Aircraft model
CESSNA 120
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
Cessna's cheap postwar two-seater, sold alongside the better-equipped 140 from 1946. The 120 is the stripped version: no flaps, no rear side windows, and on most aircraft no electrical system as delivered, meaning hand-propping to start. It was built for people who wanted to own an aeroplane for the price of a car, and that is still roughly what it is for — cheap fun flying, tailwheel practice and short local trips.
It is light, honest and pleasant to fly, and its all-metal fuselage makes it far less maintenance-intensive than the fabric aeroplanes it competed against. Two things count against it. First, it is a taildragger with a relatively narrow gear and it will ground-loop if you get careless, so you need a tailwheel endorsement and real currency. Second, the original fabric-covered wings on 1946-1948 aircraft need recovering periodically, which is expensive — the metal-winged 140A came later. Most 120s have been electrified and many have been re-engined to 90 or 100 hp; check that the paperwork for those changes is genuine.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental C-85-12 |
| Horsepower | 85 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1949 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 90 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 400 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 640 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 39 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,850 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,530 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 680 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 530 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,450 lb |
| Empty weight | 770 lb |
| Usable fuel | 25 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 4.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $26,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $45,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $22,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $32,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 2,056 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 662 |
| Median year built | 1946.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 32 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 48.34 per 1,000 active · base 662 active |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 45.32 per 1,000 active · base 662 active |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 154 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 23.26 per 100 active · base 662 active |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
Peer scores
A score runs from 0 to 10 within the model's peer class: a position, not a grade, and the six are never added together.
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.4 of 10 · class median 25 · 181 models in class |
| Severity | 5.2 of 10 · class median 5 |
| Access | 5.9 of 10 · class median 987 |
| Support | 9.5 of 10 · class median 72 |
| Liquidity | 6.4 of 10 · class median 20.59 |