Flight, April 1936

MODERN LIGHT AIRCRAFT REVIEW

FOREIGN MACHINES on the BRITISH MARKET

CESSNA

   THERE are some aeroplanes which, although apparently conventional in construction and design, exhibit some agreeably surprising performance and weight-lifting qualities. In this category comes the Cessna C-34, an American machine which is now being handled in this country. It has done extremely well in certain American competitions intended to ascertain the general efficiency of machines in its class.
   In appearance the machine is neat and pleasing. It is a four-seater monoplane with a high cantilever wing and a divided cantilever undercarriage. The fuselage is a welded steel tubular structure, but the wing, which has trailing edge flaps, is of wood. In the cabin, beneath the wing, are seats for four, in two pairs, with dual controls for those in front. There is a door on each side and a baggage compartment behind the rear seats. A 145 h.p. Warner Super-Scarab seven-cylinder radial is the standard power unit.
   The main data are: Weight empty, 1,220 lb.; disposable load, 980 lb.; span, 33ft. 10in.; length, 24ft. 7in.; maximum speed, 162 m.p.h.; cruising speed, 143 m.p.h.; initial rate of climb, 1,000 ft./min. The agents in this country are: Surrey Flying Services, Ltd., Airport of London, Croydon, Surrey.

Flight, April 1936

PERFORMANCE from AMERICA
The Cessna C-34 Comes to England: Four People Cruise at 143 m.p.h.

   WHEN the performance figures of the American Cessna C-34 monoplane were first learnt in this country a good many people either frankly disbelieved them or suggested that such figures were only to be obtained at the expense of other and more desirable features. A maximum speed of 162 m.p.h. while carrying a disposable load of 920 lb. on a mere 145 h.p. certainly appeared to demand a little close investigation and, when it was learnt that Surrey Flying Services, of Croydon, had obtained the British and European rights for the machine, and that Mr. S. L. Turner had bought the first example and was bringing it over, various charter pilots and others promised themselves a trip at the first available opportunity.
   The machine is now here with an English C. of A., and it has already done quite a lot of high-speed flying. Pilots with Anglicised ideas of flying qualities have learnt to appreciate those of the Cessna, and even people who were mildly disturbed by certain characteristics have at least had to admit that the machine does cruise at an indicated 145 m.p.h. or so without loss of height, and that it is, withal, a very pretty aeroplane. Apart entirely from the typically perfect finish, the Cessna's looks may help to sell it, and a good appearance is rather more important than some hard-headed persons might imagine. Examine the Cessna from directly ahead and it is not at all difficult to understand the reason for the high speed obtained with such a comparatively low power. A cantilever wing, a cantilever undercarriage with streamline tyres, and N.A.C.A. cowling with pressure baffling for the engine leave very little to the imagination.
   Of mixed construction, the C-34 has a wooden wing, with spruce spars and plywood-covered leading edge and wing tips, and a welded-steel tubular fuselage. The divided full-cantilever undercarriage has oil-spring shock absorbers and 6in. of vertical travel, while the tail wheel is similarly sprung and damped. The Warner Super-Scarab radial delivers its power at the comparatively low speed of 2,050 r.p.m.
   With such a machine trailing-edge flaps are an absolute necessity, and those of the Cessna are manually operated through a bevel-gearing system. Fore and aft trimming is carried out by means of elevator tabs operated by a small and conveniently placed handle on the left of the pilot. Full dual control for the side-by-side forward seats is part of the standard equipment, which includes navigation lights, an electric starter and, for the European market, a Reid and Sigrist turn indicator. Such special instruments as a Kollsman sensitive altimeter are naturally part of the list of "extras," which, when the machine is to be used as a fast charter type, includes such items as Grimes retractable landing lights and bonding and shielding for wireless installation. A very wide series of two-colour finishes are available at the standard price, though an additional sum is charged for white or lemon yellow, which demand additional coats with intermediate rubbing-down.

Internal Features

   The cabin seats four people, and there is a small luggage locker at the rear, behind the squab. The single door provides easy access to the rear seats, but to reach those in the front it is necessary to slide back the off-side seat. At first, the newcomer gains the impression that the forward accommodation is cramped, but after an hour or so in the air this impression is, to a large extent, lost. The fact is that with a spar behind one's head and a rail across the dashboard the more sensitive person suffers from a feeling of claustrophobia, and this is inaccurately judged as lack of body space. With no emergency exit these forward occupants might, however, have some difficulty in removing themselves in case of accident.
   While in flight the view in essential directions is good, since the nose is well down while travelling at cruising speed. It is not possible to see to the rear before making a turn near a crowded aerodrome, though one can cover quite a wide area by making use of the cabin windows while entering the turn. However, there are not many machines which are likely to be overtaking, and the phenomenal climb will take the Cessna away from almost anything else during a departure. As in the case of the majority of machines, the general view improves, so to speak, as the machine is better known.
   Pilots who are accustomed to the characteristics of British machines will make a number of interesting discoveries when flying the C-34. The take-off is perfectly normal, but the climb is so steep that an effort is required to point the nose as high as it should be, and the machine usually flies itself when trimmed for level cruising. At this speed the controls are good, though a trifle heavy, but when gliding at 80 m.p.h. one's first impression is that the stall is near since the ailerons are weak.
   In actual fact the machine is perfectly safe and under some control right down to the real stall, which takes place at about 50 m.p.h., and the only point to remember is that the final approach must be made in a straight line and properly into wind. With such a clean machine it is naturally essential to watch the gliding speed, which can rise very quickly indeed, even when the flaps are down. Quite a lot of work is required to depress these to their fullest extent; this has an advantage inasmuch as the careless pilot is given time to think seriously of such things as gliding speeds and gliding trim - which change somewhat as the flaps are lowered.
   So far as rate of descent is concerned, on one approach with full tanks and with three people aboard we passed the Croydon Hotel with a burst of engine at about eighty feet at 80 m.p.h., and still put down on the edge of the tarmac. The actual landing is done by the machine, and one does not hold off and haul everything back in the accepted manner. One's impression is that the elevators are merely being used to check the sink as the ground is approached. This, of course, is merely an impression, and the actual facts are probably rather different. There is, however, very little in the approach and landing once the machine is understood.
   In the matter of performance it is only possible to talk of indicated speeds. With the revolution counter showing 1,700 r.p.m. and the Kollsman sensitive altimeter indicating neither climb nor descent, the A.S.I, showed a steady 143-145 m.p.h. Since the machine landed just off the clock (50 m.p.h.) with two persons on board there is no reason to suppose that the instrument was reading high.

CESSNA C-34 CABIN MONOPLANE
145 h.p. Warner Super-Scarab

   Weight empty 1.300 lb. (591 kgs.)
   Disposable load 920 lb. (418 kgs.)
   Maximum speed 162 m.p.h. (259 km./hr.)
   Cruising speed 143 m.p.h. (229 km./hr.)
   Landing speed (flaps down) 47 m.p.h. (76 km/hr.)
   Initial climb 1,000 ft./min. (308 m.)
   Cruising range 350 miles (880 kms.)
   Service ceiling 18,900 ft. (3 760 m.)
   Price ? 1,375