Beechcraft S18D, c/n 178, CF-BKO, has been restored to appear as it did when Prairie Airways of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada took delivery of it on July 17, 1938. It was the eleventh example built of the Beechcraft model 18 and as the model suffix “D” indicates, was powered by two Jacobs L-6MB engines of 330 hp each. Only six Model 18D's were manufactured but one Wright powered 18A and two Jacobs 285 hp 18B's were subsequently converted to model 18D's with the installation of Jacobs 330 hp engines.

CF-BKO was completed on June 20, 1938 and was undergoing flight tests at Beech Field when The Wichita Beacon for Friday, July 8,1938 asked if its readers were puzzled by the two new red Beech 18's at the Beech factory with large letters on their fuselages. The article revealed that they were Canadian registration letters and the craft were being built for Prairie Airways to carry passengers and mail. The first, CF-BKN, c/n 177 left the next day for delivery while the second, CF-BKO, c/n 178 was due to be delivered as soon as the flight tests were done, which turned out to be July 16.

The maximum gross weight was 6,700 lbs. but four months after delivery that was increased to 7,200 lbs. by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce following a complete new stress analysis and new flight tests. With an empty weight of 4,300 lbs., the useful load was 2,400 lbs., which compared very favorably with the competition.

It's interesting that of the twenty-nine prewar civilian Beech 18s produced, only three still exist:

1. The Beech 18 Museum's CF-BKO, c/n 178
2. The other Prairie Airways S18D, c/n 177 on display at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, AZ.
3. The very first model 18, c/n 62, N15810, the prototype 18A, that is currently being restored at Gnoss Airfield in Novato, California.

Additional History
In April 1938, Prairie Airways received the first feeder line airmail contract issued by the Canadian Post Office Department. The low bid was based on estimates using the two S18D's on Saskatchewan routes that extended from Prince Albert to North Battleford, south to Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, and then connected with Trans-Canada Airlines at Regina. The two aircraft were then ordered through Canadian distributor, Aircraft Industries of Canada, Montreal at a cost of $36,750 each.

Both Beech monoplanes were powered by Jacobs L-6MB engines of 330 hp that turned Hamilton Standard controllable propellers. The aircraft were finished in bright Teak Red with a blue Beechcraft fuselage birdstripe edged in cream, Prairie Airways name over the cabin door and a PAL (Prairie Airways Limited) logo on each side of the nose. The interior was trimmed in blue with seating for seven passengers in the cabin in addition to the two pilots up front, required for scheduled passenger operations.

As indicated by the S for seaplane, in the S18D designation, the aircraft were designed and built by Beech to be operated on skis, floats, or wheels. Prairie Airways however, chose not to seek approval from the Canadian Dept. of Transportation to operate it on floats and during its 7 years in Canada it was never mounted on floats (nor was its sister ship, CF-BKN). In fact, by 1939, the registration certificate was referring to it as a Model 18D without the prefix S. It was approved for skis but for most operations it stayed on wheels.

In late 1941, Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CPAL), acquired Prairie Airways and its five aircraft (two Beechcraft 18D, a Barkley-Grow T8P-1, a Cessna Airmaster and a Waco ZQC-6) for a little over half a million dollars. Donald M. Bain in his book, Canadian Pacific Air Lines, notes that Prairie Airways found their 18D's, “to be extremely unreliable and the Jacobs engines were referred to derisively as ‘Shakey Jakes' ”. There is more available on early operations at Prairie Airways and problems with engines, landing gear, and accidents. Perhaps because of this, CPAL sold both 18D's, in July 1944, to Transportes Aereos Centro-Americanos, TACA de Venezuela of Costa Rica, with ex CF-BKO registered as YV-AZ

Recent Owner History
It was registered to Catbird Oil Co./Layton Humphrey, Dallas, TX in January, 1991 and in 1996 it was stored. Humphrey felt strongly that this historic aircraft should be preserved and restored and had plans to have original type bumped cowls made, as well as a spar strap installed. When the Twin Beech 18 Society decided to build their Beech 18 Museum and approached Layton Humphrey about having his S18D be the centerpiece, he gladly donated it the Museum. It arrived in Tullahoma, TN on Dec. 13, 1996, and the father and son team of Richard C. Blazier and Richard Blazier began restoration. The excellent results of their work officially went on display at the dedication of the new Beech 18 Museum in October 1998.

Additional Owners
Beechcraft S18D CF-BKO was registered in Costa Rica as TI-78, Fleet #452 and then used in Venezuela. In January 1946 it was obtained by TACA Airways Agency Inc., Miami, FL and registered as NC66400. The Lodwick School of Aeronautics, Lakeland, FL bought it in March of 1946 and had it until February 1951 when Raymond A. Ross, Miami bought it.

On June 1, 1951 Yankee Lines Inc, Akron, OH acquired it and sold it July 23, 1954 to Airport Associates Inc, Philadelphia. Then Asbury Park Air Terminal Inc, Asbury Park, NJ bought it on December 12, 1954 and owned it until 1972. Later owner, Tom Larson, remembered being told that Asbury Park flew it once and then it sat for twenty years. That may very well be true because the 1964 U.S. Civil Aircraft Register notes that the last inspection was in August 1953 and the subsequent registers continue to note it as ineligible due to overdue inspection.

Thomas W. Larson, Carmel, CA bought it in June 1972 and re-registered it as N2TL. Changes that he noted were: the original “bump cowls” had been replaced by smooth cowls, new landing gear, new wings, new manufacturer's plate, the water rudder controls were removed from under the cabin floor and the elevator and original logbooks were both missing. Still, parts of the plane were the original: fuselage, tail, seats, some of the interior, original manuals, wing float fittings, nasty heel brakes, and stirrup rudder pedals. Larson raved about the excellent takeoff and climb performance. Even with eleven parachutists aboard it outperformed the newer but heavier Model 18's.The plane had a total time of 5400 hours in 1979.

It was registered to Airez Aviation Corp, San Jose, CA in February 1988 and then re-registered as N87AZ. It was back in the hands of Thomas W. Larson, Carmel, CA in July, 1988 and he noted that: the 330 horsepower Jacobs had just fifty-five and seventy-five hours since major overhaul, the propellers were recently overhauled, and that he was asking $37,500 which was very similar to the selling price in 1938.

Operations at Prairie Airways and Problems
Excerpt From Boxkite to Boardroom by Richard W. Ryan who was the first manager at Prairie Airways, "several hundred Moose Jaw people were at the airport to see the new aircraft [CF-BKN] arrive. We had phoned after clearing customs at Pembina and had given our approximate arrival time. As we stepped off the aircraft we were given a great welcome. I believe this was one of the happiest days in my life. About two weeks later we took delivery of our second aircraft [CF-BKO] and we were ready to commence operations.

Our first regular flight was operated August 2, 1938. During the first month we didn't carry passengers in order that our crews might first become familiar with the route and the aircraft. We had worked out a schedule, which we found we could maintain without difficulty. During the first eight months of our operation the aircraft performed well and we gradually built up our passenger traffic. In the late fall and winter there were a few days when we could not operate on account of bad weather but this was to be expected on a route not equipped for instrument flying. There were other days when one or more of the northern city airports were below limits. These points were passed up but we operate into the airports that were within our limits.

Early in 1939, we encountered cylinder and piston troubles in our engines. This trouble seldom caused a complete engine failure but the engine commenced malfunctioning and had to be shut down. Since the aircraft had good single engine performance there was no danger but the aircraft had to be called back to our main base at Moose Jaw where the engine was changed. The failed engine had to be torn down and the defective parts replaced. As this was happening far too frequently I phoned Mr. Jacobs in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where his plant was located, and advised him of our trouble. He pointed that our company apparently was the only one having trouble with his engines. I found this hard to believe so I phoned Walter Beech in Wichita and told him about our problem also told him what Jacobs had said. ‘Ridiculous' said Walter, ‘I'll say you are not the only company having troubles with his engines. All the people who bought my aircraft with his engines are having trouble. His damned engines are ruining the reputation of my airplanes. I'll phone him, Dick, and build a fire under him.' Very soon after this conversation a representative of the Jacobs Company arrived in Moose Jaw to check into our problems and to see how his company could give us the most help. Later the replacement pistons and cylinders we received from the factory gave us a little better service but they were never entirely satisfactory. In fairness to Jacobs, a smaller engine, which he had built and which was used quite extensively during the war, gave fairly good service. He had apparently run into problems when he built the bigger engine.

The utilization of our aircraft on the feeder line was very low. The average flying time on the operation each day was only about four and one half hours. With two aircraft in the service the average aircraft flying time per day was only two hours and twenty minutes. However, in view of the troubles we experienced with the Jacobs engines, we could not possibly have operated the route with only one aircraft. In spite of our problems we completed our first year of operation with a small profit. We paid the dividends on the preferred shares promptly at the end of each six-month period and our employees always received their pay chukkas on time.

During the second year of our operation we had our first belly landing [CF-BKN on Aug. 22,1939]. In the undercarriage retraction mechanism Beech had used a sprocket chain. This chain apparently was not strong enough to stand numerous take offs and landings, so on this occasion it broke while the undercarriage was being retracted after take off. The result was that the undercarriage could neither be fully extended nor fully retracted. A belly landing had to be carried our and the aircraft was recalled to Moose Jaw main base to carry out this procedure. On landing, the undercarriage went back to the fully retracted position but the wheels still extended partly below the body of the aircraft and prevented the main body of the aircraft from serious damage. However, the propellers were badly damaged and the engines had to be dismantled and carefully checked for possible damage.

This was an experience which neither Beech nor our company had foreseen. It meant changing both engines and propellers in order to render the aircraft serviceable again. I phoned Beech and told him what had happened. He expressed regret and said they would try to supply a heavier chain but this would take time. Meanwhile he suggested that we carry out frequent inspections of the undercarriage chains and replace them if there was any sign of deterioration. In spite of these extra precautions we had to make a second belly landing [CF-BKO on Dec. 12,1939] several months later.

Other than this defect the aircraft performed very well. If the engines had performed as well we would have been satisfied."

The following information from documents on the Canadian DOT microfilm of the files for CF-BKN and CF-BKO is of interest for the additional details it adds to the account of Richard Ryan. The extent of the Jacobs engine problems may be seen by the following for CF-BKN:

• In December 1938 a new engine was installed but a piston failed one-engine hour later.
• Another new engine from Jacobs was installed and within 2 weeks it seized.
• In December 1939 cracks were found in a Jacobs crankshaft and crankcase.
• On a flight on July 28, 1941 the right engine seized (16 hours after overhaul at Prairie A/W), the propeller twisted off the end of the crankshaft and the cowling tore off. The pilot landed safely at Prince Albert 25 miles away. A clamp on the rear section of the crankshaft failed allowing the crank pin and rod assembly to move out of alignment.

For landing gear problems with CF-BKN: the Aug. 22,1939 belly landing was caused by a bent sprocket tooth that broke the chain. Chief Beech engineer, Ted Wells, sent Prairie four new heat treated sprockets as replacements.

For CF-BKO engine problems:

• In 1940 a master rod broke in flight, the propeller and cowling both separated from the aircraft but the pilot landed safely, 15 miles away at Saskatoon Airport.
• It was discovered that an August 1939, Jacobs Special Service Bulletin concerning rod replacement was never received by Prairie Airways.

For CF-BKO landing gear problems:

• On Dec. 6, 1939 it had a landing gear sprocket problem followed by a belly landing mentioned above on Dec. 12,1939. Prairie Airways notified the Canadian DOT that, "pending a satisfactory solution to the landing gear problems both our aircraft will fly with the landing gear extended and locked permanently down." Nothing further on that subject appears in the file.
• CF-BKO had an accident on Jan. 22,1943 when it hit a hard ridge of snow at Edmonton and broke the tail wheel fork. On July 15,1943 a Canadian Pacific pilot deliberately flew into thunderstorm conditions according to the DOT report and was lucky to have survived. It rained so hard that CF-BKO lost power on approach to Saskatoon and it came away with only a damaged wing tip and a missing weight from the trailing antenna.