Aircraft model
CESSNA 150K
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1969-70 model years of the 150. This is the generation that introduced the Aerobat, the strengthened A150 variant certified for limited aerobatics with a quick-release door and shoulder harnesses — worth checking whether a given aeroplane is a standard 150K or an A150K, because the Aerobat is worth considerably more. The standard aircraft is the familiar two-seat trainer.
It is cheap to buy, cheap to run at five to six gallons an hour, and supported by every mechanic in the country. The empty weight has crept up by this point so useful load is around 575 lb, which is two average adults, full fuel and very little else. The rest of the picture is the family standard: slow, cramped, short-legged, poor climb on a hot day, and a nose gear and firewall that deserve close inspection given the training history. Engine and taildragger conversion supplemental type certificates are common on 150s and change both value and the endorsements required.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 150K side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 150K
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 | 1969 |
| Production end | 1970 |
| 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 | 575 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 440 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,600 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,025 lb |
| Usable fuel | 22.5 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $28,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $72,000 |
| 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 | 793 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 304 |
| Median year built | 1969.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 23.031 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 9.872 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 77 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 25.333 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 304 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 304 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 304 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 7.1 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 1.4 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 4.3 of 103 |
| Support | 8.4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.2 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 28.4 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.