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Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan
History
Our AT-11 "Kansan", serial number 43-10404, was built by the Beech Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas and was delivered to the Bombardier School at Deming Army Airfield in New Mexico on March 23, 1944. The Kansan was a militarized version of the Beechcraft Model 18 and was the primary bombing trainer for the Army Air Corps. Modifications to the Model 18 included a glass nose, Norden bombsight and autopilot, bomb bay with racks, and guns for gunnery training. Beechcraft built 1,582 AT-11s between 1941 and 1945, at a cost of $67,000 each.
It remained in the military for the next ten years, at seven different airfields. The last two years of its Air Force career was spent at Selfridge Air Force Base, in Mount Clemens, Michigan. It was then sent to Ogden, Utah for storage in 1953, and finally withdrawn from the USAF inventory in April, 1954.
The aircraft entered the civilian aircraft community in May, 1957 when it was sold to F.M. Pardo Enterprises for a grand total of $3,340.65 and registered as N7340C. It was converted to a combined passenger/cargo configuration and flew for Pacific Air Industries in California for two years before being sold to an individual in Florida, where it remained for another two years. Photography and land survey equipment was installed in 1962 and the FAA assigned the aircraft to a restricted aerial survey category.
The AT-11 eventually ended up in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1978, needing a spar strap modification. It never got this modification, and remained there until sold to the Yankee Air Force, Stateline Division, in 1984. It was stored at Rock County, Wisconsin and deemed a long-term restoration project. Restoration was never completed.
The "Kansan" was acquired by the Willow Run Division of the Yankee Air Force, and was trucked to Willow Run Airport on December 28, 1999. It is to be restored to flying condition as a navigational trainer. At the present time, it is thought that the paint scheme will be an overall gloss dark blue, with a medium gray underside.
Today, restoration continues under the supervision of crew chief Jerry Cobleigh at Hangar A-10 in the Black Eagle Hangars. It is generally thought that the AT-11 escaped the October, 2004 fire in our main hangar, but many valuable parts of the AT-11 were in the shops when the fire destroyed the hanger. Six engines, three of them flight ready, were lost, as well as many of the horizontal and vertical flight control surfaces that has been in the shop for cleaning and painting.
Jerry and his crew have replaced and reconditioned these control surfaces, and they are ready to be installed. Just recently received was a complete set of new control cables. Installation of these cables is seen as one of the next steps in the restoration. Another step, the search for engines, is also in progress. Cobleigh estimates that so far, the restoration team has saved the organization more than one hundred thousand dollars in restoration costs, and he value of the aircraft, when completed, may be as high as $250,000. He also estimates that the restoration may be completed in 2008.