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
N4072N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Dakota	Standard	2020-07-08	Valid
N2595N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Nampa Taildragger Flying Club INC Nampa, Idaho	Standard	2020-07-07	Valid
N2714H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-07-07	Valid
N72900	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2020-07-07	Valid
N40791	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2020-07-01	Valid
N6434C	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2020-07-01	Valid
N84451	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-07-01	Valid
N3254B	Engineering & Research 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-06-30	Valid
N3704H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-06-30	Valid
N72845	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nevada	Standard	2020-06-24	Valid
N77169	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Standard	2020-06-16	Valid
N88201	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Restricted	2020-06-16	Valid
N10504	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	2020-06-08	Valid
N3985H	Ercoupe 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-06-08	Valid
N1618N	Funk B	Fixed-wing, single engine	Deshl-Air Flying Club Custar, Ohio	Standard	2020-06-04	Valid
N21164	Stinson HW75	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2020-06-04	Valid
N4151	Ercoupe 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-06-03	Valid
N2230N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Hansen Aviation LLC Savannah, Georgia	Standard	2020-06-01	Valid
N41014	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Restricted	2020-05-29	Valid
N2092V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2020-05-28	Valid
N77196	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2020-05-28	Valid
N2140B	Luscombe T-8F	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	2020-05-27	Valid
N4412E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2020-05-27	Valid
N77720	Funk B85C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Jstream Lc Sheridan, Wyoming	Standard	2020-05-27	Valid
N1201K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-05-26	Valid
N2473H	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Maryland	Standard	2020-05-26	Valid
N89968	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-05-26	Valid
N2986N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nevada	Standard	2020-05-20	Valid
N6529H	Piper J3C-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2020-05-19	Valid
N6091C	Aeronca L-16A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-05-18	Valid
N89151	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2020-05-12	Valid
N76063	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kentucky	Standard	2020-05-07	Valid
N1KK	Fisher WITTMAN TAILWIND W8A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Experimental	2020-05-05	Valid
N26995	Piper J4A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-05-05	Valid
N415EE	Ercoupe E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2020-05-04	Valid
N2542K	Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Silvaire Salmon LLC Dillingham, Alaska	Standard	2020-04-29	Valid
N98216	Piper J-3	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Multiple	2020-04-29	Valid
N4002N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Riggin Flight Service INC Madison, South Dakota	Standard	2020-04-28	Valid
N89198	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Riggin Flight Service INC Madison, South Dakota	Standard	2020-04-28	Valid
N98453	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Restricted	2020-04-28	Valid
N2077B	Luscombe 8A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nevada	Standard	2020-04-22	Valid
N77488	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	2020-04-20	Valid
N72185	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Utah	Standard	2020-04-17	Valid
N326HB	Timbs Gary HATZ LCB	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Experimental	2020-04-14	Valid
N2815N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2020-04-08	Valid
N93953	Ercoupe 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2020-04-08	Valid
N76542	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-04-07	Valid
N84775	Champion 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	2020-04-06	Valid
N89605	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2020-04-06	Valid
N92186	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Museum of Mountain Flying INC Missoula, Montana	Standard	2020-04-06	Valid
N92924	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2020-04-01	Valid
N4094E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2020-03-31	Valid
N4688M	Piper PA-11	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2020-03-31	Valid
N140MW	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2020-03-30	Valid
N4168	Mooney M-18C 55	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-03-20	Valid
N76685	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-03-18	Valid
N4071N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Standard	2020-03-17	Valid
N72150	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Standard	2020-03-13	Valid
N96755	Taylorcraft BCS12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Massachusetts	Standard	2020-03-12	Valid
N4214N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Virginia	Standard	2020-03-11	Valid
N6629N	Taylorcraft Aviation Corp 19	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-03-09	Valid
N70942	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2020-03-09	Valid
N77334	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	2020-03-09	Valid
N1823N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2020-03-04	Valid
N1883K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-03-04	Valid
N234BB	Buhl-Bob BREEZY RLU-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Experimental	2020-03-04	Valid
N1672V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-03-02	Valid
N18PJ	O'Neil PL-4A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Experimental	2020-02-27	Valid
N4125E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2020-02-26	Valid
N599X	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-02-24	Valid
N99493	Ercoupe 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	2020-02-19	Valid
N3892E	Champion AERONCA 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2020-02-12	Valid
N9607A	Cessna 140A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-02-06	Valid
N415E	Ercoupe 415-E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2020-02-04	Valid
N85P	Piston Biplane SMITH MINI PLANE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Experimental	2020-02-03	Valid
N93284	Rearwin 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	None on file	2020-02-03	Valid
N2086A	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Planes of Fame Air Museum Chino, California	Standard	2020-01-31	Valid
N76724	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2020-01-31	Valid
N31026	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Standard	2020-01-30	Valid
N38757	Piper J3C-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Multiple	2020-01-29	Valid
N6203H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2020-01-29	Valid
N72398	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2020-01-29	Valid
N72122	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2020-01-28	Valid
N92107	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aerospace Trust Management LLC Trustee Wilmington, Delaware	Standard	2020-01-24	Valid
N2206N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aircraft Guaranty CORP Trustee Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Standard	2020-01-23	Valid
N1529B	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Richardson Gordon P Polson, Montana	Standard	2020-01-21	Valid
N76364	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	2020-01-21	Valid
N76154	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Bayou Flight LLC Parker, Colorado	Standard	2020-01-16	Valid
N7620B	Champion 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2020-01-16	Valid
N89457	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2020-01-16	Valid
N92902	Commonwealth REARWIN 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2020-01-14	Valid
N71730	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Utah	Standard	2020-01-13	Valid
N2692N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Sinnott-Simonis Lyle Girdwood, Alaska	Standard	2020-01-10	Valid
N77541	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner North Carolina	Standard	2020-01-09	Valid
N4212N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2020-01-07	Valid
N46RW	West EAA BIPLANE P-2	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Experimental	2020-01-02	Valid
N2020N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	2019-12-31	Valid
N3591V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Veteran Aviation Services LLC Frederick, Maryland	Standard	2019-12-31	Valid
N4231N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	2019-12-30	Valid
N76292	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2019-12-20	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.