Cessna T303 Crusader
| Model T303 Crusader | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cessna T303 Crusader (N11FV) | |
| Role | six-seat cabin monoplane |
| Manufacturer | Cessna Aircraft Company |
| First flight | February 14, 1978 |
| Number built | 315 |
The Cessna T303 Crusader is an American six-place light twin-engined aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft Company. Production ceased in 1986.
Design and development
The original Cessna 303 Clipper was first flown on February 14, 1978;[1] it was a low-wing four-seat Lycoming-powered twin-engined aircraft that would have competed with the Piper Seminole, Gulfstream American GA-7 Cougar, and Beechcraft Duchess. After market demand for four-place light twins declined, only one 303 Clipper was built before Cessna redesigned the aircraft as a six-seat twin. They also renamed the aircraft out of legal concern, since Pan Am Airlines held the trademark on the name "Clipper" in reference to their fleet aircraft.
The new model, designated the T303 Crusader first flew on October 17, 1979 with the first deliveries being made in October, 1981. The T303 is an all-metal low-wing six-seat twin-engined aircraft with a retractable tricycle undercarriage. At the time, it was the first all-new production twin built by Cessna in over a decade. With a declining market, only 315 were built.
Examples were exported to Europe with several still operating in the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2 flying in Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia. Many are still flying in Colombia in air taxi and private operations.
Operators
Military operators
Specifications (T303)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83 [2] and The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: five passengers
- Length: 30 ft 5 in (9.27 m)
- Wingspan: 39 ft 0½ in (11.90 m)
- Height: 13 ft 4 in (4.06 m)
- Wing area: 189.2 sq ft (17.58 m²)
- Airfoil: NACA 23017 (root), NACA 23012 (tip)
- Empty weight: 3,305 lb (1,499 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 5,150 lb (2,336 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Continental TSIO-520-AE/LTSIO-520-AE turbocharged air-cooled flat-six piston engine, 250 hp (186 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 249 mph (216 knots, 400 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,485 m)
- Cruise speed: 226 mph (196 knots, 363 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) (Max cruise, 71% power)
- Stall speed: 71.5 mph (62 knots, 115 km/h) (CAS), flaps down, power off
- Range: 1,174 mi (1,020 nmi, 1,891 km) econ cruise at 10,000 ft (3,050 m), 45 min reserves
- Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,480 ft/min (7.5 m/s)
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
- Notes
- ↑ Taylor 1982, p.346.
- ↑ Taylor 1982, pp. 346–347.
- ↑ Lednicer, David (2010). "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- Bibliography
- Taylor, John W.R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0748-2.
External links
Media related to Cessna 303 at Wikimedia Commons