Give me the scoop on the T303 Crusader

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oldandstupid

Filing Flight Plan
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oldandstupid
All,

I appreciate the valuable feedback I received from the community when I asked about a 310.

Well now I have my eyes on a beautiful T303 Crusader but no one seems to know a whole lot about them. Anyone own/owned one? Looks like a solid airplane.
 
Well my knowledge is based off of only one encounter with an owner/pilot who put it to me like this.

"They're so good at what they do, they're all down in South America haulin' dope."

So there's that.
 
Just 74 on the FAA registry. Might have trouble finding an A&P that's familiar with the plane. No clue on parts availability. With numbers that small they're likely to be scarce.
 
Go over to www.twincessna.org . Bob Thomason is President & Editor
of The Twin Cessna Flyer and owns a really nice T303. They can tell you all you want to know.

Fly safe!!!!
 
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Pretty anemic single engine performance, I mean even worse than the other light twins.
 
I only have a couple of flights in one. The mid-tail elevator takes a little getting used to, especially on take off.
 
Very light, thin gauge construction which is why you often see them (when you see them) with oil canning. Kind of underpowered as well. Given the choices of other planes available my question as to the 303 is always, "why"?
 
Bob was at Robert's fajita party tonight and we talked about the 303 for quite a while. By coincidence Dave Ellis was head of the Cessna design group when the 303 was developed, so I heard a lot of stories from Dave before he diid.

Bob had a 421 before his kids grew up and left home, and then found it was too much airplane to pull around for hme with most trips now solo. Anyway, give him a ring as suggested earlier.

Twin_Flyer said:
Go over to

www.twincessna.org . Bob Thomason is President & Editor
of The Twin Cessna Flyer and owns a really nice T303. They can tell you all you want to know.

Fly safe!!!!
Click to expand...
 
I'd also suggest joining TTCF if you're interested in a 303 (or really any other Twin Cessna). Good group with lots of info.

Bob's reported good satisfaction with his 303 and the experience downgrading to a smaller plane. It does have some nice features - TSIO-520s de-rated to 250 HP, good short field performance, a mini cabin class. They are also in small numbers, not too speedy, etc. Some owners have reported that the light construction does give it some extra maintenance.

The Twin Cessna forum (where I spend more time posting these days) has a good group with several regulars besides Bob who have 303s. It's worth joining and going over. Plus the monthly magazine is enjoyable to read every month.
 
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