Surprised nobody has picked this up, but Milton Shupe and his crew have decided to release the source code for their fabulous freeware Beech 18 in hopes that others will carry forward the project in terms of other variants etc. Thats huge news IMHO!!!I Quote this post from Milton found on Tom Gibsons Calclassics site:"You know, there were so many of these aircraft touched by so many people in so many countries, no one model does them all justice. No way can we provide a likeness to all the variants, all the panels, all the paint schemes, and that is somewhat sad. We would like to make the Gmax source available to the community of designers to continue the efforts in salute to this bird and the people who were touched by them. As such, I am making the Gmax source available to anyone who wishes to use it ... for reference, for parts, for modifications, enhancements or whatever as long as the end product is freeware and no money is made from the efforts or original file. The Gmax source is available here: www.flightsimonline.com/downloads/b18_d18s.zip We do hope that others will create variants, floats, etc to enhance the Beechcraft 18 experience."Hope that some of the great modellers here will now create some C-45's AT-11's, Beech 18's on floats etc!!! I can paint em...I cant make em. Too bad!!Eric

"Surprised nobody has picked this up..."It has been now!!! Thanks for the heads up Eric.

Yep Eric, looking forward to maybe her on floats :)

They've done this with all their models... DHC-7, Howard 500, Commanders...:-outtahttp://publish.hometown.aol.com/p3superb/i...s/sign_name.jpgThere is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".- unknown"My daddy gives me up, to fight for you"- a US Military Members Child

It is nevertheless, very generous of him.regards,Alan.

But none of their subjects have been as ubiquitous as the twin Beech...I seriously hope somebody picks this up and continues the line.Eric

Wow!! I would love to see an FS9 AT-11, or SNB-5, or even a regular 18 or Expeditor with the astrodome. Sigh...-JeremyThe Ozark DogfighterHappy Flying!

>They've done this with all their models... DHC-7, Howard 500,>Commanders..."This I didn't know," he said, eyes glazing over as Howard 500's with floats filled his head...:)Dan

I would love to see a float version of this plane!

>Wow!! I would love to see an FS9 AT-11, or SNB-5, or even a>regular 18 or Expeditor with the astrodome. Sigh...>>-Jeremy>The Ozark Dogfighter>>Happy Flying!... or one of the many military conversions to civil use done over the years. Here's a link to a pic of a tri-gear converted AF-5, manufactured in 1961. I have over 300 hours as pilot-in-command of this bird back in the early 70s. Had no idea it was still flying!!http://myaviation.net/search/search.php?view=&regnr=N954RJI flew it all over the east coast, Bahamas and Panama for the owner (a Private Pilot who simply couldn't learn to fly this beast well). At that time it had seats for 9, a bar and a potty. I see from the pic that it has now been fitted with a cargo door and a pilot hatch.No nose wheel steering... all differential power and brakes. When one brake lets go, and they do on occasion, it can get hairy. Then, it's a delicate balance between differential power and the use of one brake. I can still picture the look on the face of the captain of a Luftwaffe 707 parked on the Page ramp at IAD as he anticipated me messing up his beautiful aircraft. Fortunately, I squeaked between his 707 and an adjacent G-2 to get to open space where I could shut down without doing damage. Oh the joys of flying these old birds!donmac

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your story. I can't imagine steering that thing around with one brake...wow.-JeremyThe Ozark DogfighterHappy Flying!