Cessna 337G Skymaster

Cessna 337G Skymaster
	; General view of the Skymaster cockpit
Type	Civil utility aircraft
Configuration	Twin boom aircraft, High wing aircraft
Propulsion	Push-pull aircraft, Propeller aircraft
Manufacturer	Cessna
Author(s)	Fernando Espinosa; Pavel Cueto;
FDM	JSBSim
--aircraft=	Cessna337
Status	Production
FDM
Systems
Cockpit
Model
Development
Website
Repository
Download
License	GPLv2+
	v; t; e;

The Cessna 337 is a twin-engine aircraft built in a push-pull configuration. Instead of the engines being mounted on the wings, one is mounted on the nose and the other at the rear of the pod-style fuselage. The stabilizers are mounted on booms that extend from the wings. The Skymaster has a retractable undercarriage that gives it that little bit of extra speed.

The combination of a tractor and a pusher engine produces a unique sound.

Aircraft help

Aircraft keys

Key	Function
`d`	Open/close cockpit door
`c`	Open/close front cowl flaps
`C`	Open/close rear cowl flaps
`m`/`⇧ Shift`+`M`	Adjust fuel mixture
`n`/`⇧ Shift`+`N`	Adjust speed governor (propeller pitch)

Limits

V_NE: 198 KIAS (Never exceed speed)
V_NO: 167 KIAS (Max. speed for normal operations)
V_A: 140 KIAS (Design maneuvering speed)
V_FE: 109 KIAS (Max. full flap extended speed)
V_LE: 200 KIAS (Max. landing gear extended speed)
V_LO: 140 KIAS (Max. landing gear extend/retract speed)
Stall speed, full flaps: 61 KIAS
Stall speed, zero flaps: 70 KIAS
Max. weight: 4630 lbs. (2100 kg)
Service ceiling (two engines): 18,000 ft
Ground run for takeoff: 1,000 ft
Ground roll for landing 700 ft

Normal procedures

The model is pretty detailed, and users can select between 5 HQ liveries

Nice view of the Skymaster cockpit at night

Startup

Turn ON battery and front and rear generators
Turn ON master avionics button (left wall panel)
Turn ON the avionics (NAV/COMM Radios, DME, ADF...)
Turn ON fuel pumps (not implemented yet)
Turn ON required lights and pitot heat
Open front and rear cowl flaps
Turn ON rear magnetos (mouse wheel), continue turning the knob for starter (left button)
Turn ON front magnetos, continue turning the knob for starter

Takeoff

Check open front & rear cowl flaps to avoid overheating
Check rich mixture and high RPM speed governor (propeller pitch)
Full throttle, release brakes
Rotate at 60 KIAS
Retract gear

Cruise

The Cessna 337 Skymaster has a constant-speed propeller; so, you can increase propeller pitch to get more airspeed, but with a loss of engine RPM and power.

Decrease throttle to desired power
Decrease RPM with speed governor (propeller pitch)
Adjust mixture depending on flight altitude (for 5000ft or more). Check EGT for best mixture.
Close cowl flaps

Landing

Open cowl flaps
Increase RPM with speed governor (propeller pitch) to maximum
Reduce power with throttle
Open landing gear
Deploy flaps gradually under 110 KIAS
Touchdown at 75/60 KIAS, depending on aircraft weight

Systems

Detail of the avionics panel

The Cessna 337 still in development, but it has some suitable systems. Electrical, vacuum and fuel system are working, but they have no failure system modeled yet. Users can adjust the weight of each seat on the plane and fuel amount. Almost all buttons, knobs and levers are functional and properly animated, and all instruments are labeled for a properly identification.

About knobs, use scroll mouse for gross adjustments, and left-central buttons for fine tuning. When setting radio frequencies, the mouse scroll will adjust integral numbers, and buttons will tune decimals. Try that method with instruments, cowl flap switches, trim levers, magnetos, etc.

Avionics

The Skymaster release is provided with a working Bendix/King avionics pack, capable of full IFR/night navigation:

2 KX-155 COMM/NAV Radios, attached to a pair of KI-206 VOR locators
KN-62A DME receiver with internal frequency hold and NAV1 remote operation
KR-87 ADF receiver, attached to a KI-227 ADF locator
KMA-24 Audio panel
KT-76A Transponder, with radar sweep simulation
KI-250 Radar altimeter, capable to mark decision height for low-visibility landings
Hobbs Meter

Note A full KMA24 audio panel implementation was added in January 2017. The knob on the right of the unit switches the speaker amplifier on and off and also controls the marker beacon receiver. To hear ATIS broadcasts, either switch the comm radio output using the COMM phone switch, or use the COMM speaker switch with the knob in any position other than off. To hear marker beacon idents, the knob must be in any other position than off and one of the MKR switches selected on the panel.

Radio stack instruments are modeled according to the Bendix King pilot guides. Refer to those guides for operating instructions. [1]

Autopilot

The Cessna 337G Skymaster/Navomatic 400A autopilot has a fully working 3D panel and dialog.

ELT

The ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) is a device which send a message in case of aircraft crash. That message contains info about aircraft model, owner and approximate coordinates of the crashed plane, and it is made to request SAR (Search and Rescue) services. The Cessna Skymaster is the first plane equipped with a functional ELT on FlightGear.

External links