Cessna 310

[Photoflight]

If you throw the first 15 in right at allowable speeds it ballon up or shove you in the seat if you hold the altitude. Let 'er slow a bit more first.

We operate a few 310's and because they're older each airplane is different. Some of the will cruise 185indicated all day and never have a problem others will show 155 and break every flight. A review of the MX logs will certianly let you know what your dealin with. Never flown the seneca but avg fuel burn on the R model is 225lbs/hr and 175KIAS, 200+ on the decent is fairly normal. It wont decelerate in a decent so speed control can be important especially if you get dunked in somewhere on an approach. Its a fun but kinda touchy airplane.

The fuel system can get fairly complicated if it has the main/aux/winglocker tanks. Because you have three sets of tanks and you have to remember where you put the fuel and how to get it to the engine.

 

[Vik]

dont know what your "mission" is, but get a Piper Twin Comanche .. affordable, fast, decent payload.

 

[sky37d]

The landing gear for 310's needs constant attention by someone who knows what they are doing. There were considerable problems with the nose gear in early models.

Jerry Temple, www.jtatwins.com, has a lot of experience with them. They are fast, roomy airplanes, but as everyone has said, they can consume an enormous amount of mx money.

Best bet is a knowlegable shop, good pre-buy, and there is no such thing as a cheap 310

 

[paulsalem]

Balloons? Don't be so ham fisted...piloting is about the schmooze, it's not x-box for crying out loud.

Beechcraft seemed to get it right in the barons. Almost no pitch change with the addition of flaps.

To cessna's credit though, if you start to roll in nose down trim using the electric trim at the same time you select flaps 15, and release the trim switch when the indicator indicates 15 it works pretty well.

 

[Hung Start]

310's especially the R model were fine airplanes. The only real issue with the gear is it MUST be totally re-rigged once a year. Takes 2 guys about 4 hours to do correctly. If you see the manual, it is 3 sheets that fold out and show how to do it, step by step. And it must be followed. Two things, one, the main gear have a "trunion" for lack of a better word, that has a welded arm on it. Very weak link. The weld starts to tear, and then just fails. Up, down on in between. Both mains must be looked at in preflight, no exceptions!
The other is the nose gear, and this is simply due to bad rigging. Since the whole thing runs on pushtubes, there is an idler arm to the side of the nose baggage compartment. If the system is not rigged correctly, the nose hits down and locked before the mains. And then this rod just keeps pushing until the mains do lock. Over time this bending causes it to fail. If you get a nose gear light much ahead of the mains,, you are looking at trouble a' brewing!
Twice we had that ripped trunion in 5 years of operations (about 1,000 per year). Lucky for us it failed on the way up, and the main just fell locked. But 12 years of nuns and Jesuits had to account for some luck!!!

Hung

 

[minitour]

dont know what your "mission" is, but get a Piper Twin Comanche .. affordable, fast, decent payload.

What kind of numbers do you get out of it?
TAS/Fuel Burn

SE Climb (ISA Sea Level)

SE Cieling

Are those book numbers or experience numbers?

I had considered getting one a looooong time ago...but they wouldn't let me see the aircraft logbooks...and I was just a "Student" at the time...I can't imagine what an A&P would have found. Yikes!

Seriously though...at 160/side how well do they perform? I'd need room for me, 2-3 friends and golf bags or me...and the wife in the cargo area.

-mini

 

[Tinstaafl]

Don't expect golf bags + friends in a PA30/39. Maybe if you empty the bags & stuff them in separate to the clubs. A C310R - and all the C400 series with the longer nose - have great baggage room.

What about an Aerostar 600? That's the non-turbo model so costs are reduced a bit. Fast for the HP & even the last seat row uses upright seats instead of Seneca/Baron/C310's 'Bum near the floor & knees near your chin' type of seats.

The extended wing mod is worthwhile since it increases the useful load by about one person at the expense of 5kts (or was it 10kts? Been too long since I flew them) in the cruise

 

[Way2Broke]

Anyone have any time in a P model, with the RAM conversion? Does anyone have a POH for the P model that they do not need anymore. I am searching for one.

 

[RedGuy]

The 310 will blow the doors off a Senica as far as speed, range, and payload. But Like anything else speed cost money. I just drive em so I don't know the mx cost, but here's some performance numbers for you.

These are for an R model
Cruise 180kts @ 23 sq
Fuel Burn 25-28 GPH @ 23 sq
Range 1000-1400sm depending on what tanks you have
Full fuel payload aprox 900lbs
Payload with 3.3 hours fuel (mains full) aprox 1500lbs
Seats 6 adults uncomportably, 4 adults and 2 children comportably
Nose Baggage holds 5-6 golf bags

With passengers in the back 2 seats you do have to really watch your W+B, you will have to put weight in the nose in most cases with adults in the last 2 seats. Also the VG kit gives you and extra 180lbs gross weight, but also cost you a few kts. Personally I really like the 310.

 

[svcta]

It took me about 150 hours or so before I decided that I REALLY liked 310s. I remember the precise moment when it happened.

The control feel of a 310 is completely different than that of any piper twin I've flown. Heavier and more positive, I recall no slop in any of ours. They are a little heavy on the Mx, but we sent ours all over this hemisphere and rarely had one break on the road.

As a general rule we would always operate normally aspirated 310s at 10,000 feet, barring restrictive winds. It is a great altitude for that airframe.....180 true all day at 24-25 GPH.

The ballooning with the flaps is a result of having no style(sorry, it's true). Lead a speed reduction with the landing lights, depending on the model 310 they'll shave off nearly 5-10 kts, get flap speed and just start sneaking them in until you get the speed trend going where you want it. We used a 7:1 descent profile in this thing to keep the power pushed up and therefore preserve our engines, but it meant you had to really think through an approach.

A seneca II holds no challenge for a 310. I hate Senecas right off the bat, but a 310 is a pretty smoking ride for a light twin.