Beechcraft E18S
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Super 18 is the developed Twin Beech, with a taller cabin, a higher gross weight and better performance than the D18S. It carries ten people at 180 knots on two 450 hp radials and was sold as a corporate transport at a time when that meant a piston twin with a cabin you could stand in.
Everything that applies to a D18S applies here with larger numbers. Two radials to overhaul, an airframe needing inspections a light twin does not, the wing spar airworthiness directive that has grounded aircraft and is expensive to comply with, and a demanding tailwheel aeroplane of nearly five tons. Many have been converted to tricycle gear, which changes the handling and the endorsement requirement entirely. Insurance requires substantial multi-engine time and, for tailwheel aircraft, documented type experience.
Variants of the Beechcraft Model 18
- D18S · 1945 · 55 active
- E18S · 1954 · 51 active · this page
- E18S-9700 · 1954 · 7 active
Also consider
- Cessna 402CScore 25.1/50 · 10 seats · 200 kt
- Piper PA-31-350Score 31.4/50 · 10 seats · 210 kt
- Cessna 414AScore 24.9/50 · 8 seats · 200 kt
Compare with…
Put Beechcraft E18S side by side with up to three other models.
- Beechcraft E18S
Open Beechcraft E18S in Compare
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney R-985 (radial) |
| Horsepower | 450 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1954 |
| Production end | 1960 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 180 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 900 nm |
| Service ceiling | 21,400 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,400 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 70 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 3,525 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 2,289 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 9,700 lb |
| Empty weight | 6,175 lb |
| Usable fuel | 206 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 50.4 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a piston twin.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $373/h | $37,346/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $15,833/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | not counted | |
| Insurance | fixed | $7,000/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | not counted | |
| Hangar | fixed | not counted | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
Not in the totals: Maintenance reserve, Annual inspection, Hangar. We have no reliable default for these lines; enter your figure to include them.
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $190,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $70,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $120,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 391 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 51 |
| Median year built | 1957.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 19.61 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 8 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 15.69 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 51 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 51 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 51 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 2.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.3 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 15.87 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 20.42.
- Access: class median 3,096.5.
- Support: class median 132.5.
- Liquidity: class median 23.08.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30