Engines · piston (reciprocating) · data as of October 7, 2026

Continental C85 series

4,671 aircraft on the U.S. register carry a Continental C85 series engine, rated at about 85 horsepower. The Cessna 140 is the model most often fitted with it (1,253 aircraft). The aircraft carrying it were built between 1940 and 2023.

The FAA records engines by code, usually at the level of a series ("O-320 series") rather than the exact variant; this page gathers every FAA code that reads as Continental C85 series. FAA spelling: C85 SERIES.

Fitted to model families

Cessna 1401,253Cessna 120602Piper J-3 Cub519Aeronca 7 Champion (Champ)360Luscombe 8 Silvaire321Ercoupe 415267Aeronca 11 Chief136Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415111Piper PA-11 Cub Special68Engineering & Research 41568Taylorcraft BC12 BC-12D60Commonwealth 18557

Cessna 140 · Cessna 120 · Piper J-3 Cub · Aeronca 7 Champion (Champ) · Luscombe 8 Silvaire · Ercoupe 415 · Aeronca 11 Chief · Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415 · Piper PA-11 Cub Special · Engineering & Research 415

Where they are owner's state

Texas401California397Florida267Washington191Alaska185Wisconsin167Minnesota162Ohio152Michigan149Illinois139

Kind of aircraft

Piston singles4,669 (100%)Piston twins1 (0.0%)Helicopters1 (0.0%)

When the aircraft were built by decade

What the FAA has certified, ordered and been told about the Continental C85 series the component layer

The design is held under 1 type certificate (E-233, held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC.). The FAA has issued 7 airworthiness directives (orders that owners must comply with) that name this engine series. Operators and repair shops have filed 12 failure reports with the FAA since 1995, 4 of them in the last ten years.

FAA orders 7 airworthiness directives · newest first

1998-10-1998-17-11 · Crankshafts · engine

1996-02-1394-05-05 R1 · Cylinder Rocker · engine

1995-11-2895-21-15 · Aviation Gasoline · engine

1993-12-1493-22-05 · Carburetor Air Intake Housing Assemblies · engine

1981-04-0181-07-06 · AC Fuel Pumps · engine

47-40-02 · Piston Pins · engine

All orders naming the Continental C85 series

Failure reports 12 since · what operators and shops told the FAA

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Spar2Throttle Cable2Bearing1Control Unit1Downlock Switch1Elt1Exhaust Valve1Guide1Propeller1Rib1

Latest reports

2022-11-23Exhaust Valve: stuck

2022-01-07Propeller: broken

2013-09-05Throttle Cable: broken

2013-05-02Throttle Cable: broken

2008-02-29Rib: corroded

Certificates and bulletins

E-233Type certificate held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC. · 31 models listed · revised September 19, 2022

Safety bulletins 6 · advice, not orders

2018-09-10NE-18-27 · POWERPLANT Rocker Shaft Boss Inspection

2016-03-08NE-16-13 · Powerplant - Prohibited use of sealant

2012-10-31NE-13-04 · Continental Motors, Inc. (CMI) Connecting Rod Piston Pin Bushing Inspection

1998-06-10CE-98-21R1 ·

1997-12-31ACE-98-21 ·

Sources: the FAA's type certificate data sheets, airworthiness directives, supplemental type certificates, special conditions and special airworthiness information bulletins (Dynamic Regulatory System), and the FAA's service difficulty reports. A failure report is what an operator or repair station chose to file; the counts show reporting as much as reliability, and larger and commercial fleets report more. How the systems are grouped.

Connections how this engine series links to the rest of the register

Fitted to

Cessna 140 1,253 with this engine series
Cessna 120 602 with this engine series
Piper J-3 Cub 519 with this engine series
Aeronca 7 Champion (Champ) 360 with this engine series
Luscombe 8 Silvaire 321 with this engine series
Ercoupe 415 267 with this engine series
Aeronca 11 Chief 136 with this engine series
Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415 111 with this engine series

Where they are

Texas 401 of these aircraft
California 397 of these aircraft
Florida 267 of these aircraft
Washington 191 of these aircraft
Alaska 185 of these aircraft

Biggest operators

Plane Fun INC Tr Trustee 10 of these aircraft
Southern Aircraft Consultancy INC Trustee 8 of these aircraft
Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum 5 of these aircraft
Eaa Aviation Foundation INC 5 of these aircraft
Riggin Flight Service INC 4 of these aircraft

Airworthiness

FAA orders naming the Continental C85 series 7 airworthiness directives
Failure reports on the Continental C85 series 12 reports since 1995

Analytics

These connections as data: /graph/engine/continental-c85-series.json · about the eFlight graph.

Aircraft newest certificates first · 4,671

Tail no.	Maker and model	Group	Owner and base	Certificate	Registered	Status
N89053	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Arkansas	Standard	2022-01-08	Valid
N1829K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2022-01-05	Valid
N96970	Universal TAYLORCRAFT BCS12D85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Alaska	Standard	2022-01-05	Valid
N16C	Cox Miniplane C-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Experimental	2022-01-04	Valid
N4259N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2021-12-29	Valid
N42023	Piper J-3	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2021-12-28	Valid
N77325	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Alaska	Standard	2021-12-28	Valid
N89115	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2021-12-23	Valid
N2826E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2021-12-22	Valid
N4031E	Aeronca 11BC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2021-12-20	Valid
N4383E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2021-12-20	Valid
N57984	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Missouri	Standard	2021-12-14	Valid
N2847E	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2021-12-13	Valid
N87433	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Four Five Air LLC Traverse City, Michigan	Standard	2021-12-11	Valid
N76657	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2021-12-10	Valid
N98737	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2021-12-10	Valid
N2878E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2021-12-09	Valid
N36581	Aeronca 65-CA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2021-12-07	Valid
N1414	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Indiana	Standard	2021-12-06	Valid
N72200	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2021-12-04	Valid
N82900	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Multiple	2021-12-02	Valid
N4533E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2021-11-29	Valid
N89586	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2021-11-24	Valid
N93553	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2021-11-23	Valid
N27059	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Confederate Air INC Tillar, Arkansas	Standard	2021-11-19	Valid
N4013N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2021-11-19	Valid
N140CB	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Vintage Aircraft LLC Gilbert, South Carolina	Standard	2021-11-18	Valid
N72674	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Beech O Sphere LLC Casper, Wyoming	Standard	2021-11-18	Valid
N1669K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Daphna INC Middletown, Delaware	Standard	2021-11-17	Valid
N2185V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2021-11-17	Valid
N5618M	Taylorcraft BC12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2021-11-17	Valid
N6789W	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aspiring Aviators Aero Club INC Winter Haven, Florida	Standard	2021-11-17	Valid
N83457	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2021-11-16	Valid
N2020J	Eberle-Cassutt M-III	Fixed-wing, single engine	Austen Air Racing INC Wilmington, Delaware	Experimental	2021-11-13	Valid
N91N	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Florida	Standard	2021-11-08	Valid
N2915H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2021-11-06	Valid
N25804	Piper J3C-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Missouri	Standard	2021-11-05	Valid
N2727H	Ercoupe 415-CD	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2021-11-04	Valid
N342	Ercoupe 415-G	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Missouri	Standard	2021-11-04	Valid
N3690V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2021-11-03	Valid
N5391N	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2021-11-03	Valid
N6515H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2021-11-03	Valid
N89292	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2021-11-01	Valid
N70311	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2021-10-30	Valid
N333CM	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alabama	Standard	2021-10-27	Valid
N92905	Commonwealth REARWIN 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Air East Aviation INC New Castle, Delaware	Standard	2021-10-27	Valid
N38395	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Connecticut	Standard	2021-10-25	Valid
N98310	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Washington	Standard	2021-10-25	Valid
N77715	Funk B85C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alabama	Standard	2021-10-22	Valid
N1235K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2021-10-21	Valid
N4134E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Standard	2021-10-21	Valid
N76778	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2021-10-20	Valid
N3758V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2021-10-19	Valid
N76022	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2021-10-16	Valid
N89766	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Rc White Aviation LLC Wilmington, Delaware	Standard	2021-10-16	Valid
N76756	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Special flight permit	2021-10-14	Valid
N2505N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Peterson Todd D Bonfield, Illinois	Standard	2021-10-12	Valid
N9401A	Cessna 140A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2021-10-07	Valid
N1955K	Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2021-10-05	Valid
N80576	Globe GC-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2021-10-05	Valid
N2619K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Northeast Cub LLC Hudson, New York	Standard	2021-10-04	Valid
N89545	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arizona	Standard	2021-10-01	Valid
N72360	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2021-09-30	Valid
N8071U	Taylor Merwyn ROSE PARAKEET	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Experimental	2021-09-29	Valid
N2110K	Stanley Robert M CUBY SPORT TRAINER	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Experimental	2021-09-27	Valid
N89XB	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2021-09-27	Valid
N502AC	Canady Albert W CUBY II	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alabama	Experimental	2021-09-24	Valid
N73009	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner North Carolina	Standard	2021-09-23	Valid
N99808	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alabama	Standard	2021-09-23	Valid
N6316H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	J3 LLC Bonita Springs, Florida	Standard	2021-09-22	Valid
N1952V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	2021-09-21	Valid
N72320	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2021-09-21	Valid
N1925V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2021-09-20	Valid
N6072H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2021-09-20	Valid
N1989V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	2021-09-16	Valid
N72826	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	August Aero LLC Kalispell, Montana	Standard	2021-09-14	Valid
N72856	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2021-09-14	Valid
N76463	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2021-09-14	Valid
N77524	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aerospace Projects Support LLC Mesa, Arizona	Standard	2021-09-14	Valid
N156L	Rautio Lauri K CUBY SPORT TRAINER	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Massachusetts	Experimental	2021-09-09	Valid
N2891N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Washington	Standard	2021-09-08	Valid
N3587H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Ilatina LLC Carson City, Nevada	Standard	2021-09-08	Valid
N99928	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2021-09-08	Valid
N30168	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2021-08-31	Valid
N76843	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	2021-08-30	Valid
N4170E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2021-08-27	Valid
N38418	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2021-08-24	Valid
N4711X	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2021-08-24	Valid
N147H	Smith Miniplane DSA-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arizona	Experimental	2021-08-21	Valid
N2794N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Jersey	Standard	2021-08-21	Valid
N7014H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2021-08-21	Valid
N76190	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Mexico	Standard	2021-08-21	Valid
N1503E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	Standard	2021-08-20	Valid
N87359	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Oklahoma	Standard	2021-08-20	Valid
N4239N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2021-08-19	Valid
N6032H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	30 West Express LLC East Sandwich, Massachusetts	Restricted	2021-08-19	Valid
N76628	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	None on file	2021-08-19	Valid
N95065	Taylorcraft Aviation Corp 19	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2021-08-19	Valid
N24929	Piper J4A	Fixed-wing, single engine	N24929 LLC Ada, Michigan	Standard	2021-08-18	Valid
N78726	Piper PA-11	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2021-08-18	Valid

Source: FAA Civil Aviation Registry, Releasable Aircraft Database (the engine reference table and each aircraft's engine code), October 7, 2026. Horsepower and thrust are the FAA's figures for the series, not for a particular aircraft.