In 1962, Cessna developed the prototype of a unique twin-engined aircraft aimed at the business traveler who was looking for the enhanced safety of a twin, but without the asymmetric engine-out control problems typically associated with twins. Cessna's solution was to mount one engine on the nose in single-engine aircraft style and the other directly behind the four-place cabin—thus, from the pilot's perspective, the two engines rotated in opposite directions and virtually eliminated the effects of engine torque. In an engine-out situation, the pilot would have no more control problems than with a typical single-engine aircraft. To maintain simplicity, Cessna elected to install fixed tricycle landing gear and strut-braced wings, making it the first such twin in recent aviation history. To accommodate the rear-facing aft engine, a twin tail boom configuration was designed with the rear engine's propeller spinning between the booms.

The new aircraft was dubbed the Model 336. The first of two prototypes flew in 1962, and the 336 hit the market in 1964. Some 200 Model 336s were sold that year, and Cessna decided that the market was ready for an aircraft with such an unusual configuration. However, in 1965, the Model 337 replaced the 336 in the Cessna line-up. The new model, named the Skymaster, sported an increased wing incidence, retractable landing gear, and a number of cosmetic changes. The aircraft's handling was typical Cessna—with reasonable aileron control and somewhat heavy pitch control, but able to handle turbulence with aplomb. The airplane's unique looks resulted a several less than complimentary nicknames, from "Push Me, Pull You" to "Mixmaster." Although safety was the Skymaster's raison d'être, its accident rates proved dismal when compared to normal light twin-engine aircraft. This was despite the lack of a "critical engine" as in most twin-engine aircraft and the fact that, with one engine failed, the 337 was basically a normal single-engine aircraft.

Skymaster production continued through the 1980 H-II model, with 2,058 civilian 336s and 337s produced by Cessna in the US and another 84 produced by Reims Aviation in France. Engines throughout remained the 210-horsepower Continental IO-360 (except for some of the turbocharged models after 1973, which used an uprated 225-horsepower TSIO-360). Although climb and cruise performance…