336 Owners

[Richard]

I'm in the North West United States. I'm looking at a few 336s for sale here in the states. All about the same condition. I own a T337 now, but having some issues with it that might take a few years to sort out. Looking at a simple 336 to taxi me and my family around. I've also got several STCd parts that are just sitting on a self that need a home.

The things I've heard is the vibration and noise is greater in the rear engine of a 336. I don't see how a properly balanced fan would cause any additional vibration. I've also heard that the structure on a 336 isn't as strong? Just looking for some happy 336 owners (besides the ones selling theirs) what the consensus is on ownership?

[David Dixon]

Well I suppose it's a bit difficult comparing the two since I've not owned a 337. The obvious differences are:
The 336 is slower, The aspect is not as good (horizon is high) less things to go wrong with the fixed undercarriage, rear engine appears to run hotter. noise or vibration is no problem for us,
A new rear prop was hard to find.
Make sure your props are current, we got stuck with the old out of date props that didn't have the red dye. These are illegal and it was an expensive exercise.
I wouldn't be buying a plane of this vintage without thoroughly checking for internal corrosion. Does the rear cowl operate? these cowl motors are known to give trouble. If it works that is a plus. Ours is always open as I havent sourced a rear cowl motor. In the event of a rear engine failure, the rear cowl if stuck open can cause drag. One important thing to do before any purchase is to thoroughly check the rear exhaust pipes. They have been known to fail which can cause a fire. This happened to me and the previous owner. (we now have had new stainless pipes made with minimum welding) We feel that we have overcome the problem by a thorough check of all welds at least every 50 hrs. Check if the exhaust brackets are free to move also.
Are all the seals around the engine in place? these are for the upper air to be forced through the oil cooler. There are to be no gaps for the air to escape
Test fly the plane on a hot day and monitor the rear oil temp.
If the aircraft is highly maintained and all is up to date and the price is right, go for it. We love our 336 (the only one operating in Australia). There is a fellow 336 owner in the US who is expecting to fly his 336 to Australia and is negotiating long range tanks.
I'll leave you with one thought, you're best to look at a well maintained 336 than a clapped out 337. Any more questions please feel free to ask
Regards
David

[roger336rc]

Want to let all the interested 336 folks that I have flown a 336 for 30 years and know the plane in and out. I am parting out my 336. It has always been hangared and all the parts are in excellent shape. For example - 400 altitude hold autopilot with all paperwork recently yellow tagged by Autopilot Central. Cost nearly $10,000 to get all the right parts with the correct part numbers and to service and yellow tag them. A knock out 6 seat interior and dual flight instrument panels. Thought you would be interested. roger@tekoa.com

[Richard]

Well, I went ahead and purchased the 336. Love it. Simple, easy, and familiar. This is Skymaster #4 that I've owned. So far my impressions are that performance will be missed, but the cost of ownership on the 336 is welcomed. Climb at sea level with 1/2 tanks and me is 2200fpm, oh my! Empty weight is under 2500lbs, wow. This is the first Skymaster I've owned that didn't have a Horton STOL kit on it, I wonder if I'll miss it.

What, if any, mods really improve the performance?

[roger336rc]

I made custom fairings for the wheel that enclosed the brake caliper - also an airfoil fairing for the main struts - in fact I still have the molds for all 3 wheel fairings.

I used the Mid America STOL kit and really liked it.

[David Dixon]

Congrats Richard.
Glad to hear it.

[Richard]

A few details on this new bird.
It has 1102 hours total time on the airframe and engines. Yes, the engines are original and never overhauled or had any jugs changed. It was stored in a hanger for 27 years without any activity, but in the last 10 years it has seen monthly activity. To some (including me) this would worry them about the engines being so old. I was skeptical, but amazingly enough, the engines don't leak a drop. Driest IO360s I've ever seen. Compressions are great and the plane flies book figures. In a 6 hour flight, we started with a full 10 qts, after the flight we had burned 1.5 qts in each engine. I'm happy because I'm used to seeing cracks and patches all over the baffle pans. This is like having a new plane.

Things I've noticed:

I miss the visibility of the 337
Rear engine burns almost 1 gph more than the front
Vibration from the rear engine is noticeably different from and 337
Elevator authority is better with the 336
Climb rate is flat out amazing

Even though the plane is under a new annual, I'm having my trusted IA go over it again. He has found a few minor corrosion issues on some of the fuel lines are are replacing them. A few other leaks and minor things, but pretty small for a craft approaching 50 years of age.

Everything is functional on the plane except for the thrust warning system. So I'm faced with having the system removed or find the missing parts to make it functional. Any advise? Is it a system that comes in handy? I've noticed that every 336 I have seen has the system removed. Reason?