Table Of Content
Today’s 340s, however, will rarely still have the production instrumentation installed. Cessna had a great thirty-year run with the Cessna 310 twin. And less than twenty years after the first flight of the 310, Cessna had dreams of introducing the first pressurized light twin based loosely on the 310.
Continental Introduces Diesel For Helicopters
Catastrophic failures are rare, but all repair shops are aware of this issue, with inspections carried out regularly to ensure integrity. On a well-maintained aircraft, the problem is usually easily spotted. High speeds correspond to small values of coefficient of lift and vice versa. While known ice certification came in 1977 and up, the majority of 340s have what is called full deice. This usually mean boots on the wing and tail (with the exception of the wing stubs), heated props and alcohol spray for both sides of the windshield. The few 340s out there with hot props only are tough to sell, but can be ideal for owners warmer locations.
CESSNA 340A Price and Operating Costs
No one feels these facts should prevent the purchase, only that prospective owners should be aware. These seven items are all within the control of the owner. If an owner has taken a ‘maintenance only as required’ approach to their aircraft, they can expect that the lower resale value will more than recoup the money they might have saved. Those owners who try to operate their aircraft on a shoestring are pursuing false savings. The standard aviation insurance all aircraft owners take is liability coverage, while hull coverage is optional.
Cessna 340 – Disciples of Flight - Disciples of Flight
Cessna 340 – Disciples of Flight.
Posted: Fri, 06 May 2016 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Aircraft Performance Data
You’d never know it by looking at the list of today’s production aircraft, but pressurized piston twins used to be all the rage. At one time in the late ’70s, the modern heyday of general aviation, Cessna was building four inflatable piston twins; Beech and Aero Commander had two apiece; and Piper and Aerostar offered one each. Simcom uses aging non-motion FTDs and customers report frequent malfunctions.
They are difficult to sell and their value is dramatically reduced. It removed all pressurization hardware from the Malibu Mirage and created the Matrix. The result, not too surprisingly, was 150 pounds saved and transferred directly to payload. It’s fairly apparent the weight penalty of pressurization is between 150 and 200 pounds, equivalent to one extra passenger. The price of avoiding asymmetric thrust was that the rear engine ran hot and heat problems often resulted in premature top and major overhauls on the aft mill. Another problem was the model’s low pressurization differential of 3.37 psi.
Performance and Handling Specifications
One well-known issue with several Cessna twins is exhaust cracking and failure. As a result, an airworthiness directive that includes the 340 was issued and mandates regular inspections, repair limits, and replacement requirements. The Continental TSO-520s have a known history of crankcase cracking. While Continental did switch to heavier crankcases in the mid-1970s, cracks can still occur.
With reasonable attention to speed, landings are straightforward, easily controllable, and occasionally reward me with a gratifying roll on. Crosswind performance is predictable and I’ll accept up to 20 knots of direct crosswind without concern. The factory brakes are inadequate and although I can easily touch down on the numbers, even with heavy braking it can take close to 3000 feet to stop.
It will handle the icing conditions all right, but only to get to ice-free air. Icing is a frequent event during the winter and this equipment is a must have since I operate from Fargo, North Dakota. I also have the Keith air conditioning in the plane—a must, even in North Dakota. I fly 1000-plus-mile trips a few times a year, but if I was doing that every month, I would be looking for a plane with longer range. My plane has a 183-gallon fuel capacity, but topping the tanks limits people or cargo. ” department, one 340 pilot, with passengers, decided to buzz his gun club.
Propeller aircraft
The two long-term concerns for 340 owners are Cessnas Supplemental Inspection Document program (SIDs) and fuel availability, given the likely phase-out of 100 LL. SIDs are the industrys way of addressing the aging GA aircraft fleet and will likely affect all legacy GA aircraft, not just twin Cessnas. No one has a crystal ball, but the conventional wisdom is that the FAA will continue to address specific safety concerns via ADs and not resort to the broad-brush approach of mandatory SIDs.
The Supplemental Airplane Flight Manual has a Cruise Performance table similar to the one provided in the original POH, but it does not include cruise airspeeds! Furthermore, I often fly around at gross weights less than 1900 lbs. What will be the impact on airspeed and fuel consumption with the higher horsepower engine at reduced gross weights? In this post, I show how to make cruise performance charts for any weight or altitude, and how to estimate the performance of the modified aircraft with the 180 hp engine. Power Pac spoilers are a necessity to slow the airplane down without being a throttle jockey. The American Aviation intercoolers give RAM like performance on climb while the engines stay well within the green even on long climbs on hot days.
The Cessna 340 at first glance looks an awful lot like the 310, despite the fuselage being five feet longer. The fuselage has the same basic shape but was completely redesigned due to pressurization requirements. The empennage, however, is based on design features from the 310. Cessna then took the wings from the 414 and added them to this aircraft, making the 340 somewhat of a hybrid. Cessna wanted to keep this aircraft in the 300-series to make it more marketable to your average twin buyer.
The schooling teaches you the systems, but the problems will come in the operation; the more you understand it, the better. The fuel system is complicated, but once understood, I find it easy to manage. Weight and balance is a concern because the airplane is aft heavy before loading; the nose locker can be used to counter this. Most owners flight plan for 190 knots and will see 190 to 205 KTAS. The aircraft flies nicely with the nose baggage area loaded.
A few airplanes have it but more buyers opted for the variable-control system, which allows the pilot to program cabin altitude and rate of climb. With airspeed truing out between 190 and just over 200 knots at 65% power, fuel consumption sits around 30 gallons an hour. Push up to 75% power, and you can expect 200 to 215 knots at 32 to 34 gallons fuel burn per hour. The 340 is a six-seat light twin aircraft, with four passenger seats, an aisle, and an airstair door. The aircraft has an all-new fail-safe fuselage, and has a similar tail unit and landing gear as the Cessna 310, while its wings were based from the Cessna 414.
That’s up to 203 gallons in tanks peppered throughout the length of the wings. Propjet 210 Aviation offers the installation of two Rolls Royce 250B-17F turbine engines, each producing 450 horsepower. The finished aircraft cruises at 245 knots, offers 151 pounds increased useful load, 3,500-hour TBOs on the engines, and a range increase of 30%.
