Page 6 - Volume 18 Number 9

Cessna’s Might-Have-Been TwinIn the heady timesfor general aviationduring the late 1970’s, Cessna Aircraft Company was looking for ways to innovate and improve its offerings. So broad was the Cessna lineup that it seemed no possible niche was unfilled. Except, perhaps for a basic twin. The unique push-pull model 337 Skymaster had played that role since the mid-1960s, but never quite caught on, notwithstanding its practical advantages.Three light-light twins – Beech’s Duchess, Piper’s Seminole and Grumman’s Cougar – were already providing low-horsepower options for the trainer market or buyers moving up to their first twin. Cessna was unwilling to concede any potential for business, and work was begun on a prototype of a4 • TWIN & TURBINEnew model 303 twin, powered by 160-hp Lycoming engines, which flew in early 1978. Late to the party and underpowered for its size, the basic 303 never made it into production.Its shape and concept, however, held promise and Cessna management could see the need to eliminate models and update its piston-twin line. A larger, turbocharged “T303” was flown in late 1979, 1,500 pounds heavier than the first 303 and with 50% more horsepower and seat capacity. Certificated on August 24, 1981, the Crusader, as it was now called, was introduced as a 1982 model. It was to replace the 337 and 310, in both normally-aspirated and turbocharged versions; the Skymaster had been discontinued after 1980 and the last 310s were built in 1981. The 335, a non-pressurizedSEPTEMBER 2014The Ces