Aircraft model
CESSNA 185C
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1964 Skywagon 185, of which 124 were built. Unchanged in engine, weights and structure from the 1961 aircraft. The interest in a particular early 185 is almost never the model year — it is whether the aircraft has been on floats, what the corrosion picture is, and which of the several hundred available modifications have been fitted.
A 185 is a 180 with more engine and more gross weight, and it is the standard against which working taildraggers are measured. Nothing about ownership is cheap: the IO-470 and IO-520 are expensive at overhaul, the airframes are old enough that corrosion and previous repairs are the real subject of a pre-purchase inspection, and float and ski operations leave marks. Values have risen steadily for decades because the supply is fixed. Tailwheel and high-performance endorsements are both required and insurers will want meaningful time in type on top of them.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 185C side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 185C
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental IO-470-F |
| Horsepower | 260 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1964 |
| Production end | 1964 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 145 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 561 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,300 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,000 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 54 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,510 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,265 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,680 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,290 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 3,200 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,520 lb |
| Usable fuel | 65 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 14.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $150,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $255,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,500 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $42,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $58,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 89 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 22 |
| Median year built | 1964.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 45.45 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 45.45 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 2 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 9.09 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 7 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 22 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 22 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 22 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 0 of 103 |
| Support | 2.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.7 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 38.47 · 74 models in class.
- Severity: class median 16.67.
- Access: class median 1,823.
- Support: class median 96.
- Liquidity: class median 17.67.
- 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.