I'll Take the 18: The Story of Beech 18 Freight Flying

by Scott H. Gloodt

Overview

This book is about flying freight in an aircraft known as the Beech 18. It includes my stories, and stories from others, about a time when small air cargo loads were flown around the US in this iconic airplane. It is about the pilots, their cargo loads, and the weather they faced. It is about those who survived and those who didn't, all in one of the most classic airplanes ever built.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781543930672
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	05/05/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	338
File size:	122 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Husband, father, pilot.

Table of Contents

Dedication vii

For the Pilot vii

Preflight ix

Converging Courses 1

A Beech 18 Freight Pilot 11

The Quest 11

A Mixed Bag 15

Classroom in the Night Sky 21

Into the Fray 30

The Sandman and Hitting the Can 41

High Jinx and Hilarity 53

Now a Warrior 58

Delivery by Air 71

The Mail Must Get Through 72

Entrepreneurial Airmen 74

Maintenance 76

The FAA 79

I'd Like to See Your Papers 83

We'll Fly What You Need 87

The Load; Carry That Weight 94

Push it Up 96

Destinations 105

Ten Boxes of Screws 110

A Most Complex Mechanical Choreography 113

Hazmat 118

Glowing in the Night 120

Nitro 120

Big Bang Theory 122

Old Reliable 128

"My God, what a magnificent machine" 128

Fit for a Purpose 135

The Mighty 985 143

Twin Buzz Saws 157

GEAR DOWN! 162

Load It Up 173

Flippers, Flappers, Rudders and Wings 176

Elixir of the Gods 179

Flying Blind 182

Alpha Omega 185

Nice Day for Flying 188

Where We Live 188

Spring, A Time of Wind and Rain 190

Summer, When Titans Roam the Land 209

Autumn, The Golden Days 227

Winter, A Hard and Dangerous Old Man 235

David Moses 269

In Solitude 279

Time Moves On 282

Affection Unabashed 282

The Old West Fades into History 284

Rise of the Phoenix 290

The Interview 292

Lovelorn 295

Time Traveler 297

A Spiritual Meeting 300

An Airplane Named Sugar Charlie 302

Old Freight Dogs 307

In the Distance, Where the Sun Sets 308

"I'll Take the 18" 310

Definitions 314