Beechcraft 18 Turbo

Turboprop twin engine • Low Wing • Retractable gear

Range Map

Origin:

• nm at current load

• click map to move • two fingers to move map

Payload vs. Range

Configure weights

Occupants

lb + lbs / pax

Select payload

gal

Fuel on board

lbs

Extra weight

Range

Available Range / nm

Mission capable. Aircraft can handle the current load with full fuel tanks.

Fuel capacity reduced by gallons ( gal usable for nm range).

Over max gross weight. Reduce payload by lbs to safely operate this aircraft.

Extra weight is the additional payload available with your selected passengers.

Mission Profile

Used market

210

KTAS

Cruise Speed

1,000

Max Range

26,000

Service Ceiling

Occupants

524

lbs

Wet Payload

Endorsements & ratings:

High-Performance
Complex
High-Altitude
Multi-Engine
Instrument

Estimated Ownership Costs

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About the Beechcraft 18 Turbo

Type certificated 1965

Overview

The Beechcraft 18 Turbo is a turboprop conversion of the Beechcraft 18 airframe, most commonly associated with Volpar Aircraft’s Super Turbo 18 program. Volpar replaced the original Pratt & Whitney R-985 radials with two 705 hp Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-1-101B turboprops, flat-rated to 605 hp, and added the Volpar MkIV tricycle landing gear conversion. The result preserved the Twin Beech’s heavy-hauling cabin while modernising powerplant, ground handling, and dispatch reliability.

For a buyer, the Volpar Turbo 18 is a turbine Twin Beech: turboprop reliability and tricycle-gear handling on a vintage cabin twin. The trade is a finite conversion population, a thin parts and support base, and a 1937-design airframe beneath the modern powerplant. Choose it for turbine utility on a classic Beech 18 platform, and only if you accept the niche-conversion ownership profile.

Key Features for GA Buyers

Turbine reliability on a vintage cabin. Garrett TPE-331 turboprops remove the magneto, carb-ice, and cylinder-temperature management of the R-985 radials, while the cabin keeps the Twin Beech’s six-to-eight-seat utility layout.
Tricycle gear handling. The Volpar MkIV nosewheel conversion removes the demanding ground-handling profile of the original taildragger, opening the type to a wider pilot population.
Operational pedigree. Air America operated 14 Volpar conversions during the Vietnam War, and civilian freight operators kept Volpar Turbo 18s in revenue service into the 1980s.

Trade-offs

Conversion-population type. Volpar built a finite number of conversions; airframe availability is limited and parts support depends on a small specialist community.
Fuel burn versus payload. Turboprop performance comes at a higher fuel flow than modern equivalents; the large fuel system needed for range leaves useful load constrained at full fuel.
Period airframe. The underlying structure remains a 1937-design Beech 18: spar inspections, corrosion management, and a vintage parts supply chain are part of the ownership profile, even with the modern powerplant.

Base model

Beechcraft 18

Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Height: 9.7 ft
Length: 37.5 ft
Parking area (ft²): 2380.0 ft²

Max Takeoff Weight: Source: manufacturer figure 10,286 lbs
Max Landing Weight: 9,772 lbs
Useful Load: 2,655 lbs
Fuel Capacity: 318 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed: 210 KTAS
Never-Exceed (V_NE): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 223 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (V_NO): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 178 KIAS
Approach Speed: 100 KIAS
Stall, Clean (V_S₁): 77 KIAS
Range: 1000 NM
Service Ceiling: 26,000 ft
Rate of Climb: 1400 - 1710 fpm

Engines

Sources

Where the figures on this page come from. Beechcraft 18 Turbo specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.