AT-10 Wichita

[Flying Buckeye]

Does anyone know the history behind the AT-10 Wichita on display the the Air Force Museum in Dayton? I heard it was donated by an EAA chapter in Ohio. Was it restored or is it a replica?

[Obergrafeter]

Was waiting for someone in Dayton to reply, but yep its' the real deal. I beleive restored in house. The one I had is off to a better home and hopefully will be up and running in a few years.

[Steve Nelson]

I can't speak to it's provenance, but here are some pics of the original carcass the museum started with. I took them on the "behind the scenes" tour back in 1995. I believe they had some original outer wing panels as well. I'm not sure if it was an in-house restoration..I seem to remember reading that it was done by an outside shop.

SN

[Cubs]

Approx. 12 years ago, I know that there were two AT-10 noses at the Goldsboro-Wayne Airport, NC (GWW) A&P school. If there are still there I have no idea.

[AFML]

In 1940-1941 Beech Aircraft designed an advanced, multi-engine trainer that could be easily manufactured on a large scale. To conserve scarce metals needed for combat aircraft, Beech built the airframe out of plywood with only the engine cowlings and cockpit enclosure constructed of aluminum. The fuel tanks also were made of wood and covered with neoprene, a synthetic rubber. The extensive use of wood permitted Beech to subcontract the production of many components to furniture makers and other firms. The AT-10 had superior performance among twin engine trainers of its type, and over half of the U.S. Army Air Force's pilots received transitional training from single- to multi-engine aircraft in them.

Between 1941 and 1943, Beech built 1,771 AT-10s and Globe Aircraft Corp. (which became Temco after World War II) built 600 in Dallas, Texas. The museum placed this AT-10 on display in June 1997.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Engine: Two Lycoming R-680-9 radials of 295 hp each
Maximum speed: 190 mph
Range: 660 miles
Ceiling: 20,000 ft.
Span: 44 ft.
Length: 34 ft. 4 in.
Height: 10 ft. 4 in.
Weight: 6,465 lbs.

Here for pics at NMUSAF:

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsh ... p?fsID=483

Wes

[Obergrafeter]

Has anyone else heard the tale of: the USAFM had some wings, and or center section left over when they finished their restoration..............and destroyed them so no one else could have one!!! I have heard this from many sources. TRUE OR NOT? Does anyone have any information one way or the other?

[Cvairwerks]

Heard the story, but it was with Curtis AT-9 wings.

[mustangdriver]

I heard the same but with the AT-9. The guys I talked to at the NMUSAF said there was nothing much left, but that is more rumors than anything. I've never seen exactly what was left.

[JBoyle]

If anypone wants a project, ther is the front fuselage (about as much as you see here, sans wings) of one at a BBQ resturant in Abilene, Texas.

[steve dickey]

If anypone wants a project, ther is the front fuselage (about as much as you see here, sans wings) of one at a BBQ resturant in Abilene, Texas.

Not any more The resturant sold a couple years ago and the new owners did not want the aviation theme in their new place. The AT-10 was moved off to old man Harlow's place as far as I know.
Ober I may still have a contact # if you interested

[Obergrafeter]

Although I have given my AT-10 project away the new owner would sure still be interested even though he has a fairley complete cockpit himself.(Better than mine anyways). If you find the contact number let me know and I will either call Abiline myself or forward it to the new owner. Also in the small world of aviation I just ran into the man who traded the At-9 to the USAFM and he told me about the AT-9 wings being destroyed and I beleive it is a true story, even though I have heard of the same thing happening with the AT-10 parts. Wished I had them and my old parts back because this man is probably one of less than a handfull of artists that could get one flying.

[bluehawk15]

Ober, the business office of that AT-10 that was at Harlow's is the one that was bought by Doc at Dyess.

[SamGraves]

Hey everyone. I've read with much interest the messages concerning the AT-10. I thought I would bring folks up to date on my project. I now have the remains of 4 aircraft and am in the planning process of putting one back in the air. Obergrafeter was kind enough to let me acquire his project and since I picked it up I've acquired parts of 2 more. The AT-10 I started with was purchased surplus in 1945 by my great-grandfather and used to store oil in the fuselage for a drainage job he was doing in the bootheal of Missouri. He brought many parts home and my father and uncle played in the fuselage as children. My brother and I grew up doing the same thing. I started collecting parts years ago, but it has snowballed the last couple of years. I'm still missing a few pieces but I'm ready to move forward with construction. I have most of the castings I need except aileron parts. I have acquired flaps, elevator, rudder (all need complete rebuild but castings are good), 4 nose cones, 4 cockpits (2 complete, 1 mostly there, one stripped down which is the candidate for restoration), more landing gear parts than I can count (I had to fight a cactus in Taulpa, TX for one set). I found a seat in Abilene in a auto juck yard, tail cone, engine nacels, engine mounts, radio parts, sliding canopys, extra firewall, sheet metal fairings, complete set of drawings, manuals, and many, many other parts. I need more if you know of any. The part tags are probably marked "Beech Model 26" which throws people off. Some, like engine nacelle panels are marked "Beech AT-10" so if you see anything please let me know, I need your help. I might add that the USAF museum has been very helpful. This will be a flying aircraft so all wood parts will be new construction. Three quarters of our B-17 and B-24 pilots did their advanced training in AT-10's. We need one back in the air. About 12 made it into civilian registry in limited catagory after the war. Only one was an actual beech built version. The rest were Globe build aircraft as they were the last one built and I assume had the lowest time. Our aircraft and all of my remains are Beech Aircraft Corp. built aircraft. I've gotten a lot of help from folks and I appreciate it very much. If you're interested please email me at "skybolt_73@yahoo.com" or call me at 816-262-8500.....Sam Graves

[Chris Brame]

Thanks for the heads-up, Sam, and please keep us posted! Sounds like you could have enough left over for another. Very cool that you're building a flyer - hope I can see it someday. Pictures of your project would be welcome!

The only AT-10 piece I've ever seen was a tail gear assembly that Earl Reinert traded to Ingemar Holm in Minnesota. Did you get it?

What's the serial of the one that will fly?

[L. Thompson]

Maybe I've missed it in another thread but it would be interesting to see some old photos of any of the AT-10's in their prime (1946-49) days of civil use.



I'm always on the lookout for unpublished old civil garb photos of Fairchild AT-21's and Timm N2T-1's as well. Just something about civil photos of now near-extinct warbirds that gets me daydreaming. Well enough of that...I better get back out to the garage and work some more on my "way-back machine."