The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411.

Development

The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 1967, the 1968 model year. It had "Stabila-Tip" fuel tanks on the wingtips (like the

Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II. Development The 310 first fle ...

). Its electro-mechanical landing gear are similar to that of the 310. It was an immediate hit, selling 200 planes in its first year. The very next year, 1969, the design was refined, with a three-inch stretch of the fuselage, five more gallons of fuel capacity, and a 40-pound increase in gross weight. The plane was redesignated the Cessna 421A. In 1971, the design was again improved. Both empty and gross weight increased, the wingspan was increased by two feet, raising the

service ceiling With respect to aircraft performance, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions, as determined by its flight envelope. Service ceiling Service ceiling is where the rate of climb drops below a pres ...

by 5,000 feet. The nose was stretched two feet to accommodate a larger nose baggage section. This new plane is designated the Cessna 421B. In 1975, the plane was offered with a package of equipment enabling flight into known icing conditions. In 1976, the 421C appeared which featured

wet wing A wet wing (also referred to as ''integral fuel tanks''Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 557. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ) is an aerospace engineering technique where an aircraft's wing structure is se ...

s, the absence of wingtip fuel tanks and landing gear that was changed from straight-leg to a trailing-link design from the 1981 model year onwards. Production ended in 1985 after 1,901 aircraft had been delivered. The 421 was first certified on 1 May 1967 and shares a common

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

with models

401 __NOTOC__ Year 401 ( CDI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vincentius and Fravitus (or, less frequently, year 1154 ' ...

, 402,

411 411 may refer to: * The year AD 411, the four hundred and eleventh year of the Gregorian calendar * 411 BC * 4-1-1, a telephone directory assistance number in the United States and Canada ** By extension, a slang term for "information" * ''What's t ...

414 __NOTOC__ Year 414 ( CDXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Constans (or, less frequently, year 1167 ...

and

425 __NOTOC__ Year 425 ( CDXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Valentinianus (or, less frequently, year ...

. Some 421s have been modified to accept turboprop engines, making them very similar to the Cessna 425, which itself is a turboprop development of the 421.

Design

The 421 is an all-metal low-wing cabin monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear, and powered by two geared Continental GTSIO-520-D engines, wing-mounted in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The cabin is accessed from a door, on the left hand side behind the wing, and has seating for six on the basic 421, or up to ten on later variants.

Variants

;421 :Type approved 1 May 1967, powered by two Continental GTSIO-520-Ds of each, maximum takeoff weight . 200 built. ;421A :Type approved 19 November 1968, powered by two Continental GTSIO-520-Ds of each, maximum takeoff weight . 158 built. ;421B Golden Eagle/Executive Commuter :Eight-seat light passenger transport aircraft. Type approved 28 April 1970, powered by two Continental GTSIO-520-Hs of each, maximum takeoff weight , later models . 699 built. ;421C Golden Eagle/Executive Commuter :Model with new wing and landing gear. Type approved 28 October 1975, powered by two Continental GTSIO-520-Ls or Continental GTSIO-520-Ns of each, maximum takeoff weight . 859 built. ;Riley Turbine Rocket 421 :Conversion of Cessna 421 aircraft by fitting two

Lycoming LTP101 Lycoming may refer to the following, most of which are at least partly in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States: Geography * Lycoming, New York, a hamlet * Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * Ly ...

turboprop engines. Formal designation R421BL and R421CL for conversions of 421B and C respectively. ;Riley Turbine Eagle 421 :Conversion of Cessna 421C aircraft by fitting two 750hp

Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...

-135 turboprop engines. Formal designation R421CP. ;Excalibur 421 :Re-engined 421C with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135A or PT6A-112 turboprops, supplemental type certificate held by Excalibur 421 LLC of Paso Robles, California. In 2013 it was announced that Aviation Alliance are acting as program managers for the Excalibur 421 upgrade programme. ;Advanced Aircraft Regent 1500 :Production of the Riley Turbine Eagle 421 conversion by Advanced Aircraft Corporation.

Military operators

; *

Royal Bahamas Defence Force The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) is the military of The Bahamas. Since The Bahamas does not have an army or an air force, its navy composes the entirety of its armed forces. Under The Defence Act, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force has been m ...

; *

Bolivian Air Force The Bolivian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Boliviana or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces. History By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Co ...

at least one 421B was in use.Andrade 1982, p. 27 ; *

Royal Cambodian Air Force The Royal Cambodian Air Force ( km, កងទ័ពជើងអាកាស, Kângtoăp Cheung Akas, ) is the branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces which is charged with operating all military aircraft in Cambodia. Organisation The Royal ...

; *

Ivory Coast Air Force The Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (french: Forces Armées de Cote d'Ivoire; "FACI") are the armed forces of Ivory Coast. History The Ivorian military has its roots in the colonial armed forces of French West Africa, which were headquartered ...

Andrade 1982, p. 126 ; * Royal New Zealand Air Force three 421C.Andrade 1982, p. 165 **

No. 42 Squadron RNZAF No. 42 Squadron is an active transport squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was formed at Rongotai Airport (Wellington) in December 1943 to provide a communications service around New Zealand, initially using impressed civili ...

; *

Pakistan Army Aviation , image = AAvn logo.PNG , caption = Formation Sign of Army Aviation Command , start_date = 14 August 1947 – present , country = , allegiance ...

at least one 421 in use.Andrade 1982, p. 174 ; *

Turkish Army Aviation The Turkish Aviation Command and ''Turkish Army Aviation Command'' ( tr, Kara Havacılık Komutanlığı), was established in 1948 under the name of "artillery crafting" within the Turkish Land Forces artillery school. It is the administrative cen ...

at least three 421Bs in use.Andrade 1982, p. 229 ; * Air Force of Zimbabwe at least one 421A in use.Andrade 1982, p. 346

Specifications (C 421C)

Notes

References

;Bibliography * Andrade, John. ''Latin-American Military Aviation''. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1982. . * * * * *

External links

{{Cessna

421 __NOTOC__ Year 421 ( CDXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Eustathius (or, less frequently, year 117 ...

1960s United States civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1965 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft