Cessna U206F
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Stationair, in 1975 U206F form: a six-seat, fixed-gear, nosewheel single with 300 hp and a large double cargo door on the right side. It is the 185's tricycle-gear cousin, built for people who need to haul bulky loads but do not want a taildragger. Skydiving clubs, aerial survey operators, remote charter companies and large families all buy them, and the 1,680 lb useful load is the reason.
It is the easiest aeroplane on this list to load with six people and their bags and still fly legally. The costs are a 300 hp Continental burning 16-17 gallons an hour and an expensive overhaul with a crankcase cracking history. Handling is straightforward and it lands slowly, but it is a big heavy aeroplane and insurers want time in type. The cargo doors are a real operational asset and also a structural inspection point. Check the firewall and nose gear as on any heavy nosewheel Cessna, and treat float or jump-operation history as a reason for a more careful airframe survey.
Variants of the Cessna 206 Stationair
- 206 · 1964 · 55 active
- U206 · 1964 · 52 active
- P206 · 1965 · 53 active
- P206A · 1966 · 31 active
- U206A · 1966 · 22 active
- P206B · 1967 · 24 active
- U206B · 1967 · 43 active
- P206C · 1968 · 18 active
- U206C · 1968 · 47 active
- P206D · 1969 · 28 active
- U206D · 1969 · 25 active
- P206E · 1970 · 9 active
- U206E · 1970 · 31 active
- TU206F · 1971 · 87 active
- U206F · 1975 · 231 active · this page
- TU206 · 1977 · 1 active
- TU206G · 1977 · 206 active
- U206G · 1977 · 347 active
- 206H · 1998 · 158 active
- T206 · 1998 · 1 active
- T206H · 1998 · 691 active
Also consider
- Cessna 185Score 22.3/50 · 6 seats · 145 kt
- Piper PA-32-260Score 29.8/50 · 6 seats · 136 kt
- Cessna 210-5(205)Score 33.1/50 · 6 seats · 140 kt
Compare with…
Put Cessna U206F side by side with up to three other models.
- Cessna U206F
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental IO-520-F |
| Horsepower | 300 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1975 |
| Production end | 1976 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 143 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 600 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,800 ft |
| Climb rate | 920 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 54 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,780 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,395 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,680 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,314 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 3,600 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,920 lb |
| Usable fuel | 61 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 16.8 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 5 or more seats.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $124/h | $12,449/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $3,412/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | not counted | |
| Insurance | fixed | $2,800/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $2,200/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
Not in the totals: Maintenance reserve. We have no reliable default for this line; enter your figure to include it.
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $150,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $310,000 |
| 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 | 894 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 231 |
| Median year built | 1975.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 18 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 77.921 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 12.992 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 38 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16.453 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 231 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 231 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 231 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 9.6 of 101 |
| Severity | 3.8 of 102 |
| Access | 2.1 of 103 |
| Support | 7.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 26.5 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 38.8 · 75 models in class.
- Severity: class median 16.67.
- Access: class median 1,826.5.
- Support: class median 87.
- Liquidity: class median 17.96.
- 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. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30