Aircraft model
BEECH E18S-9700
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.
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 |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $175,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $320,000 |
| 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 | 32 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 7 |
| Median year built | 1958.5 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 4 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores
A score runs from 0 to 10 within the model's peer class: a position, not a grade, and the six are never added together.
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | — · class median 46.51 · 17 models in class |
| Severity | — · class median 17.86 |
| Access | 4.4 of 10 · class median 1,987 |
| Support | 0.3 of 10 · class median 121.5 |
| Liquidity | — · class median 23.08 |