Beechcraft 25

[Jos Heyman]

I found this snippet of information on Wikepedia:
"Beechcraft began designing the Model 25 early in 1940 in response to the requirement of the then-named United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) for a small twin-engined aircraft suitable for use in training student pilots in the handling of multi-engined retractable landing gear aircraft. As there were concerns at the time about a future possible shortage of aluminium, part of the requirement was that the aircraft be built of "non-strategic" materials. Beechcraft met this requirement by designing the aircraft to be built primarily from wood. The Model 25 prototype was given to the USAAC for evaluation, but it was destroyed in a crash on May 5, 1941. The following day Beechcraft began work on the Model 26, which was soon ready, making its first flight on July 19 the same year. The type was accepted and deliveries began to the USAAF under the designation AT-10 in February 1942"

So the question is:
1. Does anybody know the specs of the Beech 25;
2. What was the registration of this aircraft; and
3. Does a photo exist?

 

[airman]

Beechcraft 25 or AT-10

 

[Jos Heyman]

Thanks very much - that means the specs are the same.
But the photo is that of an AT-10 - I still would like to have an model 25 photo and its registration.

 

[Artie Bob]

When I first started flying, we had an AT-10 in the hangar, used to deliver baby chicks. It was the favorite light twin of several pilots, apparently being a more pleasant aircraft to fly than the twin Cessnas. One of the features of this design was that the canopy slid back, allowing taxying and pattern flight with the canopy open.

Best Regards,

Artie Bob

 

[Sundog]

I love the Butterfly tail on it. Did they do that to test the butterfly tail for the V35 Bonanza development program, or was it a proposal/production aircraft? I don't know much about this design, but I'll have to try and track down blueprints of it.

 

[Just call me Ray]

I love the Butterfly tail on it. Did they do that to test the butterfly tail for the V35 Bonanza development program

Exactly, IIRC.


Come to think of it, it reminds me of a shrunken, single-tail Beech 45.

 

[VictorXL188]

Further to Jos Heyman's request I have come across this site which has a technical description which includes both the Model 25 and the Model 26. It can be found at https://saemobilus.sae.org/content/2000-01-1679/#toc. I wasn't interested as you have to pay $33 for the privilege!

 

[Mal]

Attached is my SAE paper that VictorXL188 is referencing and it does include the development of both the Beech Model 25 and 26.

 

[AeroFranz]

Excellent technical paper, Mal thanks for sharing it!