ended
Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:47 pm
Hi everyone,
This thread is about our AT-11 restoration. I wanted to move the topic from the SNB-5 thread.
Delivered to USAAF Jan 25 1943 to Bomb training school, Childress Texas. C/N:4616 BU# 42-37620
After service it was made into a photo aircraft. Tail # CF-JNW
Last flown May 5 1965 with total airframe time 6279.00 hours.
The plan is to restore this aircraft back to original factory condition.
The first item to work on is the instrument panel.
This thread is about our AT-11 restoration. I wanted to move the topic from the SNB-5 thread.
Delivered to USAAF Jan 25 1943 to Bomb training school, Childress Texas. C/N:4616 BU# 42-37620
After service it was made into a photo aircraft. Tail # CF-JNW
Last flown May 5 1965 with total airframe time 6279.00 hours.
The plan is to restore this aircraft back to original factory condition.
The first item to work on is the instrument panel.
Last edited by Project Warbird on Tue Dec 10, 2013 7:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Tue Dec 20, 2011 1:03 am
Hurry up, I'm waiting!!!!!
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:33 am
Working on it everyday. 
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Tue Dec 20, 2011 10:56 am
YEEE HAAAA
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:27 pm
Been working on the instrument panel.
Removed the brackets and cleaned.
Fit some of the instruments and marked the areas that need fixed.
Today I moved the tail section to the shop for disassembly.
Tomorrow the work begins.
Removed the brackets and cleaned.
Fit some of the instruments and marked the areas that need fixed.
Today I moved the tail section to the shop for disassembly.
Tomorrow the work begins.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:23 am
looks great, should be lots of work....
hey your truck looks like its ready for liftoff
hey your truck looks like its ready for liftoff
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Mon Dec 26, 2011 7:40 pm
Had a great X-mas weekend, I was able to get the tail section disassembled. It is in rough shape.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:47 pm
Eric Miller wrote:
Today I moved the tail section to the shop for disassembly.
My Ranger needs a wing like that! haha...
Awesome work thus far, love the AT-11 and can't wait to see this succeed.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:45 am
Hello Eric,
Congratulations on the AT-11 project. It is my favorite Twin Beech. If you need any help with anything just ask. I have parts, blueprints, manuals, service information pretty much everything you need for the AT-11 and Twin Beech.
The panel looks great as it is rare to find such a stock panel these days. For what it is worth a couple of the holes marked for repair are stock or have a military connection to them. Here are a couple of notes about that:
A: these two holes are factory holes. The one at the bottom of the clock cut out is for an early clock that was not used very much but the cut out remained through later production panels.
B: These holes were for the landing gear control switch modification or Technical Order issued by the Air Force. In the before shot of your panel this mod plate was installed. It was done because of the high number of incidents where the pilot pulled the landing gear up on the roll out after landing when he thought he was raising the flaps. The flap and gear switch were identical AN toggle switches right across from each other on the throttle pedestal. It was easy to get them mixed up and they often did. The only difference between them was the switch guard was inverted on the flap switch. The fix was to move the landing gear switch up to the top of the panel to get it away from the flap switch. I can't recall the specific date of the TO modification so I can't recall if it was a WWII mod or not. It is interesting that the gear and flap position on later Beech 18's including the military aircraft remained at the original location on the pedestal but they changed the feel of the switches by adding a round wheel type of handle, like a tire, to the gear and typically made a flap like handle on the flap switch which is pretty much standard today.
About 10 plus years ago a gear up incident in an AT-11 on the roll out happened because of the identical switch problem so it is certainly still possible if you don't pay close attention to what is going on after landing. The need to keep an eye out on roll out to keep the Beech straight is sometimes greater than the need to see what switch you are reaching for and that can lead to expensive results.
So even though this is not a factory original mod it does have valid military history. Food for thought on the operation of these older model Twin Beech's.
I will be happy to look up and send you a copy of the TO on this if you like.
Please take a close look at your spar as there are some other Air Force mods by Technical Order that could affect the airworthiness of your spar. There was a gusset type of reinforcement done in service that can open up the spar to the atmosphere. They drilled holes through the spar and mounted gussets in the slide tube cluster to beef up the area because cracks were showing up from hard landings and high takeeoff and landing cycles common to the AT-11 bombardier training operations. Several surviving AT-11's have had this mod and the problem is if moisture gets inside any of the spar tubes then you could have internal corrosion issues. Some corrosion can be repaired but it all depends on the severity. Please check into this early in the project as it can be critical to the restoration plan/cost.
I have made a web page about this so for more information check this page:
http://twinbeech.com/beech18sparconcerns.htm
I recommend getting an x-ray done early in a project like this so you can be sure that the spar is in good health or you can find out what needs repair work. I brought an AT-11 home on a trailer for a customer that had this spar mod. It turned out that the spar had water inside and it had rusted out the truss from the inside. There were holes that had come through the spar near the fuselage. If this plane had been flown home then the spar would have failed in flight since it didn't have a strap. This is an extreem case but is still a big concern on the older Beech 18's and all of them for that matter. I don't want to scare you as spar problems on most Beech 18's are still rare but they do occur which is why this should be looked at real early when ressurecting an airframe that has been sitting for a long time.
Please call me any time as I am always happy to talk Twin Beech especially AT-11.
Congratulations on the AT-11 project. It is my favorite Twin Beech. If you need any help with anything just ask. I have parts, blueprints, manuals, service information pretty much everything you need for the AT-11 and Twin Beech.
The panel looks great as it is rare to find such a stock panel these days. For what it is worth a couple of the holes marked for repair are stock or have a military connection to them. Here are a couple of notes about that:
A: these two holes are factory holes. The one at the bottom of the clock cut out is for an early clock that was not used very much but the cut out remained through later production panels.
B: These holes were for the landing gear control switch modification or Technical Order issued by the Air Force. In the before shot of your panel this mod plate was installed. It was done because of the high number of incidents where the pilot pulled the landing gear up on the roll out after landing when he thought he was raising the flaps. The flap and gear switch were identical AN toggle switches right across from each other on the throttle pedestal. It was easy to get them mixed up and they often did. The only difference between them was the switch guard was inverted on the flap switch. The fix was to move the landing gear switch up to the top of the panel to get it away from the flap switch. I can't recall the specific date of the TO modification so I can't recall if it was a WWII mod or not. It is interesting that the gear and flap position on later Beech 18's including the military aircraft remained at the original location on the pedestal but they changed the feel of the switches by adding a round wheel type of handle, like a tire, to the gear and typically made a flap like handle on the flap switch which is pretty much standard today.
About 10 plus years ago a gear up incident in an AT-11 on the roll out happened because of the identical switch problem so it is certainly still possible if you don't pay close attention to what is going on after landing. The need to keep an eye out on roll out to keep the Beech straight is sometimes greater than the need to see what switch you are reaching for and that can lead to expensive results.
So even though this is not a factory original mod it does have valid military history. Food for thought on the operation of these older model Twin Beech's.
I will be happy to look up and send you a copy of the TO on this if you like.
Please take a close look at your spar as there are some other Air Force mods by Technical Order that could affect the airworthiness of your spar. There was a gusset type of reinforcement done in service that can open up the spar to the atmosphere. They drilled holes through the spar and mounted gussets in the slide tube cluster to beef up the area because cracks were showing up from hard landings and high takeeoff and landing cycles common to the AT-11 bombardier training operations. Several surviving AT-11's have had this mod and the problem is if moisture gets inside any of the spar tubes then you could have internal corrosion issues. Some corrosion can be repaired but it all depends on the severity. Please check into this early in the project as it can be critical to the restoration plan/cost.
I have made a web page about this so for more information check this page:
http://twinbeech.com/beech18sparconcerns.htm
I recommend getting an x-ray done early in a project like this so you can be sure that the spar is in good health or you can find out what needs repair work. I brought an AT-11 home on a trailer for a customer that had this spar mod. It turned out that the spar had water inside and it had rusted out the truss from the inside. There were holes that had come through the spar near the fuselage. If this plane had been flown home then the spar would have failed in flight since it didn't have a strap. This is an extreem case but is still a big concern on the older Beech 18's and all of them for that matter. I don't want to scare you as spar problems on most Beech 18's are still rare but they do occur which is why this should be looked at real early when ressurecting an airframe that has been sitting for a long time.
Please call me any time as I am always happy to talk Twin Beech especially AT-11.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Mon Jan 09, 2012 6:04 pm
Taigh,
Thanks for the info. I can use the help with this project. This is the first AT-11 I have worked on and it will be a learning adventure. That is the fun part. I love learning more about these aircraft. I will make the corrections on the instrument panel. I looked through the paperwork I have for the AT-11 ( AD's, Service bulletins) and I have no TO's at all. I could use any of this info that you have. When I get the project down to Asheville and in the hanger I will start working on getting an X-ray done on the spar. If I took the spar out of the airframe, is there anyone that you know that will overhaul it?
I have been working on the Horizontal and will have pics soon.
Thanks for the info. I can use the help with this project. This is the first AT-11 I have worked on and it will be a learning adventure. That is the fun part. I love learning more about these aircraft. I will make the corrections on the instrument panel. I looked through the paperwork I have for the AT-11 ( AD's, Service bulletins) and I have no TO's at all. I could use any of this info that you have. When I get the project down to Asheville and in the hanger I will start working on getting an X-ray done on the spar. If I took the spar out of the airframe, is there anyone that you know that will overhaul it?
I have been working on the Horizontal and will have pics soon.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:25 am
there are numurous parts, pieces of fuselage carcasses 5 minutes from my house, give me a shopping list, i'll see what i can do.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:45 am
Tom,
Thanks for the offer. When I find out what I need I will PM you. Can you get a pic or two of the stuff?
Thanks for the offer. When I find out what I need I will PM you. Can you get a pic or two of the stuff?
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:24 pm
no problem w/ the pics, but the airport is under new ownership so that will take a little time to get my foot in the door. contact wixer woodsyflield he has 2 beech 18's that are in decent shape. i have 2 18/ at -11 fuel gauges, both are near cherry condition...... $ 50.00 + shipping / insurance. might have a few more instruments related to that type. just send type & any data plate nomenclature & i'll do some homework.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:46 pm
Tom,
Thanks for the offer, I will get with you soon about the instruments.
Been working on the horizontal stab, here are a few pics.
Drilled off one side of the leading edge and found a mascot, (Squirrel) that got stuck in one of the ribs a long time ago.
First piece of new skin.
Started to fit in some of the replacement parts.
Thanks for the offer, I will get with you soon about the instruments.
Been working on the horizontal stab, here are a few pics.
Drilled off one side of the leading edge and found a mascot, (Squirrel) that got stuck in one of the ribs a long time ago.
First piece of new skin.
Started to fit in some of the replacement parts.
Re: AT-11 Restoration Project
Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:37 pm
So will you be adding a squirrel kill mark to the nose when the plane is finished? 