

How does this compare to Milton Shupe's Beech 18? I really love the feel of that plane, great VC! There are some freeware cockpit variations available so you get a choice of old (or should I say classic) and modern glass.

As you probably know, the freeware Milton Shupe's Beech 18 (which is in the AVSIM file library for the curious) has a very good VC, and I would say that compares favourably with this one, however, there are actually two VCs for this one, one with modern avionics and a more traditional one too, so that is a plus for the CR1 model. As far as the external model goes, I think this one is better. Also a plus point with the CR1 version is the fact that among the extras that come with it (of which there are a lot), is a choice of flight models, a simple one and a more complex hard core one. One word of warning though, this CR1 is a pretty big install owing to the number of extras and paint schemes variations.In any case it is extremely inexpensive, and I always think it's worth throwing a bit of support peoples' way, particularly if it is only a few quid we are talking about. Since the CR1 version is not expensive, and the other one is free, I say get both LOLIncidentally, silly me didn't notice that among the many extras you get with the CR1 Beech, is a set of replacement glass textures which solve the transparency problem I was having in FSX, although I daresay I would have noticed those sooner if I hadn't been having to manually drag stuff into FSX and have two goes at installing it LOL. Still, all sorted now, and having fun flying it around. Here's a couple of pics. you can see the cabin is an improvement over the other Beech 18, and how nice that Canadian livery is:Al

Thanks for posting Alan ;)

Having flown it around a bit now, I can say it has a nice flight model which seems pretty close to the book figures in most respects, although I think I'm going to try and tweak the elevator to make that less fighter-like, as although the Beech 18 did indeed have fairly advanced aerodynamics where the tailplane/elevator was concerned - keeping the air flowing over it very well - the elevator nonetheless seems to be a bit too effective at low speed, which makes landing a bit trickier than it ought to be amongst other things. The roll rate, on the other hand, is spot on, and that gives it a very convincing feel.All in all, fun to fly. As iconic a twin as the 247, Electra and the DC-3, and at the current price, a real bargain.Al