Cessna Airmaster
Family of American Aircraft built by Cessna
title: "Cessna Airmaster" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cessna-aircraft", "1930s-united-states-civil-utility-aircraft", "high-wing-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1935", "aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear", "single-engined-piston-aircraft"] description: "Family of American Aircraft built by Cessna" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Airmaster" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Family of American Aircraft built by Cessna ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Airmaster |
| image | File:Cessna 165 Keevil 28.05.06R.jpg |
| image_border | yes |
| caption | A C-165 Airmaster in May 2006 |
| type | Civil aircraft |
| manufacturer | Cessna |
| first_flight | August 19, 1934 |
| introduction | 1930s |
| more_users | |
| number_built | 183 |
| :: |
|name= Airmaster |image= File:Cessna 165 Keevil 28.05.06R.jpg |image_border= yes |caption= A C-165 Airmaster in May 2006 |type= Civil aircraft |manufacturer= Cessna |designer= |first_flight= August 19, 1934 |introduction= 1930s |retired= |status= |primary_user= |more_users= |produced= |number_built= 183 |unit cost= |variants=
The Cessna Airmaster, is a family of single-engined aircraft manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The Airmaster played an important role in the revitalization of Cessna in the 1930s after the crash of the aviation industry during the Great Depression.
Development
Initial model
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Cessna_C-34_G-AEAI_Squires_Gate_08.01.50_edited-4.jpg" caption="Blackpool (Squires Gate) Airport]] in 1950"] ::
In the mid-1930s, nearing the end of the Great Depression, the American economy began to slowly strengthen. Dwane Wallace (founder Clyde Cessna's nephew who was a recent college graduate in aeronautical engineering) decided to assist his uncle and cousin, Eldon Cessna (Clyde's son), in building more modern airplanes for Cessna Aircraft. The design of the first Airmaster is credited to Wallace, and the first flight of the C-34 model was in June 1935. Not long after introduction of the C-34, Clyde Cessna retired from the aircraft industry, leaving the company to his nephew.
Later models
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Cessna_C-37_NC_18592.jpg" caption="Cessna C-37 on display at the [[Kansas Aviation Museum"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Cessna_C-37_NC_18592_cockpit.jpg" caption="Cessna C-37 cockpit"] ::
The original Airmaster, the C-34, evolved into more advanced versions of the Airmaster. The C-37 had a wider cabin, improved landing gear and electric flaps. The C-38 had a taller vertical tail, curved main gear legs and a landing flap under the fuselage. Changes common to both the C-37 and C-38 included wider fuselages and landing gear along with rubber engine mounts to hold the 145 hp Warner Super Scarab engine. The final revisions of the C-34 were the C-145 and the C-165, of which 80 were built. On these models, the belly flaps added on the C-38 were removed and the overall length of the fuselage was increased. The only difference between the C-145 and C-165 was the engine horsepower, with the latter having an upgraded 165 hp Warner engine.
End of the line
It was with the beginning of World War II that the Airmaster line came to an end. The welded tubular fuselage, fabric-covered body, extensive woodwork, wooden wings and radial engines, all characteristic of 1930s-era aircraft technology, became too expensive and slow to produce. The old-style aircraft was quickly replaced with aircraft constructed from aluminium with strut braced wings first seen in the Cessna 120.
Design
The design of the C-34 incorporates characteristics that were borrowed from previous models of Cessna Aircraft. These similarities include the high mounted cantilever wing and the narrow design of the cabin windows. The wings and tail surfaces were composed entirely of wood while the fuselage was structured with steel tubing coupled with wooden stringers and formers. Both C-145 and C-165 models were offered with floats.
Variants
;C-34: Four-seat light cabin aircraft, powered by a 145-hp (108-kW) Warner Super Scarab radial piston engine; 42 built. ;C-37: Cabin widened by 12.7 cm (5 in), fitted with improved landing gear and electrically operated flaps; 46 built. [[File:Vintage aircraft 32-020B.jpg|thumb|Cessna C-37 Airmaster, EAA fly-in, Denton, Texas, 1978.]] ;C-38: Fitted with wide landing gear with curved legs, plus a taller vertical tail and a landing flap under the fuselage; 16 built. ;C-39: Original designation of the Cessna C-145. ;C-145: Powered by a 145-hp (108-kW) Warner Super Scarab radial piston engine. ;C-165: Powered by a 165-hp (123-kW) Warner Super Scarab radial piston engine. ;C-165D: Powered by a 175-hp (130-kW) Warner Super Scarab radial piston engine. ;UC-77B: Two Cessna C-34s impressed into service with the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. ;UC-77C: One Cessna C-37 impressed into service with the USAAF in 1942. ;UC-77D: Four Cessna C-37s impressed into service with the USAAF in 1942. ;UC-94: Three Cessna C-165s impressed into service with the USAAF in 1942.
Operators
Military operators
;
Specifications
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Cessna_C-37_Airmaster_3-view_line_drawing.svg" caption="3-view line drawing of the Cessna C-37"] ::
|ref=American Aircraft Specifications |prime units?=imp General characteristics
|genhide=
|crew=1 |capacity=3 passengers |length m= |length ft=24 |length in=10 |span m= |span ft=33 |span in=10 |height m= |height ft=7 |height in=3 |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=180 |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=1300 |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb=2220 |fuel capacity=35 USgal Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Warner Super Scarab |eng1 type=7-cylinder radial engine |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=145
|prop blade number= |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in=
Performance
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=162 |max speed kts= |max speed note=at sea level |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph=143 |cruise speed kts= |stall speed mph=47 |range km= |range miles=550 |range nmi= |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=18900 |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin=1000 |more performance=
|avionics=
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
References
- Phillips, 1985
- "Cessna 165 Airmaster Aircraft performance and specifications".
- Simpson, 2001, p. 132
- Phillips, Edward H: ''Cessna, A Master's Expression'', Flying Books, 1985. {{ISBN. 978-0-911139-04-4
- (1994). "Military Aircraft of Australia". Aerospace Publications.
- ''Aviation'' March 1936, pp. 84–85.
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