Aircraft model
CESSNA A188
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The AGwagon: Cessna's agricultural aeroplane, a single-seat taildragger with a 300 hp Continental IO-520-D, a hopper where the back seats would be on any other Cessna, and a wire cutter on the windscreen. The A-prefixed aircraft are the 300 hp ones; the plain 188 is the 230 hp version. Built from 1966, it operates in the restricted category at 4,000 lb with dispersal equipment fitted, against 3,300 lb in the normal category without it.
Nobody buys one of these for fun, and the ones that come up for sale have usually had a hard life at low level in a corrosive environment. The inspection list is different from any other Cessna: hopper and pump condition, the spray or spreader plumbing, corrosion everywhere the chemical went, and the wing spar and attach fittings after decades of turning at low altitude. A tailwheel endorsement is a legal minimum and nothing like sufficient; ag flying is a trade, not a rating.
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- CESSNA A188
What it is
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental IO-520-D |
| Horsepower | 300 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1966 |
| Production end | 1971 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 98 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 278 nm |
| Service ceiling | 11,100 ft |
| Climb rate | 690 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 50 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,090 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,265 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,811 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,589 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 4,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 2,189 lb |
| Usable fuel | 37 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 16.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $120,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,700 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $48,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $68,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 292 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 22 |
| Median year built | 1967.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 90.91 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 3 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 13.64 · 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 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, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 7.9 of 103 |
| Support | 2.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- 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.