Cessna AT - 17 Bobcat The Cessna AT - 17 Bobcat was a twin - engined advanced trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States , and used during World War II to bridge the gap between single - engine trainers and twin - engine combat aircraft . The AT - 17 was powered by two Jacobs R - 755 - 9 radial piston engines . The commercial version was the Model T - 50 , from which the AT - 17 was developed . Design and development . The AT - 17 was a military version of the commercial Cessna T - 50 light transport . The Cessna Airplane Company first produced the wood and tubular steel , fabric - covered T - 50 in 1939 for the civilian market , as a lightweight and low cost twin for personal use where larger aircraft such as the Beech 18 would be too expensive . A low - wing cantilever monoplane , it featured retractable main landing gear and wing trailing - edge flaps , both electrically actuated . The wing structure was built up of laminated spruce spar beams with spruce and plywood ribs . The fixed tailwheel is non - steerable and full - swivelling . The prototype T - 50 made its maiden flight on 26 March 1939 . In 1940 , the United States Army Air Corps ordered them under the designation AT - 8 as multi - engine advanced trainers . Operational history . Thirty - three AT - 8s were built for the U . S . Army Air Corps , and production continued under the designation AT - 17 reflecting a change in equipment and engine types . In 1942 , the U . S Army Air Force ( the successor to the Air Corps from June 1941 ) adopted the Bobcat as a light personnel transport and those delivered after January 1 , 1943 were designated UC - 78s . By the end of World War II , Cessna had produced more than 4 , 600 Bobcats for the U . S . military , 67 of which were transferred to the United States Navy as JRC - 1s . In addition , 822 Bobcats had been produced for the Royal Canadian Air Force as Crane Is , many of which were used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan . The aircraft did not last long in North American post - war military service . Few ( if any ) Bobcats were in service with the United States Air Force when it was formed in September , 1947 . Surviving military aircraft were declared obsolete in 1949 . Dubbed the " Bamboo Bomber " by the pilots who flew them , it was one of the aircraft featured in the popular television series " Sky King " of early to mid - 50s . The aircraft was replaced in later episodes by the T - 50 ' s successor , the all - metal Cessna 310 . Post war , surplus AT - 17s and UC - 78s could be converted by CAA - approved kits to civilian standard aircraft allowing their certification under the T - 50s original Type Certificate ( ATC - 722 , issued 3 - 24 - 1940 ) . They were used by small airlines , charter and " bush " operators and private pilots . Some were operated on floats . By the 1970s , the number of airworthy aircraft had dwindled as they were made obsolete by more modern types and by the maintenance required by their aging wood wing structures and fabric covering . Since then , several have been restored by antique airplane enthusiasts . In August 2009 , FAA records show 378 T - 50s , 10 AT - 17s and 30 UC - 78s are listed on the FAA registration database . However , just because aircraft are registered with the FAA does not mean they are airworthy . In the post - war years , Bobcats continued in military service with Brazil and the Nationalist Chinese .