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

Model families, as a table

	aircraft
Cessna 140	1,253
Cessna 120	602
Piper J-3 Cub	519
Aeronca 7 Champion (Champ)	360
Luscombe 8 Silvaire	321
Ercoupe 415	267
Aeronca 11 Chief	136
Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415	111
Piper PA-11 Cub Special	68
Engineering & Research 415	68
Taylorcraft BC12 BC-12D	60
Commonwealth 185	57

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

By state, as a table

	aircraft
Texas	401
California	397
Florida	267
Washington	191
Alaska	185
Wisconsin	167
Minnesota	162
Ohio	152
Michigan	149
Illinois	139

Kind of aircraft

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

By kind, as a table

	aircraft	share
Piston singles	4,669	100%
Piston twins	1	0.0%
Helicopters	1	0.0%

When the aircraft were built by decade

By decade built, as a table

	aircraft
1930	37
1940	3,453
1950	83
1960	43
1970	65
1980	46
1990	36
2000	22
2010	7
2020	2

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

Failure reports by year, as a table

	reports
95	1
01	1
02	1
03	1
05	1
07	2
08	1
13	2
22	2

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Spar2Throttle Cable2Bearing1Control Unit1Downlock Switch1Elt1Exhaust Valve1Guide1Propeller1Rib1

Parts most reported, as a table

	reports
Spar	2
Throttle Cable	2
Bearing	1
Control Unit	1
Downlock Switch	1
Elt	1
Exhaust Valve	1
Guide	1
Propeller	1
Rib	1

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
N98081	Piper J-3C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Alaska	Standard	2015-08-28	Valid
N1002E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Maine	Standard	2015-08-27	Valid
N6784H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	2015-08-27	Valid
N94606	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2015-08-25	Valid
N72373	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Beishline Daniel Bath, Maine	Standard	2015-08-18	Valid
N28701	Luscombe 8A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Louisiana	Standard	2015-08-17	Valid
N6647H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	2015-08-17	Valid
N85563	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2015-08-17	Valid
N5JJ	Tuszka-Weisbrod CASSUTT III M	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Experimental	2015-08-12	Valid
N81588	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2015-08-11	Valid
N89274	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2015-08-10	Valid
N4328C	Champion AERONCA 7EC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Multiple	2015-08-05	Valid
N2796N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2015-08-04	Valid
N72489	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Armor Air CORP Foristell, Missouri	Standard	2015-08-04	Valid
N94712	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-CD	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2015-07-30	Valid
N4064A	Champion AERONCA 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Adirondack Air LLC Wilmington, Delaware	Standard	2015-07-23	Valid
N1802K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2015-07-16	Valid
N38TG	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	2015-07-16	Valid
N93232	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2015-07-16	Valid
N89684	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Alum-I-Tank INC Harvard, Illinois	Standard	2015-07-15	Valid
N4282E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2015-07-10	Valid
N37991	Piper J4E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wyoming	Standard	2015-07-09	Valid
N4333E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2015-07-07	Valid
N81780	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2015-07-06	Valid
N2771E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alabama	Restricted	2015-06-25	Valid
N523WM	Piper J-3C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2015-06-24	Valid
N81686	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Multiple	2015-06-22	Valid
N88CY	Huey-Smith MINIPLANE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Experimental	2015-06-17	Valid
N4520E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Standard	2015-06-16	Valid
N89861	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Standard	2015-06-11	Valid
N89580	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2015-06-08	Valid
N4646E	Champion AERONCA 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Standard	2015-06-04	Valid
N43096	Taylorcraft BC12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2015-06-03	Valid
N23463	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2015-05-22	Valid
N2646N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Standard	2015-05-19	Valid
N9327H	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2015-05-18	Valid
N2399K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Standard	2015-05-12	Valid
N6749H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Utah	Standard	2015-05-12	Valid
N89673	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2015-05-11	Valid
N1833E	Champion AERONCA 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Experimental	2015-05-08	Valid
N72440	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2015-05-05	Valid
N82594	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Four C Sons INC Kersey, Colorado	Standard	2015-05-05	Valid
N2735N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2015-05-04	Valid
N89307	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2015-05-04	Valid
N89680	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2015-05-04	Valid
N98405	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2015-05-04	Valid
N5107X	Mattos Jesse T FLY BABY 1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nevada	Experimental	2015-04-29	Valid
N89416	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2015-04-28	Valid
N80573	Globe GC-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2015-04-23	Valid
N1955N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Standard	2015-04-22	Valid
N81618	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Mycroft Fred A Sierra Madre, California	Standard	2015-04-20	Valid
N2797K	Luscombe 8A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2015-04-14	Valid
N3831H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2015-04-14	Valid
N3254H	Engineering & Research 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	2015-04-13	Valid
N90117	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2015-04-08	Valid
N1853N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2015-04-07	Valid
N27051	Piper J4A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2015-04-02	Valid
N2558E	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2015-04-01	Valid
N2115V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2015-03-31	Valid
N49705	Aeronca 0-58B	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner North Carolina	Standard	2015-03-30	Valid
N77345	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2015-03-26	Valid
N2924N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2015-03-24	Valid
N120JN	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Olufsen Niels Lakeway, Texas	Standard	2015-03-20	Valid
N70777	Piper J-3	Fixed-wing, single engine	Skywagon Aero LLC Wilmington, Delaware	Restricted	2015-03-20	Valid
N95051	Taylorcraft BC12D-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2015-03-19	Valid
N2416E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2015-03-12	Valid
N4811M	Piper PA-11	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Multiple	2015-03-12	Valid
N72720	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	C140 LLC Lewes, Delaware	Standard	2015-03-11	Valid
N2082N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Hoppe Farms INC Crookston, Minnesota	Standard	2015-03-09	Valid
N333HL	Lafleur Hal A WITTMAN TAILWIND W-8	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Experimental	2015-03-09	Valid
N1406E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Kentucky	Standard	2015-03-06	Valid
N72107	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kentucky	Standard	2015-02-27	Valid
N93238	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Spring-Air LLC De Graff, Ohio	Standard	2015-02-20	Valid
N1666	Struze-Volmer VJ-22	Fixed-wing, single engine	Bishop Aviation INC Decatur, Texas	Experimental	2015-02-19	Valid
N2375N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2015-02-19	Valid
N1990B	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Sky West Aviation INC Trustee Albuquerque, New Mexico	Standard	2015-02-13	Valid
N2011K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Utah	Standard	2015-02-11	Valid
N96337	Taylorcraft BC12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	Standard	2015-02-06	Valid
N77173	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Texas	Standard	2015-02-04	Valid
N4008A	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Juniata Valley Rv Mifflintown, Pennsylvania	Standard	2015-01-27	Valid
N4084N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2015-01-26	Valid
N89127	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2015-01-26	Valid
N33391	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2015-01-23	Valid
N5614M	Taylorcraft BC12D-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2015-01-22	Valid
N80276	Culver V	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2015-01-21	Valid
N80082	Culver V	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2015-01-20	Valid
N93788	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2015-01-14	Valid
N7507E	Champion 7FC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2015-01-07	Valid
N76848	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Standard	2015-01-07	Valid
N72172	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2015-01-06	Valid
N72338	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2014-12-31	Valid
N92682	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2014-12-31	Valid
N1569B	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2014-12-30	Valid
N89516	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2014-12-30	Valid
N2606N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	2014-12-19	Valid
N3709V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Dakota	Standard	2014-12-19	Valid
N1902B	Luscombe 8F	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2014-12-15	Valid
N2135N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Illogical Aeronautics LLC Shady Cove, Oregon	Standard	2014-12-15	Valid
N6413H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2014-12-15	Valid
N83822	Aeronca 7EC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2014-12-15	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.