When I was growing up, I watched a Saturday morning kids show (watched by a number of adults) about a flying cowboy, who was always helping those in distress with his twin-engined plane. The cowboy was Sky King, of course, and the plane, the Cessna T-50 Bobcat. During this blog, we will trace the development of the Bobcat, as well as its civil and military roles.

In the late 1930s, the USAAC found itself in need of an advanced trainer aircraft, offering pilots experience in flying multi-engined aircraft at a relatively low cost. The Bobcat was Cessna’s first twin-engined monoplane, first flown in 1939. The T-50 had a mixed construction – the wings and tail were of wood, with the tail covered by fabric while the fuselage was a welded steel-tube structure with lightweight wood and fabric outside surfaces. Both the tailwheel and trailing-edge wing flaps were controlled electrically. The Bobcat had a capacity of five passengers.

Ironically, the military potential of the T-50 was first realized by Canada, whose interest in the aircraft as a trainer paralled that of the United States Army Air Corps. After a series of tests and evaluations by the USAAC in 1940, some 550 Bobcats were supplied to Canada in 1941 through the Lend-Lease program. However, the original use of the T-50 was in the role of a light transport, ferrying pilots and documents to various bases. This was due in part to overstated training aircraft requirements by the Army Air Corps. The U.S. Navy utilized the Bobcat in a similar role as well. Approximately 5,400 T-50s were built from 1940 to 1944 with the majority phased out of service by 1947.

After World War II, a number of conversion kits were introduced, by which military T-50s could be converted to standard civil aircraft. These kits were utilized by a number of charter airlines and private pilots, with a few operated on floats. Although the number of Bobcats in use had declined dramatically by the 1970s, largely due to replacement by more modern aircraft designs – they are a popular antique aircraft, with several visiting air shows nationwide. The T-50 was both easy to fly and simple to maintain. Although replaced by the all metal Cessna 310, the Bobcat blazed the trail in the evolution of twin-engined private aircraft.

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