Cessna T303 Crusader

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Model T303 Crusader
Cessna.crusader.arp.jpg
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 copyright 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.

Operators

Military operators

 Haiti
Armed Forces of Haiti
 Guatemala
Armed Forces of Guatemala

Specifications (T303)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83 [2] and The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage[3]

General characteristics

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
  1. Taylor 1982, p.346.
  2. Taylor 1982, pp. 346–347.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons