Cessna Model 337 Super Skymaster (O-2)

The O-2 is a "push-pull" twin-engine aircraft adopted by the U.S.A.F. in 1967 for forward air control (FAC) missions in Vietnam. The O-2 was based on the civilian Model 337 Super Skymaster. This 4-6 person light aircraft was converted to military specifications by reducing the crew to 2 (pilot and observer), adding a military radio, and installing 4 underwing hard points for flares, rocket launchers, and other light ordnance such as the M134 7.62mm Minigun.

The O-2 was used by U.S.A.F. and Air National Guard into the late 1980s. During its military career it was sometimes referred to as the "Oscar Deuce" or "The Duck." Around the same time, Cessna discontinued manufacturing the civilian version as well. A total of 501 O-2As were manufactured. It was used by many other countries, including Chile, Columbia, El Salvador, Portugal, South Vietnam, Sri Lanka. Thailand, and Zimbabwe. In a civilian role, the O-2 was used in California for firefighting duties. Reims Aviation of France manufactured licensed versions of the Skymaster from 1969 to the 1990s.

The plane burns 14.1 gallons of gasoline per hour of routine usage. A full load of fuel costs $186.

Cessna O-2A Super Skymaster

Subassemblies: Body +4, Wings +2, 3 Retractable wheels +1.

Powertrain: Two 157-kW HP gas engines [Body: F,B]; two 157-kW props, 2,000-kWs lead-acid battery.

Fuel: 93 gallons aviation gas (Fire 13).

Occupancy: 1 NCS, 1 NPS.

Cargo: 42 cf.

Armor F RL B T U

All: 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5

Equipment:

Body: Autopilot, Medium range radio, Navigation Instruments, Transponder, 4-man Environmental Control.

Statistics:

Size: 29.8'x38.2'x9.2' Payload: 1.3 tons Lwt.: 2.7 tons

Volume: 703 cf. Maint.: 100 hours Price: $39,900

HT: 11. HPs: 311 Body, 75 each Wing, 45 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 200 aAccel: 2 aDecel: 24 aMR: 6 aSR: 3

Stall Speed: 63 mph. Takeoff Run: 268 yards. Landing Run: 252 yards.

gSpeed: 138 gAccel: 8 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.25 gSR: 4

Ground Pressure High. 1/6 Off-Road speed.

Design Notes:

Body is 575.9 cf; Wings are 69.3 cf, wheels are 89.5 cf. Structure is Light, Standard with Fair Streamlining. Armor is DR 5 Expensive Metal. View is Good. Mechanical controls. Wing volume was reverse-engineered from the actual wing area of 202.5 sf. Cost, weight, and HPs of the chassis were divided by 2 to more closely emulate the real world weight values; this worked well for loaded weight (2% over) but not empty weight (37% over). Real world values are shown above in all instances where possible. Design aSpeed and Stall Speed were both quite low (87 mph and 44 mph, respectively), so design aAccel was arbitrarily doubled.

Variants:

The Model 336 Skymaster (1963) was the initial civilian design, with fixed landing gear. It could seat 4-6 persons, depending upon configuration. 195 were built.

The Model 337 Super Skymaster (1965) introduced retractable landing gear and an optional under-fuselage fiberglass pack for an additional 300 lbs. of cargo.

Models 337A to 337H featured numerous minor changes that are inconsequential to game design.

The P337G featured a pressurized cabin and turbocharged engines. The P337H was similar.

The 337M was the military version, or O-2.

The O-2B was a military version for psychological warfare during the Vietnam War; it had no weaponry, but carried a 600-watt directional speaker and could drop leaflets. It was jokingly called the "B.S. Bomber."

The O-2TT was a twin-turboprop version of the O-2.

The Summit Sentry O2-337 was an unsuccessful military version produced by Summit Aviation Inc. in 1980.

Reims built licensed versions of the 337E, -F, -G, -H, P337H and T337G. The Reims' version was denoted by starting with "F" (e.g., F337E).

The Reims FTB337G Milirole was a military version of the F337G with STOL wings and underwing hardpoints. 61 were built.

The Lynx is the Rhodesian designation for 21 FTB337Gs in their possession.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS