Article by owner Chuck Jessen, as it appeared in a 2009  issue of the Twin Cessna Flyer

For better or worse, for richer or poorer, the story of my ’55 Cessna 310.

        Before I purchased my 1955 Cessna 310 in October of 2000, I had been looking to move up from my C-172 to a C-182. One day, an aircraft broker/instructor let me fly left seat in a ’56 C-310. The thrill having twin 240 hp 0-470s strapped to each side of me, roaring through straight exhaust pipes, climbing like a rocket ship at nearly 2,000 fpm, was too much. I was hooked. I had to have one. 

        Prior to this, all I knew about 310s was what I got as a kid watching the Sky King TV show on Saturday mornings. I had only 400 hours in a basic C-172 and no multi-engine rating. When I found out I could get a C-310 for the cost of a C-182, I thought ‘What a deal! Twice the airplane!’ The broker snickered and licked his chops.
  
        So I bought my 1955 C-310, N2642C, through a guy in Stockton, CA, and found a MEI to teach me to fly it. What an adjustment that was. I think my initial landing technique was to close my eyes at 100’ AGL and hope for the best. Nevertheless, soon I had my ME ticket and it was time to bid my C-172 farewell. My hourly fuel burn would triple and my years of $600 annuals were over.
  
        The early “tuna tank” 310s have a classic look that seems to turn heads where ever pilots are gathered. Thanks in part to its Sky King legacy, it has become an American icon, much like the enduring Harley Davidson or a 50s/early 60s Corvette. Sitting high off the ramp, with its rakish pose and large, commanding straight tail that harkens back to planes like the B17 and B24 that helped win WWII just 10 years before. It was out of the post-war surplus of aviation ingenuity, after all, that the 310 was born in late 1954. And my 42C, serial no. 35042, was the 42nd one to come off the production line in January of 1955.
  
        When I found 42C some 45 years later, it had a look only a salvage yard operator could love. The exterior was a 70s vintage lime-green stripes on white and the interior was lime-green plaid with brown vinyl accents. So ugly the controllers would divert traffic every time I entered the pattern. But the airframe was clean and corrosion free and the engines were solid. That, I figured, was most important.
  
         Nevertheless, caving to my vanity, I soon had 42C repainted its current scheme and reupholstered in tan leather. The next year I had the side brace kit installed for the landing gear. In 2005, I installed the Hartzell “MV” props to be rid of the prop AD. I also installed a Garmin 430W GPS, SL-30, PMA7000B audio panel, GI-106A and KI-206 CDIs, Gemini 1200 engine monitor, and ring lighting for all gauges. For a touch of nostalgia, I replace my inop 8-day clock with one from a P-51 Mustang. I topped off the new panel look with black leather yoke covers from Warren Gregoire & Assoc.
  
        There are so many myths and misconceptions out there about the older 310s that I think need to be set straight. Like the overstated “dutch roll.” I have over 800 hours in 42C and the only dutch roll I remember is the one I devoured after stopping at a bakery in Solvang, CA. Delicate landing gear? Not a problem if you install the side brace kit, land properly and have it rigged by a true 310 expert. Exhaust system? I feel the initial design, the straight pipe augmenter tubes, as on 42C, are the best. It gets rid of corrosive exhaust most efficiently and with modern headsets, noise is no longer a problem. I could fill another page on this topic but I’ll leave it for Larry and Tony.
  
        I love the fact that I can carry 900 lbs at 200 mph, burning 22 gph. My tip tanks provide me with 100 gallons onboard and that’s sufficient. After nearly 4 hours in the air, I’m ready to stop and take a break. Plus it eliminates the fuel management pitfalls that have claimed many later-model 310s.
  
        It breaks my heart to see some of these fine machines scrapped or sitting in patches of weeds, deteriorating beyond repair. The fact that they have become so devalued of late -- as evidenced by desperation sales on EBay -- only shows how misunderstood and under-appreciated they are.
  
        I would love to see someone take the time to pencil out a cost analysis. Buy one of these old 310s for $50,000. Invest another $100,000 in overhauled engines, new paint, interior, avionics,
 
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