Aircraft model
CESSNA 310N
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1969 Cessna 310, with the gross weight raised to 5,200 lb and a useful load of a round 2,000 lb. It seats six, cruises at 190 knots and is among the more practical of the normally aspirated 310s for carrying people and luggage.
The formula by now is fixed and the aeroplane is well understood. Costs are two IO-470 overhauls, two propellers, roughly 28 gallons an hour and a light-twin annual. The tip-tank fuel system remains the operational thing to learn, and the aircraft's accident history includes fuel mismanagement often enough that it deserves saying twice. Single-engine climb is adequate rather than generous. Insurance requires a multi-engine rating and, for an owner-pilot, usually annual recurrent training.
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- CESSNA 310N
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Continental IO-470-V |
| Horsepower | 260 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1969 |
| Production end | 1969 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 190 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 900 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,750 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,540 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 68 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,700 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,750 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,388 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 5,200 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,200 lb |
| Usable fuel | 102 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 29.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $70,000 |
|---|---|
| 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 | 166 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 55 |
| Median year built | 1968.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 54.55 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 36.36 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 12 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 21.82 · 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 55 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 55 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 55 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 0.2 of 103 |
| Support | 4.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.7 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.