Anyone have any experience in a skymaster. I'm looking for six seats, I like the idea of the twin engine safety. And I like to spend money.

From what I hear, If you like to spend money that should be right up your alley. Engine management is vital (during ground ops). My friend has a P337. He works on it a lot.

I think they are a cool ship. Not that that's worth a whole lot.

I know of a military 337 (aka O-2) for sale on my airport. I can put you in touch with the owner if you're serious about getting one. It's got some authentic military history but I don't think it's got any bullet holes. We can take care of that for you if you want some though-- we aim to please!

Quirky but they are dirt cheap these days. Hopefully you can work on it yourself. A well maintained ship would be a good value as well as a good pair of headsets for your sanity

The best ones are the 336s, they are very hard to find but they have the least problems. There fixed gear but aren't much slower, there lighter, and the rear engine has a ducted fan so No over heating issues. Flies similar to a 210 and on one engine it flies like a 172.

Canadians use them a lot for fire observation, seems like their government mandates twins for that? I've flown in two of them and they climb like a homesick angel with a light load. I don't think the maintenance is too horrible on them depending on how its been treated. The rear prop takes a beating from debris on the ground. Engine failure is fairly benign, flys better on the rear one than the front.

N300RE wrote:The best ones are the 336s, they are very hard to find but they have the least problems. There fixed gear but aren't much slower, there lighter, and the rear engine has a ducted fan so No over heating issues. Flies similar to a 210 and on one engine it flies like a 172.

I believe there is somebody at Caldwell or Boise that has or had one that flew all over the backcountry. Heard its a great performer in the Idaho BC.

Barnstormer wrote:http://www.quietaviation.com/programs/developing.html

. Cool. But I don't want to spend that much money.

I have been looking at one with fairly low times with nothing special about it. But dirt cheap. I have not actually sat in it or seen one up close. From what I have read people who have them really like them. Anyone that has never owned one can't fathom why anybody would buy one.

Just remember to taxi on the back engine.

Never flown a fixed-gear 336, but I liked the 337. It was a bit truck like, but that's what it is. An F-250 Supercrew with wings. A lot of gas and expensive engine parts for not a lot more capability than what you get with only one engine though. But.... It's still a fun airplane.

A flying buddy down in Kalifornia had one I flew once in a while so I had a bit of time. Unfortunately the airplane went bye-bye when he decided flying green leafy material and plastic covered loaves of white powder from south of the border brought home more money than a real job. He, and the airplane, went to live with the Feds.

Gump

Ive got almost 200 hours in a Skymaster... They are great ships but require good engine/fuel management. They have the the same goofy gear system as other cessna's and there are some spar AD's that should be reviewed in detail during the pre-buy. A lot of people complain of cooling issues with the rear engines - Chalk that up to mismanagement! You really need to good mixture control on the back engine. A really good engine monitor is essential! If you can find a well maintained plane, jump on it.

At some point, I will own one... They really are an easy plane to fly and you can get some really great short field performance out of them and they haul a ton of stuff.

Jim

One of my customers flys a 550 powered 337 for one of the military service contractors ( not Blackwater, but similar company ) That airplane is a performer.. 310 HP per engine, 620 total horsepower.... They fly pretty decent on the Continental 210's, so you can imagine the performance gains with the 550's...

Brian

58Skylane wrote:

N300RE wrote:The best ones are the 336s, they are very hard to find but they have the least problems. There fixed gear but aren't much slower, there lighter, and the rear engine has a ducted fan so No over heating issues. Flies similar to a 210 and on one engine it flies like a 172.

I believe there is somebody at Caldwell or Boise that has or had one that flew all over the backcountry. Heard its a great performer in the Idaho BC.

Pardon my ignorance; but with the fixed gear type could you feasibly put some 8.50s on and make it more of a backcountry performer? Seems like it could be a lot of fun.

I saw these pictures on the Internet of some Ak Skymasters. The first one is a 336 and the second is a 337 that's stiff legged with big tires. It's too bad theres no float STC for them.
C336


C337

very cool!

Sweet!.

N300RE wrote:I saw these pictures on the Internet of some Ak Skymasters. The first one is a 336 and the second is a 337 that's stiff legged with big tires. It's too bad theres no float STC for them.
C336


C337

That rear prop would get eaten fast with spray from floats.

There were half a dozen O-2's at GXY for quite awhile, rotting. I taxied past them every time I flew. But the owner died last year, Harris Aviation bought them along with all of the guy's other stuff from his estate, and I think Kenny Harris has kept one. Whether he intends to restore it, I have no idea.

When I was stationed at Elmendorf 70-73, the SAR squadron had a small fleet of them. Noisy suckers! They would do the searching, and then they used Hueys to do the rescuing. Of course, they were also used as FACs in Viet Nam. The ones that were at GXY looked to be former FACs, with hard points under the wings.

I have an acquaintance in Wyoming that has a pressurized version--so far as I know, it's been a bit of a hangar queen.

Cary

there used to be a local one here, and it did o.k....seemed like an overweight 182 to me....twin 470's no turbos......fairly roomy though.....