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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1379.PDF
FLIGHT International 8 August 1963 201 IN THE AIR By Mark Lambert: Number 179 of the series CESSNA 336 SKYMASTER (Two Continental IO-360-A giving 210 h.p. for five minutes and 195 h.p. continuous) Span, 38ft; length, 29ft 7in; wing area, 201 sqft; empty weight, 2,3201b; gross weight, 3,9001b; wing loading, I9.4lb/sq, ft; power loading, 9.3lb/h.p.; fuel capacity, 93 US gal standard, 131 US gal optional; maximum seating, 6. Performance Max speed, 183 m.p.h.; cruising at 75 per cent power at 7000ft, 173 m.p.h.; initial climb, two engines l,340ft/min, front engine, 355ft/min, rear engine, 420ft/min; service ceiling, two engines 19,000ft, front engine 8,200ft, rear engine 9,500ft; stalling speed, flaps down power-off, 60 m.p.h.; take off run, 625ft; take-off to 50ft, 1,145ft; landing run, 655ft; landing distance from 50ft, 1,395ft; range at 75 per cent power, 7,000ft, no reserve, 745 miles in 4.3hr with 92 usable gal and 1,040 miles in 6hr with 128 usable gal; range at 10,000ft and 123 m.p.h., no reserves, 945 miles in 7.7hr with 92 usable gal and 1,315 miles in I0.7hr with 128 usable gal. Cessna 336 Skymaster CENTRE-LINE thrust—the tandem-powerplant concept—is here to stay. Just as rear engines have caught on in the jet airliner world, centre-line thrust in one form or another must become accepted practice in light piston-engined twins. No one will ever again be able to say that such-and-such a side-by-side twin has the best single-engined handling available, because none of them will, in this respect, ever surpass a good centre-line twin. Cessna have really stuck out their commercial necks in producing something as non-conformist as the Skymaster. I had some reser vations about its potentialities when I first examined it, but now that I have flown it I am convinced of the Tightness of the formula. Admittedly, the deliberate choice of a fixed undercarriage in the interests of simplicity causes a built-in reduction in cruising per formance, but in this context it should be remembered that the Skymaster is a 2x 195 h.p. aircraft with a five-minute option on 2x210 h.p. for take-off and emergencies; and it will carry five people, four to seven hours' fuel and 1591b of airways equipment and baggage. It has Cessna 172 performance on one engine and will allow the man who is accustomed to this type of aircraft to step up to the higher loads, twin engines and considerably better performance without any of the difficulties of asymmetric flying or complexity of systems attendant on traditional twins. Regard the Skymaster as a step-up for the inexperienced pilot rather than a step-over for the established twin man. Nevertheless, even the most experienced pilot could not fail to appreciate and derive solid comfort from the astonishingly docile engine-out behaviour and, in addition, he has in the Skymaster an aircraft capable of operating at full safety from short grass strips. It will get off a tarmac runway at gross weight in zero wind in 625ft and land in 600ft without advanced piloting techniques. Side-by-side twins can do this, but only by flying briefly in the twi light zone at or below single-engined safety speeds. The present Skymaster is regarded as the 1964 model and Cessna say they will make no changes until 1965, but an increase in author ized weight or horsepower, and retractable gear similar to that of the Cessna 210, may well follow in due course. Retractable gear should raise the present 173 m.p.h. best cruising speed by at least 20 m.p.h., but at some expense in cabin space. One of the most noteworthy factors is that the Skymaster handles better than many 170, 180 and 300 series Cessnas. It is docile and sedate without quirks, offers exceptionally good visibility for a high- wing aeroplane, is comfortably quiet and can be fitted with full radio, lighting, autopilot and de-icer boots. The single-engined man can get all the capability and reliability inherent in the twin-engined aircraft with hardly any of its attendant disadvantages. Up to a few weeks ago Cessna had made (and, they state, sold) 66 Skymasters. Present production of approximately one every three days is to be doubled in November, and 90 are scheduled for this year. Weight breakdown is as follows: an average empty aircraft and "Flight International" photograph i' ...airtw *^jp"*w Cessna Skymaster NI707Z, tf>* European demonstrator, i'Jnding at Le Bourget during tie Pons Show
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