Beech 18 = 55 gal drums of oil, longer & dirtier preflights, lower, slower, louder on more fuel, and plenty of maintenance required by experts no longer easy to find. Very cool planes but way, Way less practical than a good Shrike. There are several excellent Shrikes available unadvertised. The 720 powered super Shrike is great and I’ve actually thought I need to go fly it to see if it does what I recall, but I’m thinking the 540’s are a great match for the Shrike.
That said, Glenn, I encourage you to get an 18 as long as you’re offering rides! I’ll buy the coal!