Aircraft model
CESSNA 310D
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1960 Cessna 310, a detail development of the C with the same 260 hp carburetted Continentals and straight tip tanks. It seats five, cruises at 180 knots and looks unmistakably of its decade.
Buying advice does not vary much across the early 310 letters: pay for engine time, corrosion state and damage history rather than the year. The tip-tank fuel system with its cross-feed rules is the operational thing to learn properly, because fuel mismanagement has caused accidents in this type. Light-twin economics apply — two engines, two propellers, and an annual inspection several times a single's. Single-engine performance is adequate but demands currency, which is where light-twin accidents concentrate.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 310D side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 310D
What it is
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Continental O-470-M |
| Horsepower | 260 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1960 |
| Production end | 1960 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 180 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 800 nm |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,660 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 66 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,600 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,700 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,880 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,268 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 4,830 lb |
| Empty weight | 2,950 lb |
| Usable fuel | 102 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 29.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $100,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $200,000 |
| 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 | 277 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 56 |
| Median year built | 1960.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 53.57 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 35.71 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 19 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 33.93 · 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 56 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 56 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 56 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 9.8 of 103 |
| Support | 4.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.6 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 28.74 · 56 models in class.
- Severity: class median 33.33.
- Access: class median 2,812.25.
- Support: class median 57.
- Liquidity: class median 21.91.
- 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.