Page 25 - Volume 14 Number 1

Armed with only a shoestring budget, late that year Wallace and fellow engineer Tom Salter began thinking how best to improve the existing airplane. High on the list was increasing cabin comfort followed by redesigning the flaps and improving the main landing gear. Production No. 32 of the C-34 served as a prototype for what would become the Cessna C-37.
Changes included:
= Width of the forward fuselage increased 4 inches at the front wing fittings
= Adding 2 inches to the fuselage width at the rear corner of the cabin entry door
= Lowering the engine mount 2 inches
= Firewall narrowed by 1 inch
= Electrically operated wing flaps, although the original manual system was optional (the C-37 was the first Cessna airplane to feature wing flaps)
= Modifying the Warner engine’s cowling and baffle arrangement for improved cooling
= Increasing main landing gear tread to 7 feet
= Wheel size increased to 6.50 x 10 inches
First flight of the new ship oc- curred Dec. 22, 1936, with Wallace at the controls. As a result of these modifications a new Approved Type Certificate (ATC) was required, and ATC 622 was awarded by the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) Feb. 8, 1937. The first production C-37 rolled out of the factory Jan. 22 and was one of 46 airplanes manufac- tured through December of that year. Price was $5,490 for a standard C-37, $6,000 for a “Deluxe” version with upgraded interior.
In addition to the standard air- plane, Cessna offered a special ver- sion fitted with large windows in the lower forward fuselage and the cabin floor for aerial photography; seven were built. The C-37 was also approved for operation on Edo 44- 2425 floats and the option included installation of a Curtiss-Reed metal propeller featuring a lower pitch and greater diameter than a standard propeller. Maximum gross weight was 2,500 pounds and an empty
The Cessna C-37 featured a wider, more comfortable cabin for the pilot and front seat passenger. Only 46 airplanes were built before production shifted to the Cessna C-38 Airmaster. (Robert J. Pickett Collection)
JANUARY 2020
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 23