Aircraft model
CESSNA 170A
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
Built 1949-1951, the 170A is the four-seat tailwheel aeroplane that the 172 was directly derived from — the same wing, the same cabin, the same Continental six, but with a tailwheel instead of a nosewheel. It was sold as a family aeroplane in an era when almost everything had a tailwheel, and today it is bought by people who want a four-seat aeroplane that can use grass and short strips without paying Super Cub money.
It is a genuinely useful aircraft: about 105 knots, a real 995 lb of load, and a big cabin for its age. The A model has the all-metal single-strut wing but only simple 20-degree flaps, so it does not come down as steeply as a 170B. The drawbacks are the tailwheel, which demands currency and raises insurance, and the Continental O-300, which is the same power-for-money problem as in the older 172s with a thinning support base. Corrosion in the wing spars and around the tailwheel attachment is the inspection priority. Values have climbed steadily because the supply is fixed and demand from backcountry flyers is not.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 170A side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 170A
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental C-145-2 / O-300-A |
| Horsepower | 145 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1949 |
| Production end | 1951 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 105 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 500 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 690 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,820 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,200 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 995 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 770 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,200 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,205 lb |
| Usable fuel | 37.5 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $120,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $30,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $42,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 1,200 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 512 |
| Median year built | 1950.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 31 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 60.551 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 48.832 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 101 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 19.733 |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 512 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 512 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 512 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.4 of 101 |
| Severity | 7.7 of 102 |
| Access | 2.2 of 103 |
| Support | 8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 25.1 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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.