Air Force Museum
Cessna UC-78B Bobcat
Dubbed the "Bamboo Bomber" by the pilots who flew them, the UC-78 was a military version of the commercial Cessna T-50 light transport. Cessna first produced the wood and tubular steel, fabric-covered T-50 in 1939 for the civilian market. In 1940 the U.S. Army Air Corps ordered them under the designation AT-8 as multi-engine advanced trainers.
In depth
History & service
Cessna built 33 AT-8s for the Air Corps and production continued under the designation AT-17 to reflect a change in equipment and engine types. In 1942 the U.S. Army Air Forces adopted the Bobcat as a light personnel transport and designated those delivered after Jan. 1, 1943, as UC-78s. By the end of World War II, Cessna produced more than 4,600 Bobcats for the USAAF, 67 of which were transferred to the U.S. Navy as JRC-1s.
In addition, Cessna produced 822 Bobcats for the Royal Canadian Air Force as Crane 1s.
The UC-78 on display is one of the 1,806 UC-78Bs built for the USAAF and was acquired by the museum in 1982.
The aircraft in figures
Engines: Two Jacobs R-755-9s of 245 hp each · Maximum speed: 175 mph · Cruising speed: 150 mph · Range: 750 miles · Ceiling: 15,000 ft. · Span: 41 ft. 11 in. · Length: 32 ft. 9 in. · Height: 9 ft. 11 in. · Weight: 5,700 lbs. maximum · Serial number: 42-71626
Aviation close to everyday life
Most flying does not take place in a large scheduled airliner. General aviation includes personal travel, instruction, business transport, surveying, agricultural work, medical missions, and many other uses. These activities share airspace, but their aircraft can be very different. A short rough landing strip, a modest operating budget, or a specialized payload may be more important than high speed.
Small aircraft make the relationship between pilot and machine especially visible. Weight, balance, weather, and fuel planning have immediate consequences. Straightforward designs can be useful precisely because they are manageable to maintain and operate. More elaborate equipment can expand capability, but it also adds cost, training requirements, and new systems to understand.
The personal artifacts in this gallery widen the story beyond aircraft specifications. Clothing, equipment, and accounts of individual flights reveal ambition, work, ingenuity, and the barriers people encountered. The same airplane might be a livelihood for one person, an instrument of public service for another, and a route into a lifelong enthusiasm for a third. Connections to military liaison aircraft, air-rescue machines, and commercial transports show how ideas move across categories. Aviation's importance lies as much in useful daily service as in the famous firsts that attract headlines.
