Aircraft model
CESSNA 150H
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1968 two-seat trainer, part of the highest-production years of the type. Nothing significant changed from the G beyond trim and equipment options. It does what all 150s do: it teaches, it keeps a licence current cheaply, and it is genuinely hard to get into trouble in.
As a purchase it is a commodity and should be bought on condition alone. The cheap ones are cheap because the engine is near or past its recommended overhaul, the paint and interior are finished, or the radios are unusable in modern controlled airspace. Adding ADS-B and a usable GPS to a bare aeroplane can cost as much as the airframe. Against that, running costs are the lowest of anything four-stroke and certified, and if you keep it in a hangar and fly it regularly it will not fight you. Two adults, full tanks, no bags is the honest load, and nobody should buy one expecting to travel in it.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 150H side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 150H
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 | 1968 |
| Production end | 1968 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 102 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 350 nm |
| Service ceiling | 12,650 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 | 590 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 455 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,600 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,010 lb |
| Usable fuel | 22.5 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $27,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $68,000 |
| 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 | 1,894 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 755 |
| Median year built | 1968.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 29 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 38.411 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 29.142 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 230 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 30.463 |
| 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 755 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 755 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 755 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 4.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 4.4 of 102 |
| Access | 6.6 of 103 |
| Support | 9.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 33.8 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- 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.