To conserve scarce metals needed for combat aircraft, Beech built
the AT-10's airframe out of plywood - only the engine cowlings
and cockpit enclosure constructed of aluminum. The fuel tanks
were also made of wood and covered with neoprene, a synthetic
rubber.
Beech AT-10
Wichita
Between 1941 and 1943, Beech built 1,771 AT-10s
and Globe Aircraft Corp. built 600 in Dallas, Texas. Over half of
the U.S. Army Air Force's pilots received transitional training
from single- to multi-engine aircraft in
AT-10s.