The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production following its first twin, the Cessna T-50 manufactured for World War II.[1]
Development
The 310 first flew on January 3, 1953, with deliveries starting in late 1954. The sleek modern lines of the new twin were backed up by innovative features such as engine exhaust thrust augmenter tubes and the storage of all fuel in tip tanks in early models. In 1964, the engine exhaust was changed to flow under the wing instead of the augmenter tubes, which were considered to be noisy.[1]
Typical of Cessna model naming conventions, a letter was added after the model number to identify changes to the original design over the years. The first significant upgrade to the 310 series was the 310C in 1959, which introduced more powerful 260 hp (194 kW) Continental IO-470-D engines. In 1960 the 310D featured swept-back vertical tail surfaces. An extra cabin window was added with the 310F.[1]
The turbocharged320 Skyknight was developed from the 310F. Equipped with TSIO-470-B engines and featuring an extra cabin window on each side, it was in production between 1961 and 1969 (the 320E was named the Executive Skyknight), when it was replaced by the similar Turbo 310.[1][2]
The 310G was certified in 1961[3] and introduced the canted wingtip fuel tanks found on the majority of the Cessna twin-engine product line, marketed as "stabila-tip" tanks by Cessna, because they were meant to aid stability in flight. A single side window replaced the rear two windows on the 310K (certified in late 1965), with optional three-blade propellers being introduced as well.[4] Subsequent developments included the 310Q and turbocharged T310Q with a redesigned rear cabin featuring a skylight window, and the final 310R and T310R, identifiable by a lengthened nose containing a baggage compartment. Production ended in 1980.[1]
Over the years there were several modifications to the 310 to improve performance. Noted aircraft engineer Jack Riley produced two variants, The Riley Rocket 310 and the Riley Turbostream 310. Riley replaced the standard Continental 310 hp (230 kW) engines with 350 hp (261 kW) Lycoming TIO-540 engines. These turbocharged intercooled engines were installed with three-blade Hartzell propellers in a counter-rotating configuration to further increase performance and single-engine safety. At 5,400 lb (2,400 kg) gross weight the aircraft had a weight to power ratio of 7.71 lb (3.50 kg) per horsepower. This resulted in a cruising speed of 260 knots (480 km/h; 300 mph) at 18,000 feet (5,500 m) and a 3,000 ft/min (15 m/s) rate of climb.
Operational history
1957 Cessna 310B, with straight fin and overwing 'augmentor tube' exhaust systemCessna 310D with early rounded nose, swept-back vertical stabilizer and "tuna" style wingtip fuel tanks
Commercial applications
The Cessna 310 was a common charter aircraft for the many air taxi firms that sprang up in the general aviation boom that followed World War II. The advantages of the Cessna 310 over its contemporaries, such as the Piper PA-23, were its speed, operating costs and aftermarket modifications, such as the Robertson STOL kits that made it popular worldwide for its bush flying characteristics. It could use short runways, while at the same time carrying a large useful load of 2,000 lb (910 kg). or more, at speeds that were high for a twin engine piston aircraft.
Military applications
In 1957, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected the Cessna 310 for service as a light utility aircraft for transport and administrative support. The USAF purchased 160 unmodified 310A aircraft with the designation L-27A and unofficially nicknamed Blue Canoe,[5] later changed to U-3A in 1962. An additional 36 upgraded 310 designated L-27B (later U-3B) were delivered in 1960–61; these aircraft were essentially military 310Fs and as such equipped with the more powerful 260 hp (194 kW) engines and can be identified by their extra cabin windows, longer nose and swept vertical fin. A USAF study after one year of operational service found the U-3A had direct operating costs of less than $12 an hour.[6] The U-3 saw active service in a support role when the USAF deployed aircraft to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, where they were used on courier flights between air bases.[7][8] Some USAF aircraft were later transferred to the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy and the type continued in United States military service into the mid-1970s.
Notable private flights
On December 19, 1992, Cuban defector Major Orestes Lorenzo Pérez returned to Cuba in a 1961 Cessna 310 to retrieve his wife and two sons. Flying without lights, at low speed and very low altitude to avoid Cuban radar, Pérez picked up his family by landing on the coastal highway of Varadero beach, Matanzas Province, 93 mi (150 km) east of Havana and managed a successful safe return to Marathon, Florida.[9][10]
Variants
U.S. Army U-3B Blue Canoe utility communications aircraft delivered in 1961Austrian-registered Cessna 320 Skyknight at the 1966 Hanover Air Show, displaying this variant's fourth side windowCessna 310J1968 Cessna 310N, with underwing engine exhaust system and showing the engine nacelle baggage compartment introduced with the 310ICessna T310P equipped with a nose-mounted IR detection system for forest fire detectionCessna 310Q with skylight rear window1977 Cessna T310RCessna 310R instrument panel
310
Initial production variant, powered by two 240 hp (180 kW) Continental O-470-B or O-470-M engines with carburetors, with maximum takeoff weight of 4,600 pounds (2,100 kg);[11] in production for 1955-1957 model years, 547 built.[12]
310A
Military version of the 310 for the United States Air Force, designated L-27A and later U-3A; with Continental O-470-M engines and maximum takeoff weight of 4,830 pounds (2,190 kg);[13] 161 built.[14]
310B
Model produced in 1958,[12] with new instrument panel,[15] O-470-M engines and maximum takeoff weight of 4,700 pounds (2,100 kg);[16] 225 built.[12][17]
310C
Model produced in 1959,[12] with 260 hp (190 kW) Continental IO-470-D fuel-injected engines and maximum takeoff weight increased to 4,830 pounds (2,190 kg);[18] and minor changes; 260 built.[19] Unit cost $59,950 in 1959[20]
310D
First model with swept vertical tail,[21] other minor detail changes;[citation needed] 268 built for 1960 model year.[12]
310E
Military version of the 310F,[15] designated the L-27B and later U-3B; with maximum takeoff weight of 4,990 pounds (2,260 kg);[22] 36 built.[23]
310F
Model produced in 1961,[12] with extra cabin window each side, pointed nose and other minor changes;[15] maximum takeoff weight of 4,830 pounds (2,190 kg); 155 built.[24]
310G
First model with canted slimline tip tanks and optional six-seat cabin,[15] with maximum takeoff weight increased to 4,990 pounds (2,260 kg)[3] and detail changes,[15] 156 built in 1962.[12]
310H
Model produced in 1963 with maximum takeoff weight increased to 5,100 pounds (2,300 kg)[12][25] and enlarged cabin interior. 148 built.[15]
E310H
Version of 310H with the 4,990-pound (2,260 kg) maximum takeoff weight of the 310G;[26] combined total of 148 310H and E310H built.[12]
310I
First model with baggage compartments in rear of engine nacelles, Continental IO-470-U engines[27] and minor detail changes;[15] 200 built in 1964.[12]
310J
Model produced in 1965[12] with minor detailed changes[15] and maximum takeoff weight of 5,100 pounds (2,300 kg).[27]
310J-1
Version of 310J type-certified in the Utility Category; with maximum takeoff weight increased to 5,150 pounds (2,340 kg); seating limited to four people instead of the 310J's six; and reduced baggage weight limit.[28]
E310J
Version of 310J with maximum takeoff weight reduced to 4,990 pounds (2,260 kg);[29] combined total of 200 310J, 310J-1 and E310J built.[12][30]
310K
First model with optional three-blade propellers[4] and long 'vista view' side windows;[15] also increased maximum takeoff weight of 5,200 pounds (2,400 kg) with IO-470-V or IO-470-VO engines;[31] 245 built in 1966.[12]
310L
First model with increased fuel capacity via fuel tanks inside wings and optional fuel tanks in engine nacelles,[32] also single-piece windshield, redesigned landing gear, and minor changes;[33] 207 built in 1967.[12]
Model produced in 1968,[12] with revised instrument panel and provision for optional cargo door and fuel;[34] 198 built.[12]
310P
Model produced in 1969,[35] with Continental IO-470-VO engines,[36] ventral fin and a shorter nose gear leg.[37]
T310P
Version of 310P with turbocharged Continental TSIO-520-B or TSIO-520-BB engines producing 285 hp (213 kW) and maximum takeoff weight of 5,400 pounds (2,400 kg);[38] combined total of 240 310P and T310P built.[35]
310Q
Last short-nose model, introduced in 1970,[35] with maximum takeoff weight increased to 5,300 lb (2,400 kg)[39] and detailed changes, from the 401st aircraft fitted with a bulged rear cabin roof with rear view window.[citation needed]
T310Q
Version of 310Q with turbocharged Continental TSIO-520-B or TSIO-520-BB engines and maximum takeoff weight increased to 5,500 lb (2,500 kg);[40] combined total of 871 310Q and T310Q built.[35]
310R
Last production model, introduced in the 1975 model year,[41] with 285 hp (213 kW) Continental IO-520-M or IO-520-MB engines; three-blade propellers as standard; lengthened nose containing a baggage compartment; and 5,500 lb (2,500 kg) maximum takeoff weight.[42]
T310R
Version of 310R with turbocharged Continental TSIO-520-B or TSIO-520-BB engines;[43] combined total of 1,332 310R and T310R built.[41]
Conversion of Cessna 310 by fitting two 350 hp Lycoming engines.[47]
Riley Rocket
Conversion of Cessna 310 by fitting two 290 hp (216 kW) Lycoming IO-540-A1A5 engines and more fuel capacity.[45]
Riley Turbo-Rocket
Riley Rocket with each engine fitted with two Riley-manufactured turbochargers. Cruise speed increased from 252 mph (219 kn; 406 km/h) to 302 mph (262 kn; 486 km/h).[48]
On October 28, 1959, a Cessna 310 carrying Cuban revolutionary Camilo Cienfuegos disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on a night flight from Camagüey to Havana. Neither the aircraft nor the body of Cienfuegos were ever found.[64]
On November 26, 1962, a Saab Scandia 90A-1 (registration PP-SRA) of VASP on a scheduled domestic service in Brazil from São Paulo-Congonhas to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont collided in the air over the Municipality of Paraibuna, State of São Paulo with a private Cessna 310 registration PT-BRQ en route from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont to São Paulo-Campo de Marte. Both were flying on the same airway in opposite directions and failed to have visual contact. The two aircraft crashed killing all 23 passengers and crew of the Saab and the four occupants of the Cessna.[65][66]
On October 16, 1972, US Congressmen Nick Begich of Alaska, and Hale Boggs of Louisiana, disappeared over Alaska while flying in a 310C during a campaign trip.[68][69]
On September 11, 1981, a T310P crashed into an upper wall of the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California, killing both aircraft occupants; the crash and a major ensuing fire caused severe damage to the building's roof, structural members, insulation, and about a third of the bleachers. The building was ultimately deemed beyond repair and was razed seven months later.[73][74]
On 6 November 2015, the pilot of a Cessna 310R, on a private flight from Moorabbin, lost control and crashed on approach to land at Mildura, after the left engine was starved of fuel. The pilot was fatally injured and the aircraft destroyed.[77]
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "No céu de Paraibuna". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 214–216. ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Aviation Safety Network (June 2006). "Accident description". Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
^Lundahl, Mark (September 12, 1981). "Plane crashes into Swing hall; two die". The San Bernardino County Sun. San Bernardino, California. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
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