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
N76114	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Tundra Aviation INC Casselton, North Dakota	Standard	2019-06-20	Valid
N2452K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Cottonwood Flying Club Rockford, Illinois	Standard	2019-06-17	Valid
N72908	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2019-06-17	Valid
N77028	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Standard	2019-06-17	Valid
N211P	Pack & Associates E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kentucky	Experimental	2019-06-14	Valid
N89511	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2019-06-13	Valid
N72435	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Colorado	Standard	2019-06-12	Valid
N2781N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2019-06-10	Valid
N4550H	Piper PA-15	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	2019-06-07	Valid
N9706Z	Forsberg STITTS	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Experimental	2019-06-06	Valid
N98538	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Rular LLC Remington, Virginia	Standard	2019-05-30	Valid
N1754N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Standard	2019-05-28	Valid
N3134N	Dwyer George L WAG AERO CUBY	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Experimental	2019-05-21	Valid
N2470K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2019-05-20	Valid
N63488	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2019-05-20	Valid
N1712K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Wisconsin	Standard	2019-05-15	Valid
N222P	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2019-05-15	Valid
N43538	Taylorcraft Aviation Corp 19	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Standard	2019-05-15	Valid
N76624	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Missionair INC Danbury, Connecticut	Standard	2019-05-15	Valid
N4873M	Piper PA-11	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Tennessee	Standard	2019-05-09	Valid
N4052N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Frank Pfeifer & Son LLC Bristow, Nebraska	Standard	2019-05-08	Valid
N2861N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2019-05-07	Valid
N18WS	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2019-05-06	Valid
N44008	Taylorcraft BC12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2019-05-02	Valid
N89400	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2019-04-30	Valid
N83635	Champion AERONCA 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Standard	2019-04-29	Valid
N2130H	Forney 415-E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2019-04-25	Valid
N1890N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2019-04-23	Valid
N89052	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Gateway Tailwheel Club LLC Columbia, Illinois	Standard	2019-04-23	Valid
N89252	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Michigan	Standard	2019-04-19	Valid
N89690	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Michigan	Standard	2019-04-19	Valid
N1783V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Mark Uhlman Dpe LLC Perry, Oklahoma	Standard	2019-04-18	Valid
N3281H	Ercoupe 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Idaho	Standard	2019-04-18	Valid
N26820	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	J 3 Cub CORP Miami, Florida	Standard	2019-04-17	Valid
N35819	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Standard	2019-04-17	Valid
N98883	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alabama	Standard	2019-04-17	Valid
N2302H	Engineering & Research 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Enigma Aircraft LLC Benton Harbor, Michigan	Standard	2019-04-16	Valid
N89025	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2019-04-16	Valid
N120DC	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	2019-04-15	Valid
N1409E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2019-04-12	Valid
N2219N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2019-04-08	Valid
N4397E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2019-04-08	Valid
N76836	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2019-04-08	Valid
N72865	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2019-04-05	Valid
N6393H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Multiple	2019-04-03	Valid
N84199	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	2019-04-03	Valid
N90185	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2019-04-03	Valid
N2996H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2019-04-02	Valid
N87734	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Flugzeug LLC Hanover, Indiana	Standard	2019-04-01	Valid
N4102N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2019-03-27	Valid
N93611	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2019-03-27	Valid
N2149V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Louisiana	Standard	2019-03-25	Valid
N1930B	Luscombe 8F	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2019-03-23	Valid
N526NR	Mucha Raymond L VARIEZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Experimental	2019-03-23	Valid
N4132N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2019-03-18	Valid
N93555	Forney 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2019-03-18	Valid
N82747	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2019-03-16	Valid
N89244	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2019-03-16	Valid
N1797V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2019-03-15	Valid
N341S	Smith Miniplane DSA-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Rebr Holdings LLC Hernando, Florida	Experimental	2019-03-15	Valid
N73002	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2019-03-14	Valid
N2839N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Tristar Aviation Services LLC Hendersonville, Tennessee	Standard	2019-03-13	Valid
N73417	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Lindquist Charles Q Hettinger, North Dakota	Standard	2019-03-11	Valid
N7029U	Ercoupe 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Bohlke LLC Kingshill, U.S. Virgin Islands	Standard	2019-03-08	Valid
N76980	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Acme Aircraft Leasing Mt LLC Kalispell, Montana	Standard	2019-03-07	Valid
N21505	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Ohio	Standard	2019-03-06	Valid
N9632A	Cessna 140A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Standard	2019-03-06	Valid
N3022H	Forney 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2019-03-04	Valid
N10169	Blair-Nesmith COUGAR I	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Experimental	2019-03-02	Valid
N1817V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Harper James J Miller, Missouri	Standard	2019-03-02	Valid
N2126V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Illinois	Standard	2019-03-02	Valid
N3503N	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	N3503N LLC Lagrange, Georgia	Standard	2019-03-02	Valid
N140CR	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2019-02-27	Valid
N3906H	Ercoupe 415-CD	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Standard	2019-02-27	Valid
N996R	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Oklahoma	Standard	2019-02-26	Valid
N95632	Taylorcraft BC12D-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2019-02-25	Valid
N1413E	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner West Virginia	Standard	2019-02-23	Valid
N3203E	Aeronca 11AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Dakota	Standard	2019-02-23	Valid
N858EM	Piper J-3	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner North Dakota	Experimental	2019-02-21	Valid
N93636	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2019-02-19	Valid
N633TZ	Towery D T Ii / Zammetti A J GN 1 AIRCAMPER	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Experimental	2019-02-14	Valid
N72867	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2019-02-14	Valid
N87391	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2019-02-14	Valid
N77209	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Louisiana	Standard	2019-02-12	Valid
N5244	Stits SA3A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Dakota	Experimental	2019-02-11	Valid
N4033E	Aeronca 11AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2019-02-09	Valid
N140BT	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Washington	Standard	2019-02-06	Valid
N2449V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2019-02-06	Valid
N62643	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	2019-02-06	Valid
N2268H	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2019-02-04	Valid
N2042N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2019-02-02	Valid
N2759K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2019-02-02	Valid
N2977N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2019-02-01	Valid
N2672N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	2019-01-29	Valid
N2068N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2019-01-25	Valid
N113WW	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Spitfire Aviation INC Wilmington, Delaware	Standard	2019-01-24	Valid
N6779H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nebraska	Standard	2019-01-24	Valid
N5365A	Alexander Laymon P 70	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Experimental	2019-01-17	Valid
N90060	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2019-01-16	Valid
N89504	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2019-01-14	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.