Engineering:Cessna 404 Titan

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Short description: American light twin-engine aircraft

Cessna 404 Titan
General information
National originUnited States
ManufacturerCessna
Number built396
History
Manufactured1976–1982
Introduction date1976
First flightFebruary 26, 1975
Developed fromCessna 402
Developed intoReims-Cessna F406 Caravan II
Cessna 441 Conquest II

The Cessna 404 Titan is an American twin-engined, light aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft. It was the company's largest twin piston-engined aircraft at the time of its development in the 1970s. Its US military designation is C-28, and Swedish Air Force designation Tp 87.[1]

Design and development

The aft doors on the left side

The Cessna 404 was a development of the Cessna 402 with an enlarged vertical tail and other changes. The prototype first flew on February 26, 1975. It is powered by two 375 hp/280 kW turbocharged Continental Motors GTSIO-520 piston engines. Two versions were offered originally; the Titan Ambassador passenger aircraft for ten passengers, and the Titan Courier utility aircraft for passengers or cargo. By early 1982 seven different variants were available, including a pure cargo version, the Titan Freighter. The Freighter was fitted with a strengthened floor, cargo doors, and its interior walls and ceiling were made from impact-resistant polycarbonate materials to minimize damage in the event of cargo breaking free in-flight.

Variants

  • Titan Ambassador – Basic 10-seat passenger aircraft.
  • Titan Ambassador II – Ambassador with factory fitted avionics.
  • Titan Ambassador III – Ambassador with factory fitted avionics.
  • Titan Courier – Convertible passenger/cargo version.
  • Titan Courier II – Courier with factory fitted avionics.
  • Titan Freighter – Cargo version.
  • Titan Freighter II – Freighter with factory fitted avionics.
  • C-28A Titan – Designation given to two aircraft purchased by the United States Navy.[2]

Operators

Civilian operators

 Australia
  • Hinterland Aviation
  • Aero Logistics
  • East Coast Airlines
  • Par Avion
 Tanzania
  • ZanAir
 United States
  • Coastal Air
  • Flint Air Service
 United Kingdom
  • Air UK

Military operators

 Bahamas
  • Royal Bahamas Defence Force[3]
 Bolivia
  • Bolivian Air Force
 Colombia
  • Colombian Air Force - 2 used by SATENA.[4]
 Dominican Republic
  • Dominican Republic Air Force[5]
 Hong Kong
  • Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force – 1 acquired 1979.[6]
 Jamaica
  • Jamaica Defence Force[7]
 Mexico
  • Mexican Navy
 Nicaragua
 Sweden
  • Swedish Air Force
 Tanzania
  • Tanzania People's Defence Force[10]
 United States
  • United States Navy (as the C-28A)
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Accidents and incidents

  • On July 21, 1980 a Cessna 404 departing the Grand Canyon Airport for Phoenix, Arizona experienced an engine failure on take-off due to foreign material, improper maintenance, and improper procedures. All eight persons aboard (seven passengers and one crew member) were killed.[11]
  • On January 22, 1992, a Cessna 404 left the runway and hit a hangar killing the sole occupant. At least 4 aircraft were destroyed.[12]
  • On May 10, 1996, a Cessna 404 Titan (registred C-FPVB) on an Aerodat charter flight from Pucallpa to Cuzco dissapeared. All three passengers were Canadians on an oil exploration trip. No traces of the aircraft were found.[13]
  • On September 3, 1999, Edinburgh Air Charter Flight 3W had an engine failure shortly after takeoff, tried to return to Glasgow but crashed short of the runway. 8 of the 11 people on board died. The plane was carrying Air tours employees. [14][15]
  • On December 26, 2002, a Boeing 737 of TAAG Angola Airlines as Flight 572 collided with a Cessna 404 which took off from Windhoek Eros Airport. The people on board the 737 and the sole pilot of the Cessna survived unharmed.[16]
  • On 22 November 2008 Gum Air's Cessna 404 Titan, registered PZ-TVC made a forced landing on the road near Gusterie, Suriname, after engine failures. The aircraft came to rest in the bushes and was reported destroyed. No injuries or fatalities occurred in this accident.[17]

Specifications (Ambassador I)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1980–81[18]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Capacity: 6–8 passengers
  • Length: 39 ft 6 14 in (12.046 m)
  • Wingspan: 46 ft 8 14 in (14.230 m)
  • Height: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
  • Wing area: 242.0 sq ft (22.48 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 9.0:1
  • Empty weight: 4,816 lb (2,185 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 8,400 lb (3,810 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 340 US gal (280 imp gal; 1,300 L)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 267 mph (430 km/h, 232 kn) at 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
  • Cruise speed: 188 mph (302 km/h, 163 kn) (econ cruise) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
  • Stall speed: 81 mph (130 km/h, 70 kn) flaps down, power off
  • Never exceed speed: 274 mph (441 km/h, 238 kn) (Calibrated airspeed)
  • Range: 2,120 mi (3,410 km, 1,840 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 26,000 ft (7,900 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1,575 ft/min (8.00 m/s)
  • Take-off run to 50 ft (15 m): 2,367 ft (721 m)
  • Landing run from 50 ft (15 m): 2,130 ft (650 m)

See also

A Cessna 404 Titan (left) with square windows beside a pressurized Cessna 421 (right) with round windows

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

  1. Urban Fredriksson (4 October 2006). "Swedish Military Aircraft Designations". https://www.designation-systems.net/non-us/sweden.html. 
  2. Johnson 2013, p. 375
  3. Hagedorn 1993, p. 140
  4. Gaines Flight International 6 November 1982, p. 1386
  5. Hagedorn 1993, p. 111
  6. Air International April 1986, p. 170
  7. Hagedorn 1993, p. 138
  8. ANUARIO LATINOAMERICANO DE DEFENSA 2020. Grupo Edefa. 2020. p. 176. 
  9. "FDRA - Fuerza Aérea: Fuerzas Aéreas: Fuerza Aérea - Ejército de Nicaragua". December 2015. https://fdra-aereo.blogspot.com/2015/12/fuerzas-aereas-fuerza-aerea-ejercito-de.html. 
  10. Gaines Flight International 6 November 1982, p. 1374
  11. Summary of NTSB report into the crash of Cessna 404 N2683S retrieved 22 January 2009.
  12. Ranter, Harro. "Accident Cessna 404 Titan D-ICRH, Friday 22 January 1982". https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=156511. 
  13. "Peru | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". https://www.baaa-acro.com/country/peru?page=4. 
  14. "Eight die in plane crash". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/437520.stm. Retrieved 2 January 2015. 
  15. "Horror of plane crash scene". Herald Scotland. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/horror-of-plane-crash-scene-police-officer-tells-fatal-accident-inquiry-of-finding-the-bodies-1.168913. Retrieved 6 February 2015. 
  16. Incident description for D2-TBD at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 June 2011.
  17. "Aircraft database" (TXT). http://landewers.net/PZ.TXT. 
  18. Taylor 1980, pp. 326–327
  • "Always Ready: Hong Kong's Auxiliaries". Air International 30 (4): 168–171, 174. April 1986. 
  • Hagedorn, Daniel P. (1993). Central American and Caribbean Air Forces. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-210-6. 
  • Gaines, Mike (6 November 1982). "World's Air Forces 1982". Flight International 122 (3835): 1327–1388. https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1982/1982%20-%202495.html. 
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing. 
  • Johnson, E.R. (2013). American Military Transport Aircraft Since 1925. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0786462698. 
  • Simpson, R.W. (1991). Airlife's General Aviation. Shrewsbury, England: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-194-X. 
  • Taylor, John W. R., ed (1980). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1980–81. London: Jane's Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7106-0705-9. 

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