Aircraft model
CESSNA 180G
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1964 Skywagon, and a genuinely different aeroplane from the 1963 one: maximum weight goes from 2,650 to 2,800 lb and the cabin is certified for six. 133 were built. The engine is unchanged at 230 hp, so all of the extra weight comes out of climb rate and takeoff distance, which on the kind of strip a 180 is bought for is exactly the wrong place to spend it.
The 180 is the aeroplane that built most of the backcountry strips in North America and it has never really been replaced. Values have gone one way for thirty years because nobody makes a new one and the bush and float market absorbs everything that comes up. Buy on corrosion, on the condition of the gear box structure and the tailwheel spring attachment, and on whether the aircraft has spent its life on floats — a salt-water 180 is a different proposition from a prairie one. Expect to pay for real tailwheel instruction and expect insurance to ask for it.
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental O-470-R |
| Horsepower | 230 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1964 |
| Production end | 1964 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 141 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 622 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,600 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,090 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 50 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,205 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,365 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,275 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 885 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,525 lb |
| Usable fuel | 65 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 12.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $125,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $260,000 |
| 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 | 130 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 40 |
| Median year built | 1964.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 100 per 1,000 active · base 40 active · thin base (low) |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 100 per 1,000 active · base 40 active · thin base (low) |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 4 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 10 per 100 active · base 40 active · thin base (low) |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
Peer scores
A score runs from 0 to 10 within the model's peer class: a position, not a grade, and the six are never added together.
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | — · class median 38.14 · 73 models in class |
| Severity | — · class median 8.33 |
| Access | 6.8 of 10 · class median 1,794 |
| Support | 3.3 of 10 · class median 81 |
| Liquidity | 1 of 10 · class median 17.96 |