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(click pic to enlarge) Circa 1957: the Cessna 310B used in the Sky King TV series
After seeing an old straight tail 310 in that sweet 1950's era video I posted yesterday I figured I should take the time to let y'all know that my love for taildraggers doesn't mean I can't love a trike too... in fact, the old straight-tail Cessna 310 has been making my heart beat faster since I was about 7 years old, which was way back in 1968. There's those sleek and simple lines of the earliest 310's, plus that very short nose, which also had the nose gear strut mounted about as far forward as possible. And then you've got those awesome over-the-wing augmented exhaust pipes in the aft end of the engine nacelles and the big beasty tip tanks! Wow, I'm serious when I say I would have me a late 50's 310 if I had the green for it.
I have no recollection of watching the old Sky King series on TV when I was a kid (tho I do remember seeing Whirlybirds and Ripcord) but I'm sure the national exposure for the 310 was some great advertising for Cessna. In the video at the bottom of the post you can see the Sky King 310, known as Songbird in the show, in the intro as well as thru the episode.
It would sure be cool to have a 1957-1959 310 and clean it up extra sharp and put an awesome retro styled paint scheme on it, but one that makes it a total show off in the process. What a hot old-school way to make some noise with a couple Continental O-470's and a cruise speed of 220 mph! If the cash is ever flowing abundantly in my life, don't be surprised to see me out playing with my old straight-tail Cessna 310! (FYI: my fantasy hangar has at least 30 airplanes in it, with about 80% of them taildraggers : )
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(click pic to enlarge) Early Air force 310 (L-27A, and later designated U-3A) photo: wiki
