Summary

I absolutely love the Cessna 336 Skymaster / 337 Super Skymaster series. Cessna started the rollout with the fixed gear model mid 1960s for $29,995 plus options. I was in high school and wanted my dad to buy one. A bit out of our budget. I got my first pilot’s certificate in 1968, while still in high school. The series incremented to retractable gear with the 337 Super Skymaster, which Cessna later dropped to simply Skymaster in their marketing. Then they added turbo charging followed by a baggage pod and pressurization.

Many pilots loved the plane, many pilots hated it. At high speeds the tail booms fluttered and created control issues. Takeoff with rear engine inoperative due to overheating was part of the history. These single engine takeoffs resulted in more than one mishap. If you did your twin engine certification check flight in the Skymaster series the FAA restricted you to centerline thrust until another check flight in a non-centerline twin. Limited in the fuselage baggage space prompted the baggage pod which slowed the plane down and increased its fuel consumption. Flying this twin was pretty easy if you could fly the Cessna 182 Skylane with its constant speed propeller and even easier if you were flying a Cessna retractable single engine plane such as the 182RG (retractable gear). It was hard to load the Skymaster out of its center of gravity limits.

Many passengers loved it over the conventional low wing engines in nacelles on the wings as they could see the ground and the scenery as they flew from point to point. The cabin was quieter than most other twins. Add cabin access by a door that replicated an automobile made it even more familiar. Working the flight line at several airports I never heard a passenger bad mouth the Skymaster other than not fast enough, legs were too short. Its cabin was comfortable for all seats.

As a mechanic, and I am both an Airline Transport Rated pilot and (retired) U.S. Navy Naval Aviator as well as an FAA certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic, I loved this airplane. It is kind of like working on a “push me-pull me” Cessna 182RG. The landing gear is pretty simple and easy to maintain as well as sharing many design aspects with Cessna engine retractable.

The U.S. Military and several other countries took variants of the 337. The U.S. added rocket pods to the wings, additional windows, and changing the seating to fore-and-aft for the observer. This was designated as the O-2 Skymaster, Birddog, or Super Birddog, following the O-1 Birddog, depending on who you talk to and what display you find.

Cessna built almost 3,000 in the series before stopping production. Reims Cessna in France built less than 250 variants. Many are still flying today. At least one 336 and one 337 was put on floats. I talked to an operator in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1989 who loved both his Skymasters, using them primarily for sightseeing revenue.

As designed or provided by DavidKa, super detail, the Skymaster sits on its transponder (IFF) antenna and front engine exhaust stacks. I made a stand for it which provided a bit more stability. It has a front cradle approximately 28.5 ,mm wide and rear cradle approximately 29.5 mm wide, with the overall length approximately 90 mm.