Cessna 337 Skymaster

[Scudrunner]

If my budget was a little bigger I would hands down choose a Piper Malibu as the ultimate family SUV, however they run 300K plus. However with 3 partners that's probably manageable. That being said my Scottish roots run deep so always looking for a better deal. Which brings me to the Cessna 337.

I've always thought these planes looked like a fun machine. Recently going through the various aircraft for sale sites i've noticed a few for sale and thought they where a reasonable price under 100K for a piston twin with 6+ hours range.

Anyone have any first hand experience operating them?

Annuals budget?
Real world numbers?

I would be interested in the non turbo no pressurized ones, from what I read the 337G is a good model.

[Colonel]

Gear is well, unique.

I have a lot of time with the TCM IO-360 six cylinder engine, used in the 337,
which tends to cook the rear ones. My experience with the TCM IO-360 is that
use of the mixture control is not optional - watch the CHT's. The hotter you
run them, the harder it is on the metal. And I always had good results, leaning
the Continentals in the descent.

A lot of pilots describe Continentals as 500 hour engines (to major) but that's
not my experience. They will run long beyond TBO.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

We had about six of them in The Flying Fireman and I occasionally flew some of them when I was being ferried to the location of the bomber I was scheduled to fly.

They are really comfortable to ride in and are quite stable in flight.

All in all I would buy one for a personal machine.

[Scudrunner]

Gear is well, unique.

I have a lot of time with the TCM IO-360 six cylinder engine, used in the 337,
which tends to cook the rear ones. My experience with the TCM IO-360 is that
use of the mixture control is not optional - watch the CHT's. The hotter you
run them, the harder it is on the metal. And I always had good results, leaning
the Continentals in the descent.

A lot of pilots describe Continentals as 500 hour engines (to major) but that's
not my experience. They will run long beyond TBO.

I think if you stay away from the blown engines your good as long as you don't ham fist them.
I was reading on www.337skymaster.com forum a number of guys claiming to have run there engines well past 2000 with the TBO being 1500.

[Liquid_Charlie]

Fucking slow 140 kts in a twin sucking that much fuel is painful and the gear - oh my - an expensive mechanical wonder. If you want an economic light twin the beech travelair is a pretty good ride. There has to be some good ones left.

[JW Scud]

Yes,

Nice plane but it will never be a Baron. Suggest the long range tanks as they are super simple with truly good range/endurance. Flew at 24"/2200 rpm to keep it quieter while leaned to 60 pounds per hour for a total of 20 GPH. Fuel injected. 150 knots. Good on grass/gravel just like a 172. Nice if it has a Horton STOL kit. Better performance with a Robertson STOL but feels like a tank. Will haul a good load, best as a four seater. Can squeeze someone in the back and on some still have room for cargo if you have a belly pod. Nice to have the rear gear doors removed with an STC.

At the parking area, the aircraft can be pivoted on the spot easily by the pilot in a tight area by using your weight on one of the booms to lower the tail and then swing the aircraft around. However, snow accumulation on the tail can weigh it down enough that the tail hits the ramp forcefully causing damage(homemade tailstand can prevent this). It is a high wing but the wing is far enough aft that it does not block your sideways view like a typical Cessna.

Synching the engines can be annoying. Heater put out lots of heat in the winter. Engine failure in cruise is a total non-event, otherwise, the usual performance issues. Not quiet but that is what headsets are for. Not complicated systems(except perhaps the standard fuel version) but always some sort of maintenance issue with a plane that is getting more complicated.

Rear engine is said to run hot but I had no major issues. Birds nesting can be a problem. We had intake plugs including a special one for the top inlet. Some aircraft have a rear baggage door which is nice. The manual said to start the rear engine first as some people had forgotten to start that out of view engine. I always started the front first as it is much closer to the battery and sometimes the rear had difficulty turning over and I never forgot to start it either. Engines start easily in my experience.

[Colonel]

I always found the TCM injected engines a cinch to hot start. Unlike the Lycomings.

TCM IO-360 has two impulse mags, unlike the Lycoming. You don't ever want a TCM
to kick back. Lycoming starter is right on the ring gear - worst that can happen is
that you strip some teeth and change the ring gear - TCM has this super-expensive
and weird angle starter drive that you hope you never have to replace.



Aircraft engines are like guns, dogs and motorcycles. Never met one I didn't love,
which I guess explains why I am such a BAD PERSON™ The one above, I've been
wrenching on and flying behind since 1971, which explains why I don't know very
much about aviation.

Time for a funny joke. Grizzled old guy in the left seat, looking forward to retirement.
He's flown for decades, all different types all over the world. Young FO climbs into
the right seat, eager to teach the dumb old fuck sitting next to him, all the hot new
stuff they're teaching at flight schools these days. He spouts off. Old guy replies,
"Kid, your mother's legs have more time in the air than you do".

Next time some young @sshole decides to lecture me about aviation, he should keep in
mind that I was already flying and wrenching, before his father ejaculated bareback into
his mother, for the very first time.

[Slick Goodlin]

Does it have to be a twin? A friend of mine has a Cessna 195 that he says is comparable to most of the light twins but without having to deal with retracts. Might be worth looking into.

[Scudrunner]

Doesn't have to be, like I said the Malibu would be the ultimate family SUV at the moment, wife and kids 5 and 1.3.
Friends got a Turbo Arrow i've ripped around in with him he would let me borrow but its for sale. (not convinced and have been eyeing up a Mooney M20K.

My thinking was a cross country machine capable of IFR across the Rocks a yyc - yvr sort of mission profile.
I would be picking my days. I like the idea of a pressurized option, saves snaking tubes up toddlers noses.

[Nark]

The Mooney's are great for empty nester's, but horrible space-wise for the kiddo's.
My second plane was going to be an M20C for the club, but my buddy convinced me otherwise. (useful load more so cabin space)

Have a look at Debonair's, V tail doctor killers and 210's. I'm thinking P210, if you want pressure.

If your heart is set on twins, the 310 is a marvelous beast.

Anyway, it's great to imagine on someone else's dime.


PS, if you find something down here, I'd love to help you out if you need an FAA certified dude to ferry it.