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The
Cessna AT-17 Bobcat was a twin-engined advanced
trainer aircraft designed and made in the
United States, and used during
World War II to bridge the gap between single-engine trainers and twin-engine combat aircraft. The AT-17 was powered by two
Jacobs R-755-9
radial piston engines. The commercial version was the
Model T-50, from which the AT-17 was developed.
Design and development
The
AT-17 was a military version of the commercial
Cessna T-50 light transport. The
Cessna Airplane Company first produced the wood and tubular steel, fabric-covered T-50 in 1939 for the civilian market, as a lightweight and low cost twin for personal use where larger aircraft such as the
Beech 18 would be too expensive. A low-wing
cantilever monoplane, it featured
retractable main landing gear and wing trailing-edge
flaps, both electrically actuated. The wing structure was built up of laminated spruce spar beams with spruce and plywood ribs. The fixed
tailwheel is non-steerable and
full-swivelling. The prototype T-50 made its maiden flight on 26 March 1939.
In 1940, the United States Army Air Corps ordered them under the designation
AT-8 as multi-engine advanced trainers.
Operational history
Thirty-three AT-8s were built for the U.S. Army Air Corps, and production continued under the...
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