Aircraft model
CESSNA 310H
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1963 310: a 310G with a wider cabin and another 110 lb of takeoff weight, at 5,100 lb. 148 were built. The engines are unchanged at 260 hp Continental IO-470-D, so the extra weight is paid for out of climb rate rather than speed — cruise actually goes up slightly to about 194 knots while rate of climb drops from roughly 1,800 to 1,690 ft/min. The type certificate also approves a 4,990 lb configuration for this model, so an individual aircraft's weight and balance is worth reading rather than assuming.
Of the early swept-tail 310s this is usually the one worth paying a little more for, because the cabin change is the one that people notice on a three-hour leg. The ownership picture is unchanged: two big injected Continentals, a hydraulic gear system that wants regular attention, and a fuel system that demands to be flown. Most surviving aircraft have had avionics done at least twice; buy the airframe and the engines and treat the panel as a negotiating point rather than a feature.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 310H side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 310H
What it is
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Continental IO-470-D |
| Horsepower | 260 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1963 |
| Production end | 1963 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 194 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 687 nm |
| Service ceiling | 21,100 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,690 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 65 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,545 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,900 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,037 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,425 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 5,100 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,063 lb |
| Usable fuel | 102 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 29.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $245,000 |
| 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 | 145 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 33 |
| Median year built | 1963.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 0 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 10 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 30.3 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 33 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 33 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 33 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 2.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.4 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 22.1 · 57 models in class.
- Severity: class median 25.
- Access: class median 2,924.5.
- Support: class median 57.
- Liquidity: class median 21.42.
- 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.