Aircraft model
CESSNA 180D
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1960 Skywagon. The differences from the B and C are equipment and trim; the aeroplane is the same 230 hp four-seat tailwheel utility machine. It remains one of the few aircraft that will carry four people and camping gear into a gravel bar and out again.
Buying advice does not change across the early 180 letters: buy on condition, damage history and corrosion rather than the year. Running costs exceed a 172's in every category — more fuel, a more expensive engine and propeller — and a market in which every airworthy example is competed for. The tailwheel is the real barrier: this is a powerful taildragger and the accident record is dominated by loss of directional control on landing, which is why insurers want documented time in type.
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Put CESSNA 180D side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 180D
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental O-470-L |
| Horsepower | 230 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1960 |
| Production end | 1960 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 143 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 600 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,600 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,100 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 48 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,205 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,365 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,060 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 730 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,650 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,590 lb |
| Usable fuel | 55 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 12.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $115,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $250,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,500 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $40,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $55,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 120 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 51 |
| Median year built | 1961.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 6 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 117.65 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 98.04 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 8 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 15.69 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 51 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 51 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 51 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 6.2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 0.5 of 103 |
| Support | 2.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 10.6 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.