Aircraft model
CESSNA 150B
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1962 model year of the 150, mechanically identical to the year either side. It is a two-seat trainer and cheap runabout and nothing more is claimed for it. Flight schools bought them by the hundred and many are still flying on their third or fourth engine.
The case for one is entirely economic: low purchase price, five to six gallons an hour, and an engine any shop can overhaul without specialist knowledge. The limits are size, speed, range and hot-day climb with two aboard. Inspect the nose gear and firewall for prior hard landings, the belly and spar for corrosion, and the flap tracks. Straight-tail 150s sell slightly below the swept-tail ones for reasons that are mostly cosmetic.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 150B side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 150B
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental O-200-A |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1962 |
| Production end | 1962 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 102 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 350 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,300 ft |
| Climb rate | 670 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 42 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,385 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,075 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 525 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 390 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 975 lb |
| Usable fuel | 22.5 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $25,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $60,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $24,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $34,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 278 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 111 |
| Median year built | 1962.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 18.021 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 9.012 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 30 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 27.033 |
| Airworthiness directives | 4 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 111 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 111 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 111 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 7.5 of 103 |
| Support | 6.4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.6 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.