Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Skymaster places its engines on the aircraft centreline, with the rear propeller between twin tail booms. That layout makes it immediately recognizable beside conventional twins with wing-mounted engines. The military O-2 developed from the 337. The simulator products represent the civil Skymaster, with photographed and documented variants identified separately.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Long hours over the water, then a whale appears
Heikkila and Paul describe days that alternate between patient searching and concentrated activity. Their two-pilot crew follows survey lines over the ocean with two researchers in the cabin. When a possible sighting interrupts the routine, the pilots leave the track and hand-fly circles while the observers photograph and record what they see. Holding those turns accurately for extended periods is demanding work.
AOPA Pilot interviews · August 2026. Nimbus Aerial Solutions Skymaster survey flying with Center for Coastal Studies observers off Cape Cod.
AOPA Pilot · Read more ↗Arrange the panel and loading for your mission
Thranda’s DGS Skymaster includes movable instruments, saved panel presets, pop-out instrument windows and interchangeable yoke styles. Its loading menu can hide seats and replace occupied space with cargo, with a weight-and-balance chart and optional cargo pod. These choices let the simulator aircraft represent different working layouts.
Cessna 337 Skymaster · Thranda · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Thranda · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube EdoStuff Aviation · 8 min ·
Flying Bulls - Cessna 337D Super Skymaster - Display with Cockpit View
A Red Bull Cessna 337D display, with cockpit footage of its rehearsal flight.
Real aircraft · Cessna 337D
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Cessna 337 Skymaster
The Skymaster places its engines on the aircraft centreline, with the rear propeller between twin tail booms. That layout makes it immediately recognizable beside conventional twins with wing-mounted engines. The military O-2 developed from the 337. The simulator products represent the civil Skymaster, with photographed and documented variants identified separately.
Cessna 337 Skymaster
Cessna → · Explore the family →
Cessna 337 Skymaster
Wikipedia contributors · Cessna Skymaster ↗Thranda · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
From fixed gear to the Super Skymaster
Cessna introduced the fixed-gear 336 in 1963, then announced the retractable-gear 337 Super Skymaster in late 1964. The turbocharged, pressurised P337 followed for the 1973 model year. These versions share the push-pull arrangement, but their engines, equipment and operating contexts differ.
Cessna Flyer · A Different Breed: Cessna’s Skymasters ↗Cessna Flyer · June 2014 · variant chronology
Development milestones
Skymaster family first flight: 28 February 1961. This is the family’s initial-flight milestone, including the earlier 336 generation; the retractable-gear 337 followed later.
Wikipedia contributors · Cessna Skymaster ↗Wikipedia revision 1360636797 · family date; 337 introduction distinguished in the variant chronology
Pilot accounts
Long hours over the water, then a whale appears
Heikkila and Paul describe days that alternate between patient searching and concentrated activity. Their two-pilot crew follows survey lines over the ocean with two researchers in the cabin. When a possible sighting interrupts the routine, the pilots leave the track and hand-fly circles while the observers photograph and record what they see. Holding those turns accurately for extended periods is demanding work.
The shared hours have also made the crew friends. The pilots learned the language of whale research, while the observers learned more about flying. Paul recalls the pleasure of seeing a huge animal emerge from what had seemed like an empty sea, and the quiet of looking out over sparkling water. Both pilots found meaning in work that helped local conservation efforts and occasionally supported a rescue from the air.
AOPA Pilot interviews · August 2026. Nimbus Aerial Solutions Skymaster survey flying with Center for Coastal Studies observers off Cape Cod.
Read the full account · AOPA Pilot ↗An aircraft he kept coming back to
Lillie had owned several Skymasters and kept returning to the type. His flying included trips between Salt Lake City and Lake Powell, business use and visits to his fishing boat in British Columbia. Crossing remote and mountainous country influenced his choice of aircraft, and an engine failure followed by a return landing strengthened his personal attachment to the Skymaster.
For his fifth example, he renewed the soundproofing, windows and interior but retained much of the existing radio equipment. He preferred a panel that suited his needs to an expensive transformation, adding portable-style electronic displays on the yokes. In the interview, he was already open to owning another. His enthusiasm belongs to an experienced owner’s particular missions and aircraft, including their modifications and maintenance history.
Cessna Flyer interview by Dale Smith · June 2014. Lillie’s fifth Skymaster was a refurbished 1973 pressurised model; his earlier aircraft had different configurations.
Read the full account · Cessna Flyer ↗Learning to question confident advice
Peasley was a young airline second officer grateful for charter work when he found the Skymaster’s battery dead before a passenger pickup. He accepted his chief pilot’s assurance that he could get going despite the problem. The resulting departure left him airborne with the rear engine repeatedly stopping and little ability to climb, turning an ordinary positioning flight into an alarming struggle.
He eventually restored power, reached the pickup airport and concealed the episode from the waiting passengers. By the end of the day, the chief pilot promised to replace the battery, but Peasley had learned a more lasting lesson about treating someone’s seniority as proof of sound judgment. Writing three decades later, he still remembered how close that decision had brought him to a forced landing.
AOPA Pilot · October 1996. Personal recollection of a 1966 charter assignment in a Cessna 337 while his airline employer was affected by a strike.
Read the full account · AOPA Pilot ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12Cessna 337 Skymaster
Thranda · Released
Cessna 337 Skymaster
Thranda · Released
MSFS 2020C337H
Carenado · Released
C337H
Carenado · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) |
| Wingspan | 38 ft 09 in (11.81 m) |
| Height | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) |
| Wing area | 201 sq ft (18.7 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 2,655 lb (1,204 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 4,400 lb (1,996 kg) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Continental IO-360-C air-cooled flat-six piston engine, 210 hp (160 kW) each |
| Propellers | 2-bladed McCauley fully-feathering, constant-speed propeller, 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) diameter |
| Maximum speed | 199 mph (320 km/h, 173 kn) at sea level |
| Cruise speed | 144 mph (232 km/h, 125 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) (econ cruise) |
| Stall speed | 69 mph (111 km/h, 60 kn) (flaps and undercarriage down) |
| Range | 965 mi (1,553 km, 839 nmi) (econ cruise, normal fuel) |
| Service ceiling | 19,500 ft (5,900 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,200 ft/min (6.1 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Arrange the panel and loading for your missionCessna 337 Skymaster · Thranda · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Thranda’s DGS Skymaster includes movable instruments, saved panel presets, pop-out instrument windows and interchangeable yoke styles. Its loading menu can hide seats and replace occupied space with cargo, with a weight-and-balance chart and optional cargo pod. These choices let the simulator aircraft represent different working layouts.
Designated X-Plane.org store · gathered 12 September 2026
Thranda · Read the source ↗Separate engine sounds and electrical dependenciesCessna 337 Skymaster · Thranda · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The listing describes distinct front- and rear-engine sounds, individual circuit breakers and weather effects on the windscreen. Its version history records fixes for cargo-pod persistence and cowl flaps moving without electrical power. The gathered release is version 1.0.5, dated February 2023, for X-Plane 11 and 12.
Designated store · product description and version history
Thranda · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Long hours over the water, then a whale appearsAOPA Pilot interviews · August 2026. Nimbus Aerial Solutions Skymaster survey flying with Center for Coastal Studies observers off Cape Cod.
Heikkila and Paul describe days that alternate between patient searching and concentrated activity. Their two-pilot crew follows survey lines over the ocean with two researchers in the cabin. When a possible sighting interrupts the routine, the pilots leave the track and hand-fly circles while the observers photograph and record what they see. Holding those turns accurately for extended periods is demanding work. The shared hours have also made the crew friends.
Donn Heikkila and Alice Paul
AOPA Pilot · Read the source ↗An aircraft he kept coming back toCessna Flyer interview by Dale Smith · June 2014. Lillie’s fifth Skymaster was a refurbished 1973 pressurised model; his earlier aircraft had different configurations.
Lillie had owned several Skymasters and kept returning to the type. His flying included trips between Salt Lake City and Lake Powell, business use and visits to his fishing boat in British Columbia. Crossing remote and mountainous country influenced his choice of aircraft, and an engine failure followed by a return landing strengthened his personal attachment to the Skymaster.
Ron Lillie
Cessna Flyer · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
C337H — product listingC337H · MSFS 2020
Product listing captured 2026-09-23; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
www.carenado.com · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Aircraft background
Cessna SkymasterWikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12Product
Cessna C337 Skymaster DGS series XP12 / 11Thranda · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 C337H MSFS2020 – Carenadowww.carenado.com · Product listing captured 2026-09-23; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 3 profile choices
Carenado C337H Skymaster II
Carenado · Free and Pro · Revision 4 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020
Carenado C337H Skymaster II: The selected reversible yoke response is independent of the push-pull engines; opposing propeller torque is not a control-force calibration.
Thranda C337 Skymaster
Thranda · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Thranda C337 Skymaster: The selected reversible yoke response is independent of the push-pull engines; opposing propeller torque is not a control-force calibration.
Cessna 337 Skymaster
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Cessna 337 Skymaster: The selected reversible yoke response is independent of the push-pull engines; opposing propeller torque is not a control-force calibration.
Discuss this aircraft (0)
Questions, observations and useful sources from the community.
No published discussions yet. Bring a question or share a useful source.
Open aircraft discussions →Content expanded · What’s new
Something missing or a source that needs attention?
Suggest a correction ↗
