Cessna Skymaster is Flight Dynamics Fire Spotting work horse. Often seen in the Skys over Australia, this aeroplane serves as an arial command unit in times of crises.
The Cessna’s uniqueness is attributable to its center-line thrust, whereby the fuselage is designed as a nacelle. In the front is an engine with a counter-rotating propeller, and in the rear a second engine with a pusher propeller – an arrangement Cessna calls “push-pull.”
The advantage over a classic design of a push-pull configuration for the two 210 HP Continental engines, in terms of the wings, is that if one of the engines fails there is no torque around the vertical axis and thus the aircraft remains as controllable as if both engines were working.
A number of civilian and military models of this six-seater aircraft (one pilot with five passengers) were manufactured from 1963 to 1982 – 2,993 units in all. The version made for the US Air Force was called the O-2, whereby “O” stands for observer, since the 337 was used for reconnaissance flights in Vietnam and elsewhere. The glass door on this model is highly useful for today’s safari tour operators.
Engine: | Two 210-hp Lycoming four cylinder O-360 Engine |
Weight: | Empty 1204 kg., Max Takeoff 1996 kg. |
Wing Span: | 11.81 m. |
Length: | 9.07m. |
Height: | 2.84m. |
Maximum Speed: | 200 mph |
Range: | 1000 miles |
FIRE SPOTTINGAustralian Government Approved fire spotter and command centre. Setup with all required onboard communications. |
SURVEYING CAPABILITYAerial survey is what this aircraft was built for. High wing visibility, twin engine safety. |
AIRFORCE HISTORYThe Cessna 337 was derived from the Cessna O-2. A Vietnam veteran with very surprising capabilities in the civilian world. |