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
N8323H	Emigh TROJAN A-2	Fixed-wing, single engine	Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum Hood River, Oregon	Standard	2014-12-12	Valid
N1401B	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2014-12-09	Valid
N3617	Oldfield Baby Great Lakes TRUHILL	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Arizona	Experimental	2014-12-09	Valid
N8314H	Emigh TROJAN A-2	Fixed-wing, single engine	Prs Services INC Spring Hill, Florida	Standard	2014-12-09	Valid
N72507	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arizona	Standard	2014-12-03	Valid
N223PE	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2014-12-02	Valid
N3430K	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine		Standard	2014-12-02	Valid
N4498E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	2014-12-02	Valid
N138L	Lovelace SMITH MINIPLANE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Experimental	2014-11-20	Valid
N2065V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2014-11-19	Valid
N76482	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	St Louis Soaring Association Saint Louis, Missouri	Standard	2014-11-07	Valid
N47WR	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2014-11-05	Valid
N72270	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Missouri	Standard	2014-11-04	Valid
N3703C	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2014-10-29	Valid
N2642N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Charles Trower Aviation INC Scobey, Montana	Standard	2014-10-28	Valid
N2713A	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Alpha Enterprises INC Lercester, North Carolina	Standard	2014-10-28	Valid
N1N	Dixon Special BFS-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Experimental	2014-10-23	Valid
N72513	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	International Air Services INC Trustee Carson City, Nevada	Standard	2014-10-17	Valid
N99514	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2014-10-15	Valid
N9121E	Aeronca 11AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2014-10-10	Valid
N222N	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Experimental	2014-10-09	Valid
N3604E	Aeronca 11AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Alaska	Standard	2014-10-08	Valid
N6966	Mercer Donald C SPORT TRAINER	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Ohio	Experimental	2014-10-06	Valid
N41116	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2014-10-01	Valid
N74AP	Painton JURCA TEMPETE MJ-2	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Experimental	2014-09-30	Valid
N81054	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2014-09-25	Valid
N89209	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2014-09-24	Valid
N76944	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2014-09-17	Valid
N44539	Superior CULVER V	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Delaware	Standard	2014-09-16	Valid
N4049E	Aeronca 11BC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2014-09-10	Valid
N2539N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2014-09-09	Valid
N90154	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Alabama	Standard	2014-09-05	Valid
N89322	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Standard	2014-09-04	Valid
N3627K	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2014-09-02	Valid
N7831A	Zollitsch Allan P AZ-18	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Experimental	2014-08-20	Valid
N1719M	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2014-08-19	Valid
N4135N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2014-08-14	Valid
N72992	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner West Virginia	Standard	2014-08-14	Valid
N76635	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Plane Air LLC Paducah, Kentucky	Standard	2014-08-14	Valid
N72997	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2014-08-13	Valid
N5965C	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	2014-08-04	Valid
N6245H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Multiple	2014-08-01	Valid
N77282	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2014-08-01	Valid
N87825	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	E C Nelson INC Rio Oso, California	Standard	2014-07-28	Valid
N72619	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2014-07-25	Valid
N1922K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Hawaii	Standard	2014-07-16	Valid
N25850	Piper J3F-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Morey Airplane CO INC Middleton, Wisconsin	Standard	2014-07-14	Valid
N4258E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2014-07-14	Valid
N22LJ	Van Slooten EAA BIPLANE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Experimental	2014-07-11	Valid
N77063	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2014-07-08	Valid
N2660K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2014-07-02	Valid
N3340N	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Multiple	2014-07-02	Valid
N81057	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	N81057 LLC Seattle, Washington	Standard	2014-06-30	Valid
N89830	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2014-06-27	Valid
N2491E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aero Applications INC Burley, Idaho	Multiple	2014-06-24	Valid
N89189	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2014-06-24	Valid
N9126E	Aeronca 11BC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2014-06-24	Valid
N3679K	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Nebraska	Multiple	2014-06-23	Valid
N2882N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	White 120 LLC Galesburg, Kansas	Standard	2014-06-18	Valid
N89801	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Oklahoma	Standard	2014-06-17	Valid
N4938M	Piper PA-11	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	Standard	2014-06-16	Valid
N76616	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Connecticut	Standard	2014-06-16	Valid
N94348	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Jersey	Standard	2014-06-13	Valid
N35448	Piper J3F-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Louisiana	Standard	2014-06-11	Valid
N41999	Biemond TEAL CB-1	Fixed-wing, multi-engine	Individual owner Michigan	Restricted	2014-06-11	Valid
N72482	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2014-06-06	Valid
N4188N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Iowa	Standard	2014-06-04	Valid
N72425	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2014-06-03	Valid
N2955N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2014-06-02	Valid
N3471H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2014-05-30	Valid
N9870B	Champion 7FC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aspenglow LLC Talkeetna, Alaska	Standard	2014-05-20	Valid
N70851	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Blue Mountain Aviation LLC Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Standard	2014-05-19	Valid
N77574	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Multiple	2014-05-19	Valid
N78762	Piper PA-11	Fixed-wing, single engine	Phillips Sportflyers LLC Daleville, Indiana	Standard	2014-05-19	Valid
N2195N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner New Jersey	Standard	2014-05-16	Valid
N2908N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2014-05-12	Valid
N327BM	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Restricted	2014-05-09	Valid
N76371	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nebraska	Standard	2014-05-09	Valid
N89067	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Mcclain Aviation LLC Roanoke, Texas	Standard	2014-05-07	Valid
N4270N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2014-05-05	Valid
N2151N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2014-05-01	Valid
N40727	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aerial Sign North Lakewood, New Jersey	Standard	2014-04-28	Valid
N1947K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	2014-04-25	Valid
N4185E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	2014-04-22	Valid
N89467	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Rea Family Investments LLC Colorado Springs, Colorado	Standard	2014-04-22	Valid
N23S	West-Fall BI-PLANE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Experimental	2014-04-21	Valid
N415SS	Engineering & Research 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	1St Resources Unltd INC Houston, Texas	Standard	2014-04-21	Valid
N2036N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2014-04-18	Valid
N2458K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Nebraska	Standard	2014-04-11	Valid
N76539	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Puerto Rico	Standard	2014-04-11	Valid
N2351K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2014-04-09	Valid
N2943H	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Illinois	Standard	2014-04-08	Valid
N1741V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2014-04-03	Valid
N14499	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Standard	2014-04-01	Valid
N1849V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2014-03-31	Valid
N4369E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2014-03-31	Valid
N72959	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Maryland	Standard	2014-03-28	Valid
N72759	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Texas	Standard	2014-03-27	Valid
N94761	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	2014-03-27	Valid
N34128	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2014-03-26	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.