Page 10 - Volume 19 Number 10

David Stoner PhotoFor the 1969 model year, a 401A and 402A were offered; the 401A was certificated in October 1968 and the 402A in January 1969. With the 402A designation, up to 10 seats could be installed. The major change occurred with the 401B and 402B, approved November 12, 1969. The – B model had an extended nose with a second forward baggage door, allowing as much as 600 pounds to be carried in the snozzola. However, the maximum takeoff weight of 6,300 pounds remained.Cessna continued development of the 400-series twins in the 1970s, introducing a less-expensive pressurized 414 for the 1970 model year, powered by direct-drive 310- hp engines, and in 1976 the 421 got its makeover with a bonded, wet-wing fuel system and hydraulic landing gear, abandoning the tip- tanks that required auxiliary cells larger than the tips. No one missed the labyrinthine fuel lash-up. Accordingly, the clean-wing 414A came along in 1978 and in 1979 it was the 402’s turn for the new wing.The restyled 402C was built until 1985, and it remains a popular load- hauler for charter and business use. More than just a removal of the tip tanks and change to hydro gear, the engines’ output was boosted to 325 hp each and max gross weight went to 6,850 pounds, creating amuch more useful airplane. Even with the weight increase, single- engine performance went up and the stall speed went down a couple of knots. The 402C remained in production through the decline in general aviation manufacturing in the 1980s, finally succumbing to the triple threats of product liability costs, a bad economy and an oversupply of slow-selling aircraft. Cessna wisely abandoned propeller twins to concentrate on jets.The Three Cessna 402sThere are three variations of the Cessna 402; the original short-nose 401/402, the long-nose 402B, and the wet-wing 402C. The latter is the most sought-after, with its greater payload and simpler fuel system, but the older tip-tanked airplanes offer a lot of capability and value.The walkaround inspection reveals an imposing aircraft, with a huge vertical tail and an equally- significant proboscis. So extensive is the forward baggage area that it requires four swing-up doors to access it, and 600 pounds can be carried, less any installed avionics. A 45,000-BTU combustion heater is in the nose. Not that other baggage space is lacking; wing lockers, aft of the nacelles, can take 200 pounds each, although air conditioning normally installed behind the rightengine cuts 80 pounds off that side’s allowance. And a swing-open cargo door behind the air-stair entrance allows loading of bulky items, with baggage adjacent to the aft seats. Loading should be accomplished in front-to-back order.The 402C’s landing gear is hydraulically actuated, powered by pumps on both engines, rather than electrically-driven like the earlier airplanes. The maingear, carrying 6.50 x 10 tires, stows into open wells, instead of behind the sequencing doors used previously; the nosegear has a 6.00 x 6 tire. A standby blow-down bottle in the nose backs up the hydraulic system.In a most-welcome departure from the tip-tanked 402, the wet- wing fuel system is a simple on/ off/crossfeed system, normally requiring no management, holding 206 usable gallons, but seldom filled unless extreme range is required. About 900 pounds of payload can be carried with full fuel. There is a 6,515-pound zero-fuel weight to be observed, so there’s no reason to depart with less than 30 gallons per side. Maximum landing weight is the same as max takeoff weight.The electrically-driven flaps are split-type panels, retained from the earlier twin Cessnas.The TSIO-520-VB engines are cowled in slim nacelles with screwdriver accessible drop-down doors and removable panels. Cowl flaps are installed. The engines can put out 325 hp for takeoff and single-engine operation; normal rated power is 310 hp. The three- blade McCauley props are housed in polished spinners.The big tail stretches 12 feet into the air, with a single trim tab on the right elevator, along with trim tabs on the rudder and left aileron. A clever optional rudder gust-lock lever on the left side of the tailcone pins the rudder in neutral. If overlooked during preflight, it will disengage with application of up-elevator.8 • TWIN & TURBINEOCTOBER 2015