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Aircraft model

CESSNA T310R

Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.

The turbocharged 310R is the fastest and most capable of the line: 285 hp a side with turbochargers, a 27,000-foot ceiling and 223 knots in the low twenties. It has the long nose with its useful baggage compartment and seats six. Air taxi and small freight operators used them heavily alongside private owners.

The turbochargers are what you pay for and what costs money. The TSIO-520 runs hot, is less tolerant of careless power handling than a normally aspirated engine, and is hard on exhaust systems and turbochargers — cracked exhaust components are the recurring inspection item and a carbon monoxide risk. The tip-tank fuel system with optional auxiliary and locker tanks remains complicated and has caused accidents. Without pressurisation the ceiling means oxygen for everyone aboard.

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What it is

Seats6
Landing geartricycle
Engines2
EngineContinental TSIO-520-B (turbocharged)
Horsepower285 hp
Fuel100LL
Certification basisCAR3
Production start1975
Production end1980
Endorsements requiredcomplex;high-performance;multi-engine

Performance

Cruise speed223 KTAS
Range900 nm
Service ceiling27,000 ft
Climb rate1,700 ft/min
Stall speed (Vso)69 KCAS
Takeoff over 50 ft1,700 ft
Landing over 50 ft1,790 ft

Load and fuel

Seats6
Useful load2,000 lb
Full-fuel payload1,388 lb
Max takeoff weight5,500 lb
Empty weight3,500 lb
Usable fuel102 gal
Fuel burn at cruise33.1 gal/h

Cost of ownership

Price, low$180,000
Price, high$400,000
Prices as of2026
Engine TBO1,400 h
Overhaul cost, low$60,000
Overhaul cost, high$85,000

The fleet and its record

Registered, all time299
Active fleet140
Median year built1977.5
NTSB events, last 10 years5
Fatal events, last 10 years2
Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years35.711
Personal-flying events per 1,000 active21.432
Ownership transfers, last 24 months24
Transfers per 100 active17.143
Airworthiness directives8
Directives, last 5 years0
Rate confidenceok
  1. Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 140 active.
  2. Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 140 active.
  3. Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 140 active.

Peer scores6

Peer classFixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats
Accident record2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1
Severity1.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2
Access4.9 of 103
Support7.5 of 104
Liquidity2.9 of 105
Overall (sum of the categories shown)19.2 out of 506
  1. Accident record: class median 28.74 · 56 models in class.
  2. Severity: class median 33.33.
  3. Access: class median 2,812.25.
  4. Support: class median 57.
  5. Liquidity: class median 21.91.
  6. 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.
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