Who needs a turbine Duke when you can have one of these?

Fearless Tower

Fearless Tower

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
16,541
Location
Norfolk, VA
Display Name
Display name:
Fearless Tower
5c7b44cad6b627959dffc7d6562f2612.jpg


Yep. Somebody did a turbo prop conversion on a Twin Beech.

I saw this sitting on the ramp at ELP this morning. I didn't get close enough to get a good look (I was repelled by its ugliness as a matter of fact), but they don't look like PT-6s.
 
Some were converted using P&W, some had Garrett's.

Also some had fuselage plugs inserted making them longer.

Then the baddest of the bad was a stretched version, tailwheel model with Garrett's, with an extended nose.
 
But you'd look cool in a Duke.
 
The duke is better looking ,and newer.
 
Wasn't there a Beech-18 conversion that changed it to tricycle gear, single rudder tail and turbine engines? I think it might have been called a Volpar conversion.
 
Used to see them running around Viet Nam. The CIA was using them.
 
Zeldman said:
Wasn't there a Beech-18 conversion that changed it to tricycle gear, single rudder tail and turbine engines? I think it might have been called a Volpar conversion.
Click to expand...

There were some conversions that put a single vertical stab on. I can't remember what aircraft the vertical stab was taken from. It was like a merge of a Queen Air and a Twin Beech, but I am not certain about the Queen Air part
 
Zeldman said:
Wasn't there a Beech-18 conversion that changed it to tricycle gear, single rudder tail and turbine engines? I think it might have been called a Volpar conversion.
Click to expand...
That would be the Pacair (Pacific Airmotive) Turbo Tradewind. Photo here. Pacair did both piston and turbine versions with the single tail.
 
Last edited:
Fearless Tower said:
5c7b44cad6b627959dffc7d6562f2612.jpg


Yep. Somebody did a turbo prop conversion on a Twin Beech.

I saw this sitting on the ramp at ELP this morning. I didn't get close enough to get a good look (I was repelled by its ugliness as a matter of fact), but they don't look like PT-6s.
Click to expand...

For years now. There used to be an operator in NC that had a bunch of them, tail and tri gear.
 
Zeldman said:
Wasn't there a Beech-18 conversion that changed it to tricycle gear, single rudder tail and turbine engines? I think it might have been called a Volpar conversion.
Click to expand...

Tradewinds was the conversion that put the Queenair tail on it. Beech in the end was building them as tri gear from the factory as well. Volpar IIRC did a nose gear, long nose, and turbine, but not sure on the turbine, that may be a separate company.

The only Tradewinds I know of sports 985s and nose gear. She was turquoise and beautiful last I saw her for sale. I was really tempted.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Henning said:
Tradewinds was the conversion that put the Queenair tail on it. Beech in the end was building them as tri gear from the factory as well. Volpar IIRC did a nose gear, long nose, and turbine, but not sure on the turbine, that may be a separate company.

The only Tradewinds I know of sports 985s and nose gear. She was turquoise and beautiful last I saw her for sale. I was really tempted.
Click to expand...
Beech bought the rights to install the Volpar tri-gear on later factory-new Super H18s.

Volpar did both piston and turbine conversions too, but those kept the original twin tails.

The Tradewind vertical tail somewhat resembles a Queen Air 80's, but they're not the same.
 
Pilawt said:
Beech bought the rights to install the Volpar tri-gear on later factory-new Super H18s.

Volpar did both piston and turbine conversions too, but those kept the original twin tails.

The Tradewind vertical tail somewhat resembles a Queen Air 80's, but they're not the same.
Click to expand...

Huh, interesting. When I saw it, the manager at the airport (not representing the plane) told me it was off a Queen Air, I never researched it until now. They up ended a side of a horizontal stab.:lol: cool.
 
Pilawt said:
Doesn't look like it. The horizontal stab of a Twin Bo / Queen Air isn't swept ...

BE_65-80_400_zpsqbnfozdz.jpg
Click to expand...

I meant the stab of a BE-18, sorry I wasn't clear. Agreed, research showed it contains no Queen Air parts.
 
Henning said:
For years now. There used to be an operator in NC that had a bunch of them, tail and tri gear.
Click to expand...

In the early to mid 80's I did some part-time work for Saber Aviation, a freight outfit out of CLT. They operated 4 C-47s, a bunch of BE18s, and several light twins and SE airplanes. Several of the 18s were the tri-gear Volpar conversion with the Garrett engines. They were big time noisy. Saber Aviation went belly up and later started up again as Saber Cargo Aviation(now defunct).

Noah W
 
Noah Werka said:
In the early to mid 80's I did some part-time work for Saber Aviation, a freight outfit out of CLT. They operated 4 C-47s, a bunch of BE18s, and several light twins and SE airplanes. Several of the 18s were the tri-gear Volpar conversion with the Garrett engines. They were big time noisy. Saber Aviation went belly up and later started up again as Saber Cargo Aviation(now defunct).

Noah W
Click to expand...

Sounds like the guys I was thinking about. I rember there were couple turbine tail draggers on the ramp too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top