CESSNA 185F

The Skywagon 185, the largest of Cessna's tailwheel singles and the standard heavy-hauling bush aeroplane of the western hemisphere. It has 300 hp, six seats, a cargo door, a structure designed to be overloaded and abused, and it is routinely flown on floats, skis and gravel bars. Missionary operators, float operators, lodges and Alaskan charter companies have used them for decades because nothing else combines this much load with this much short-field capability at a piston price. The A185F ran from 1973 to 1985 with the same 300 hp IO-520 and 3,350 lb gross weight throughout; the changes within the run are that aircraft from 1978 have a 28-volt electrical system and aircraft from 1980 a three-blade propeller in place of the two-blade, which is quieter and gives better ground clearance — both now common retrofits on earlier aircraft, so check what a candidate actually has.

It is a demanding aeroplane and the market for it is brutal. Three hundred horsepower in a tailwheel aircraft means real torque on takeoff and a genuine ground-loop risk, so insurers require substantial tailwheel time and usually dual in type. The IO-520 is powerful but is known for crankcase cracking and cylinder issues if run hard, and overhauls are expensive. Airframes have often worked hard in remote places, so damage history, corrosion and log continuity matter more than usual. Prices reflect scarcity rather than age: a clean example on amphibious floats can cost more than a new four-seater.