I owned a 1961 310F Blue Canoe for over 8 years.

I sold it because I didn’t have any one in the local area that could maintain it.

When mine was working right, I loved it, but keeping up with systems that are 60 years old is difficult, and finding someone knowledgeable in those systems to maintain it was nearly impossible.

Personally, given a good 310 and quality maintenance nearby, I like the Q model. The R model is great but won’t fit in a standard T hangar.

Overall, I think the Baron is originally engineered and built more robustly, and there are more shops that can competently maintain the airframe.

Butch

The coldest I have ever been in my life was flying in the winter when my 310 heater went TU. I agree…have some clothes and blankets to protect you in a pinch. Your brain does doesn’t work well when your body is frozen.

I guess that’s why you’re the “Iceman!”

I had the same experience in a 58 Baron. Passengers had their feet stuck under their Black Lab to keep warm.
There was a tupperware dish of water for the dog. When we landed I went to empty it, and it was a solid chunk of ice... BRRrrrr (just under 2 hours)

I was stomping my feet to keep circulation up..

(but you don't troubleshoot a gasoline heater in flight!!)

Edit to keep with the thread:
I have 500+ hours in a 310R flying Pt.135, and at least as much in a 58 Baron. The Baron is a little more nimble, both are good IFR platforms, to me.

Ha!

Learned to light the heater by 10-12k as it would not light above around 15k. Usually kept burning into the FLs if lit lower. Once in a while forget in the warm CA always +15 ISA atmosphere and then earned Mark's appellation for the rest of the flight.

In 900 hours in a Q model only had one mission scrubbed and that was my fault as lost track of when had last cleaned, gapped, and rotated plugs and had a miss on climb out. However, the plane probably required an hour of maintenance for every 3-5 hours flown; fortunately am somewhat handy and had a helpful IA to supervise.

Agree with Av that the combustion heater would "usually" run in the FLs if lit down low, but very hard to start up there.

That never made much sense to me, as the thermostat in the cabin airflow duct presumably maintains the set temperature by switching the burner off and on, rather than modulating the size of the flame. So being "lit" often, unless in an environment so cold that the system required to burner constantly on. I never had the 310 above FL 250, -37C, so presumably the unit was cycling, but definitely seemed to be the case that turning it on down low helped.

Headset microphone froze to my mustache once.