The Cessna T303 Crusader is an American six-place light twin-engined aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft Company. Production ceased in 1986.

Design and development

The original Cessna 303 Clipper was first flown on February 14, 1978;Taylor 1982, p.346. it was a low-wing four-seat Lycoming-powered twin-engined aircraft that would have competed with the

Piper Seminole The Piper PA-44 Seminole is an American twin-engined light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft. The PA-44 is a development of the Piper Cherokee single-engined aircraft and is primarily used for multi-engined flight training.Montgomery ...

Gulfstream American GA-7 Cougar The Gulfstream American GA-7 Cougar is an American all-metal, 4-seat, twin-engined light aircraft. The Cougar was a twin-engine development of the Gulfstream American AA-5B Tiger and traces its lineage to the AA-1 Yankee Clipper and the Be ...

, and Beechcraft Duchess. After market demand for four-place light twins declined, only one 303 Clipper was built before Cessna redesigned the aircraft as a six-seat twin. They also renamed the aircraft out of legal concern, since

Pan Am Airlines Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

held the trademark on the name "Clipper" in reference to their fleet aircraft. The new model, designated the T303 Crusader first flew on October 17, 1979, with the first deliveries being made in October, 1981. The T303 is an all-metal low-wing six-seat twin-engined aircraft with a retractable tricycle undercarriage. At the time, it was the first all-new production twin built by Cessna in over a decade. With a declining market, only 297 were built. Examples were exported to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, with several still operating in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 2012 and two flying in

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people. Geography Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Many are still flying in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

and private operations.

Operators

Military operators

Haiti Air Corps The Haiti Air Corps (french: Corps d'Aviation d'Haiti (Corps d’Aviation de 1’Armee d’Haiti)) was the air force of Haiti from 1942 to 1994. The air corps was disbanded along with the rest of the armed forces after Operation Uphold Democracy, t ...

Armed Forces of Guatemala The Guatemalan Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de Guatemala) consists of the National Army of Guatemala (''Ejercito Nacional de Guatemala'', ENG), the Guatemalan National Defense Navy (''Marina de la Defensa Nacional'', includes Marines), the ...

Specifications (T303)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Taylor, John W.R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83''. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. .

External links

{{Cessna

303 __NOTOC__ Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, y ...