Aircraft 310 - The 310 is a hefty airplane, particularly in its later variants. Gross weight eventually reached approximately 5500 pounds. Basic empty weight started at 2840 pounds for the original. It exceeds 3000 pounds by the 310C, nears 3200 in the 310P and exceeds 3600 in the 310R (turbo models are heavier still).
How good an investment is a twin? Twins are popular with some pilots because of the perceived safety advantage of having an extra engine. This, of course, must be balanced against the extra hazard posed by single-engine operations when low and slow.
Aircraft 310
The debate has gone on for many years. It starts with nomenclature. Ask any line person where the main tanks are on a given airplane, and its likely they'll point to the wing. Not so on the 310. For some reason, Cessna decided to designate the tip tanks as the mains, and the wing tanks as the auxiliaries.
Yes Your Honor I Admit It I Was Once And Still Remain A Speed Freak—The More The Better
About two years ago I installed Power-Pac Spoilers, and likewise have never regretted it. Center frequently leaves me high and then assumes that I can make a turbo-prop/jet type descent. I knew that I would be replacing the engines, and decided that the spoilers would help ensure making it to TBO.
The spoilers can be deployed at any speed, and the POH permits using 15 degrees of flaps below 160 knots. This combination allows me to leave the power at 55% (my typical cruise setting) and still descend at 700 to 1000 fpm without exceeding 155 knots.
Also using spoilers to produce a drop in airspeed to permit landing gear operation is a nice option to have when too high or hot for normal gradual speed reductions or while descending. I recommend them.
Occasionally I consider trading up to a 414 or a 421, but the marginal benefits of the air-stair door and pressurization compared with the tremendous cost differential don't make them worth it. In my opinion, the 310 is the ideal light twin, with reasonable single engine performance, safety, looks, comfort, and range.
Bill Cox
The gear has a number of critical components that must be attended to and properly rigged during annual inspections. If this is done properly, trouble can be avoided, but failure to treat the gear correctly increases the odds of failure dramatically.
The mains also are the receptacle for the contents of the wing locker tanks. The same caveat applies - there has to be room enough for the fuel, so the pilot waits until there is 180 pounds or less in the mains before transferring fuel from the locker tanks.
Then the transfer pumps are run until the idiot lights go on. At that point the mains may or may not be full, depending on whether the aux tanks have been used and whether the transfer was done with room to spare in the mains.
Thats not the only tricky thing about the 310s fuel system. A fully equipped 310 with wing locker tanks can have up to ten fuel drain points, eight fuel pumps and a rather complex plumbing system.
There is no separate gauge for each tank, although the gauge does switch automatically to read the tank being used (but not the wing locker tanks, which have no fuel level senders). The pilot can read the tanks not being used by toggling a switch.
How could anyone NOT be seduced by the Cessna 310? At first sight, the Cessna 310 steals the heart more than the mind. That's all the more reason to decide up front if you really NEED a twin.
For most people who don't own a refinery or have seven figure bank accounts, the realistic answer is no. Twins can be seductive machines with performance numbers and sex appeal that make them seem unbelievably attractive.
The type possesses a magnetic charisma that often transcends their talents. Eighty-seven years ago, after Lindbergh's successful, 1927, Atlantic crossing, he was asked why he didn't choose a twin for the trip; his response was, "Why would I want to double my chances of an engine failure?"
Maximum fuel capacity on the 310 is 203 gallons, and pilots willing to climb high and throttle back to long range cruise can see 1400 nm between pit stops. This makes one stop, transcontinental flights possible between any two points in the contiguous U.S.
For those folks who prefer not to fly slowly in fast airplanes, the range is closer to 1000 nm at 75 percent. The almighty dollar As expected, prices for the 310 vary widely based on age and condition.
Average normally aspirated 310s run from $40,000 for the earliest models up to $191,000 for the newest 310R. The market treats the various 310s pretty evenly: there is no real marked jump with model changes as often happens.
The biggest gap is between the 310Q and 310R-the 1974 310Q averages $117,000, while the 1975 310Q averages $139,000. The gap for the turbo models is similar. The 310 was Cessna's first modern business twin, reflecting the company's strong growth in the 1950s.
It was a time when many of the now-familiar Cessnas were first introduced: the earlier 140s and 170s were giving way to 172s and 182s. Cessna was moving aggressively into the business market, and the 310 was a key part, and first element, of that plan.
In 1954, Cessnas entire model line consisted of the 170, 180 and 195; so, the 310 represented a giant leap forward for the company. I acquired a 1975 Cessna turbo 310 R model in 1991, and have never regretted it.
Shortly after I purchased my 310, I put on vortex generators, which are a must with this airplane. VMC and stall speeds are very close, and the low speed handling characteristics are very benign as a result.
Smooth landings are the rule instead of the exception. I do not believe they cost more than a couple of knots, and should be installed on all 310s. Another scenario goes like this...Pilot: Top off the mains, please.
Lineperson: Yes, sir, whereupon the auxiliaries get filled to the brim. The pilot then takes off without checking, and with the fuel selectors on the main (tip) tanks as required in the POH. You can guess the rest.
The 310 was the company's only twin for several years. The nearly identical 320 came out in 1962, followed by the pushme-pullyou Skymaster in 1964. The popular 400 series followed in 1965 with the ill-fated 411.
The 1956 model of the Cessna 310 has a cruise speed of 178 knots, a range of 870 nautical miles, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet, and a rate of climb of 1,700 feet per minute.
It has a maximum take-off weight of 2.087 kg. Along with that, weight and balance have to be watched more closely. The nose was extended a little starting with the 310K, which helps spread the load.
The nacelle lockers introduced on the 310I make loading options even better. An optional large luggage door was introduced on the 310P. It greatly eases the task of loading and arranging aft baggage. Back in 1955, the Cessna 310 premiered with 50-gallon tip tanks (inevitably branded “tuna tanks” after their fish-like shape) feeding a pair of 240-hp Continentals.
Those first 310s could enclose a pilot and four passengers. At the time, the 310 was a fairly futuristic airplane, certainly more visually stimulating than Piper's bulbous and underpowered Apache (with only 150/160 hp per side), although the Cessna was far more expensive in every respect.
Priced at a base of $59,400, the 310 was $20,000 more expensive than the Apache, and operating expenses were similarly higher. The turbocharged version does even better, especially on non-standard days with warm temperatures. By 1981, turbos had taken on legitimacy and reliability unknown on the earlier models, and some two-thirds of the final year's production of 310s mounted blowers under the bonnets.
According to Larry Balls The Twin Cessna Flyer, nearly half of all twin Cessna accidents and incidents are directly related to the gear, and a quarter of all accidents and incidents are related to failure of the nose gear idler bellcrank under the pilots feet.
More refinements followed: increases in cabin size, further increases in gross weight, various increases in auxiliary tank size and the availability of three-bladed props. One significant difference was the switch from overwing to underwing exhaust on the 310I, and the accompanying introduction of wing lockers.
Aside from another bump in gross weight and the move to 285 HP Continental IO-520M engines on the normally aspirated model, the 310R got a whacking great nose job. The proboscis grew 32 inches, and housed a sizable luggage compartment.
The 310R also boasted an improved landing gear, although it was still not as rugged as many would like. In contrast, the 310 managed 26 years of production, primarily because it was designed from the outset for a different type of market—the owner flown and corporate transport operator.
Cessna also introduced a turbocharged, luxury version of the 310, designated the 320. ModsAs with all twins for which they are available, we highly recommend the installation of vortex generators. Micro Aerodynamics makes a kit, and also offers nacelle strakes that reportedly improve stall behavior.
VGs are also available from Robertson. Payload with full fuel varies depending on the model, equipment and fuel tank arrangement. Usable fuel capacity can be 100, 132, 142, 182 or 203 gallons-from 600 to 1218 pounds of fuel.
Payload in a lightly equipped 310C with auxiliary tanks might exceed 700 pounds, while it could be as low as 400 pounds in a 310R. Unfortunately, most pilots of multi-engine aircraft rarely practice single-engine flight. Safety statistics for twin engine airplanes do not support the contention that the second engine contributes to greater safety when one engine quits.
The standard joke line among some instructors is, “What do you do when one engine quits on a twin? Start the other one.” The one problem is that Cessna advertises the 310 as a six-seat airplane.
The R models have a zero-fuel weight limitation, i.e. the amount of weight you can put in the cabin; it has nothing to do with total load. Surprisingly, very few people know what zero-fuel weight is.
The 1976 T-310 with most options can only hold four normal-sized passengers. Robertson Performance Systems (800 430-1585) provides a vortex generator kit which not only decreases the Vmc by 10 knots but it also increases the zero-fuel weight by 385 pounds and the gross takeoff weight by 185 pounds.
This should be a mandatory investment for all R owners. Fuel feeds to the engines from either the mains or the aux tanks (but not the wing locker tanks). The mains have to be run for 60 minutes if the airplane has 20-gallon aux tanks (or 90 minutes for 30-gallon aux tanks) because excess fuel is pumped back to the mains, and if there isn't room for it, it goes overboard
. Zero fuel weight is a payload limitation that confuses some pilots. A T310R, for example, has a zero fuel weight of 5015 pounds. Anything between that and maximum ramp weight has to be fuel. In one aircraft, maximum payload is 1059 pounds, which can handle six FAA adults (170 pounds) and 39 pounds of baggage.
Figuring a maximum ramp weight of 5534 pounds, 519 pounds of fuel can be put in the main tanks. Another accidental consequence, however, was a tendency to Dutch roll with any abrupt aileron input. Having 300 pounds of fuel stored at the end of such a long moment arm imparted inertia to the wings if you initiated a quick roll input.
It wasn't a major control problem - just a minor glitch to be aware of. The Cessna 310 is one of the classics of general aviation, enjoying a 27-year production run during which it served as Cessna's answer to the Beech Baron, Piper Aztec, Commander 500, and Aerostar.
More than 5,400 were built, and there are several major variations. When I was a kid, I used to drag race the back roads around Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fortunately, I never got caught and I never crashed, although I did burn up some tires.
Later, I switched to sports cars, a more legal pursuit, campaigning an Austin Healey 3000 MkII on the SCCA gymkhana circuit, again chewing through clutches, tires, and money with little to show for it other than memories.
Unlike many airplanes with long production runs, the 310 went through steady refinement over the years, with a slew of designation letters following the model number. Cessna got up to the 310R (with a few gaps) before ending production in 1981.
But there are things to be careful of when considering a 310. First and foremost is the gear, which is relatively delicate and sensitive to proper rigging and maintenance. The airplane can also be a handful to fly, although pilots note that with proper training and due diligence, it can make a good IFR platform.
Finally, there is the 310's somewhat unusual fuel system, although pilots report that its no big deal. Another aspect of the gear that deserves mention is the brakes. Early models had Goodyears, which caused some problems.
Many were retrofitted with the later, and better, Clevelands. Still, the 310 is large and heavy enough that braking performance can be marginal.
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