TC,

The AT-10 you mentioned did ring a few bells. Talk about an
incredibly rare airplane that wasn't built to last...wooden fuel tanks
wrapped in rubber, amazing. I wonder if any are in existence outside
of museums, they'd be even more costly to keep flying than a Cessna
T-50.

I've flown the 300 hp Boeing Stearmans and have always thought that
was the correct engine for that airframe as the original 220 hp
version is pretty badly underpowered. I had no idea that the engine
mod was essentially a bolt on from the AT-10. I had a vague
understanding that a lot of BT-13s gave their all for the R-985 mount
so the Boeings could become crop dusters.

So, AT-10s from Beech live on (in part) on Boeings built about five
miles southeast...

Now, as to putting an R-680 on a Beech 18 airframe that wasn't
originally designed for the small engines....well there are
'interesting' ideas all the time in aviation. Just yesterday I got
word of a guy who droped a Chevy V8 into a Cessna 150, used rubber
hoses for the fuel lines and couldn't seem to understand why the FAA
was a little less than understanding about the whole thing. Just
because he hadn't sought to get any sort of approval before deciding
to fly it...

All the best,
Rick

wrote in message . ..
On 19 Nov 2003 08:02:58 -0800, (Rick Durden)
wrote:

snip

Where in the world have you found an R-680 powered Twin Beech? That
has got to be an incredibly rare beast. I thought only one or two of
the very first ones had other than Pratt and Whiskey R-985s. The
early ones were much lighter, but, still, the performance had to be
marginal at best.

Have you ben able to get your hands on a manual for the R-680 powered
model? Given that it would have been written in the 1930s when most
manuals were pretty basic, I'd be curious what it reported about
performance. Does the airplane even have feathering props? What is
the serial number of this airplane?

snip

My initial thoughts are that Beech made a twin trainer similar to the
Bamboo Bomber that was powered by 300 hp R680's.

There are quite a few Stearmans flying around with 300 hp 680's that
are an STC'd install using the modified engine mount, dishpan, etc.
from the the Beech twin trainer.

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/early_years/ey23.htm

TC