Cessna 336/337 Question

[BlackCoffee]

I want to buy a Skymaster and was wondering if any of you can tell me if that thing can climb single engine with a fairly heavy load?

 

[Rick1128]

336/337

NO. First of all I have flown a 336. It is one sick puppy. The 337 I flew had nice performance but it had a robertson STOL kit on it. But over all any light twin will not very well on one engine. The certification is such that it is not required. All that other engine will do is get you to the scene of the accident.

But, if you look at the accident reports for GA in general, a majority of the accidents are not caused by engine failure. Modern engines that are properly maintained are fairly reliable. Its the accessories that cause you problems, vacumn pumps, generators, hyd pumps, etc. There the twin has it all over the single, as you normally have two of everything.

 

[Airpiraterob]

wallet builders....

Talking with a maintenance chief where i used to instruct, this caome out of his mouth on the mention of this subject...

Me:
"Hey Joe, what about Skymasters?"

Joe:
"Oh lord...Why would you even think about one of those!"

Me:
"So they're kinda expensive to maintain?"

Joe:
"F*&K yes they are! don't even get near a pressurized skymaster. They always need work done to em. You can make a fortune."

Joe was a mid-western man...had some country in him.

Point is this. Theres alot of systems packed into a cessna 210 body and the mechanic has to crawl around and get at the tightly packed stuff. If you have a 337 with the origional gear doors on it, You have a 200fpm LOSS during retraction flying on one engine. Usually people get the modified gear doors....well. actually it removes them and replaces it with the usual gear holes from the 172rg 'gutless' and the 210. I do hear that you can actually do well on maintenance if you STAY ON TOP of it and really work at keeping it in shape. more so than any other plane. but once you get behind on something they you do PAY for it. like a late fee penalty on top of it.

I always liked how they looked but when i find out more i stay farther away. kind of like a Dodge Aspen.

 

[metrodriver]

If you lose one don't worry about retracting the gear. Yes, the doors will slow you down when being opened, but they are fully closing the wheel wells,so with gear down there is not that much extra drag.The plane performs better on the rear engine than on the front when single engine, and fuel management becomes an issue. left wing provides front, right wing rear engine, so cross feeding is a necessity. Maintenance wise: the rear engine has cooling problems, so make sure all the baffling is in top shape. Replacing the rheostats for the panel lights is a pean in the a$$, took me 2 days once to do that. What I do like about the plane is how it handles, and the exceptional visibility. The wing is behind you and not in the way of where you're going.

 

[banned username 2]

I want to buy a Skymaster and was wondering if any of you can tell me if that thing can climb single engine with a fairly heavy load?

RUN! and RUN! fast from that thing...

I have about 100 hours in a Turbo C-337 and it was a PIG, even fairly light with BOTH engines turning it was rare to see over 1000 FPM climb, with one out you were just delaying the inevitable...

I wouldn't own one of these ever!

 

[BlackCoffee]

Thanks fellas, I love that plane but these are the responses I expected. The only good things I heard were from others that flew them for someone else and not responsible for maintanance.
The one I fell in love with was a Riley Super Rocket. Any comments or knowledge about the Riley conversion?

 

[BlackCoffee]

Allright JediNein,

Your talking me into it. I hear stories like yours and then like all the other posts. I guess I just need to do more research. It seems maintaince cost is the largest draw back. Thanks for your input.

 

[Rick1128]

Jedi, lets make sure we're both talking about the same airplane. The 336 is a fixed gear aircraft. I have managed to fly two different serial numbers of the 336. And they both flew closely the same. An utter pig. The ragged out 206's and 207's performed much better. The 337 I flew was a non-turbo aircraft with a robertson STOL kit. We used it for powerline patrol. Our normal mission was very low level. It performed very well in this, but we were also on the light side. The company's maintenance was very good. We as pilots insisted on that. But you had to stay on top of it. Visability was excellent. Very tough airframe. Had two bird strikes. A buzzard and a hawk. Was also hit by rifle and shotgun rounds, by moonshiners who thought we were the revenue agents.

 

[bobbysamd]

Push me-Pull you

One aircraft I would have loved to fly because it is cool in its own way.

The AF had its version which it used in Viet Nam. I believe some ANG units used them, too.

Try running an internet search on the airplane. I found quite a few sites, such as this one for 336/337 enthusiasts.

 

[ultrarunner]

CE-337

I owned and flew an H model 337 for about 3 years. I liked the airplane. Mine was a later 78 or 79 model, if I recall. Normally aspirated. No turbos/pressurization.

Handles very nice...sorta like a big plane. Mine carried nearly 1000 lbs of fuel, so it would go a ways.

If professionally maintained and operated, I think it's a decent plane.

The main gear door mod is a good idea. Gets rid of a fair amount of maint associated with those doors and the hydraulic actuators/sequencers they use.

The capacitance type fuel quantity guages suck. Later models, like mine, had just two tanks...one it each wing... (it's a 'wet' wing) and a guage for each. Earlier models had outboard wing tanks and inboard wing tanks (Aux they were called) and had a much more funky fuel management system. Additionally, you still had only the two guages. Can't even remember how you read fuel in those . I think a button. Anyway, I'd stay away from the earlier models.

Not all planes have the rear baggage door on the RH side. It's a good idea to have it or you're having to sling stuff over the middle row of seats. The later G and H models had the extra jump seats in the rear. Just take those out and you've got plenty of baggage.

As with most planes of this vintage, it's prone to corrosion. IF you find one you want, take it to shop that knows 337's. Ideally NOT the shop that's been maintaining it. You will never get an impartial pre-purchase inspection if you don't.

If I were to buy one today, I'd get a Riley bird.

hth.

 

[banned username 2]

Re: Cessna 336/337s

This plane will get the 300 HP engines this summer, and I will report on the differences. The owner expects this one to be nipping on the tails of a Citation.

I think your "owner" needs to put down the crack pipe...

 

[bigD]

About 5 years ago, I got to fly a 336 while the actual PIC (I wasn't multi rated then - shhhhh!) dropped my grandfather's ashes out the cabin ventilation tube at the back of the cabin. It handled like a truck, and was LOUD. Kinda fun though.

The bad part was cleaning my grandfather off the rear prop and horizontal stabilizer.

 

[UALHammer]

I've got a few hundred single engine takeoffs in a Cessna 337. The one pictured doesn't fly any more, we have a single engine O-2 instead. It's got an O-550 in it with 10:1 pistons. Endurance of around 20 hours.

CIRPAS

 

[BlackCoffee]

whats the story behind this one UALHammer?

 

[banned username 2]

Like I said, I'll report AFTER the engines are installed.

Some would think an IFR Certified Approach Level Garmin 530 GPS in a Cessna 150 would be unbelievable, too. Same with a 2500 fpm climb rate in a P337, a zero engine go around in a Shrike, a Turboprop 210, an air-conditioned C172, or a 37 KIAS stall speed in a P210.

If the people want it and will pay for it, there are shops that will STC it, and FAA folks that will approve it.

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein

You said it will be a 300 HP (vs. 210 HP stock) Cessna 337 "nipping on the tails of a Citation" Even the slowest Citation does 330+ KTAS... If you think upping the horsepower by 42.8% is going to double the TAS you best return to your books about Aerodynamics and Performance.

Now if he was installing a couple of 750 HP PT6A's then you MIGHT have something to try to chase Citations with.

 

[banned username 2]

Falcon Capt, ya'll just have to wait with the rest of us and see what this particular plane will do. If the designer doesn't use this particular aircraft, he'll use another 336.

300 HP per engine will probably make the 337 more what it should have been, instead of such a dog... I imagine you'll pick up 15-20 KTAS over the straight 210 HP version (unless he does a LOT of aerodynamic tweaking). Will probably become a half way decent performer... I just wouldn't go betting the pink slip against any Citation I drivers...

 

[UALHammer]

whats the story behind this one UALHammer?

It was originally developed as a Predator UAV surrogate, but has evolved into a low level atmospheric research platform. They are operated by a Navy outfit in CA.

It pretty much converts Avgas into noise, and it'll stay up longer than I would like it to.

There's an IO-550-G 300 hp on the back. It cruises just a hair faster than an C-182, but can fly coast to coast on 1 tank of gas if the winds are right.

 

[PRO AV8R]

I may know of a 337 for sale if you are still interested in one

 

[banned username 2]

So JediNein,

How is the "Citation Chasing" going with the Skymaster?

C'Mon we need an update!

 

[vossdr1]

For the same price as a Skyslasher, you could probably get a good Aztec.