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
N4487E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Indiana	Standard	2010-07-22	Valid
N85636	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	2010-07-15	Valid
N89479	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2010-07-13	Valid
N19EB	Bertrand ACEY DEUCY P-70	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Experimental	2010-07-02	Valid
N80758	Globe GC-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2010-06-29	Valid
N64SK	Johnson Donald C SKYOTE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Experimental	2010-06-22	Valid
N41386	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2010-06-21	Valid
N92430	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2010-06-21	Valid
N2494K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Standard	2010-06-16	Valid
N9016B	Champion 7FC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	2010-06-01	Valid
N2574N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arizona	Standard	2010-05-26	Valid
N2635N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2010-05-26	Valid
N2204N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2010-05-18	Valid
N91111	Marcotte Mark Air RICH MIXTURE II	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Experimental	2010-05-18	Valid
N94995	Taylorcraft BC12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2010-05-18	Valid
N76291	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2010-05-14	Valid
N1314B	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2010-05-12	Valid
N66EZ	Vaughan Robert L VARIEZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Massachusetts	Experimental	2010-04-28	Valid
N76006	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2010-04-26	Valid
N72498	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Dairy Air INC Wyoming, Pennsylvania	Standard	2010-04-12	Valid
N81162	Funk B85C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Kansas Aviation Museum Wichita, Kansas	Standard	2010-04-09	Valid
N99757	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	2010-04-08	Valid
N76829	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2010-04-07	Valid
N72254	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2010-03-24	Valid
N6799H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Standard	2010-03-15	Valid
N90137	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2010-03-15	Valid
N6702C	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2010-03-03	Valid
N42432	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2010-02-04	Valid
N34785	Culver LCA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum Hood River, Oregon	Standard	2010-01-25	Valid
N2479E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Frog Pond Aviation LLC Sherman, Texas	Standard	2010-01-15	Valid
N2423K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2009-12-28	Valid
N773SH	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	2009-12-16	Valid
N89587	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2009-12-04	Valid
N3788V	Cessna 140A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	2009-12-03	Valid
N30440	Piper J4A-S	Fixed-wing, single engine	Tsidjs LLC Lehighton, Pennsylvania	Standard	2009-12-02	Valid
N76447	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Gentrys Flying Service LLC Prattville, Alabama	Standard	2009-11-20	Valid
N9097B	Champion 7FC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	2009-11-03	Valid
N2438K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2009-10-21	Valid
N87881	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Idaho	Multiple	2009-10-16	Valid
N4377E	Aeronca 11CC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2009-10-13	Valid
N85551	Champion 7GCAA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2009-10-08	Valid
N77018	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2009-10-06	Valid
N90435	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2009-10-05	Valid
N3007G	Forney F-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2009-10-01	Valid
N5619M	Taylorcraft BC12D-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	2009-09-22	Valid
N5630M	Taylorcraft BCS12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Iowa	Standard	2009-09-22	Valid
N81607	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2009-09-22	Valid
N57N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2009-09-15	Valid
N7359H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	2009-09-11	Valid
N2845H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Connecticut	Standard	2009-09-10	Valid
N14LS	Seno Louis C WAGAERO SPORTTRAINER	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Wisconsin	Experimental	2009-09-09	Valid
N72495	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2009-09-04	Valid
N76289	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	Standard	2009-09-03	Valid
N95800	Taylorcraft BC12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Alaska	Standard	2009-09-02	Valid
N76000	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Crabb Ernest P Fairbanks, Alaska	Standard	2009-08-31	Valid
N89360	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2009-08-28	Valid
N2623K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Idaho	Standard	2009-08-25	Valid
N2488V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	2009-08-21	Valid
N76578	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Arizona	Standard	2009-08-19	Valid
N77415	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	2009-08-18	Valid
N140LB	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	2009-08-12	Valid
N71061	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Louisiana	Standard	2009-08-05	Valid
N844RL	Lawrence D Faes FLY BABY	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Experimental	2009-07-28	Valid
N76095	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	2009-07-23	Valid
N35793	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Texas	Standard	2009-07-17	Valid
N2307E	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nevada	Standard	2009-07-08	Valid
N1753K	Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2009-07-07	Valid
N70145	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Montana	Standard	2009-06-30	Valid
N2287K	Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	2009-06-25	Valid
N33585	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	2009-06-24	Valid
N76903	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Texas	Standard	2009-06-11	Valid
N141TE	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	B-N-K2 LLC Reserve, Louisiana	Standard	2009-06-09	Valid
N72922	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Withheld at owner's request	Standard	2009-05-29	Valid
N6608N	Taylorcraft BC12D-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	Standard	2009-05-19	Valid
N6022H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	2009-05-18	Valid
N92830	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arkansas	Standard	2009-05-13	Valid
N4051N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kentucky	Standard	2009-05-05	Valid
N2388K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2009-05-04	Valid
N1836N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Alaska	Standard	2009-04-22	Valid
N2800H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Ohio	Standard	2009-04-14	Valid
N76111	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	2009-04-06	Valid
N82867	Aeronca 7AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	2009-03-26	Valid
N1378K	Luscombe 8A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2009-03-06	Valid
N66DJ	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Michigan	Standard	2009-03-05	Valid
N89850	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Thompson Michael P Natchez, Mississippi	Standard	2009-02-04	Valid
N1647N	Funk B85C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nevada	Standard	2009-02-03	Valid
N33551	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Ottem David L Othello, Washington	Standard	2009-02-03	Valid
N4022E	Aeronca 11BC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Ghl Air LLC Ames, Iowa	Standard	2009-01-29	Valid
N4018B	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2009-01-08	Valid
N70924	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	2009-01-05	Valid
N15J	Midget Mustang MC-4	Fixed-wing, single engine	Mid Atlantic Air Museum Reading, Pennsylvania	Experimental	2008-12-30	Valid
N1644N	Funk B85C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Ohio	Standard	2008-12-22	Valid
N92999	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Skyranger LLC Marshall, Minnesota	Standard	2008-12-22	Valid
N88090	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	2008-12-17	Valid
N8537N	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Dewald David J Churubusco, Indiana	Standard	2008-12-15	Valid
N90685	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum Hood River, Oregon	Standard	2008-12-10	Valid
N3090N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	2008-12-04	Valid
N4453E	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Mbsp Enterprises INC Wilmington, Delaware	Standard	2008-12-02	Valid
N28928	Engineering & Research 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	2008-11-26	Valid
N6372T	R. H. Lash 222	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Maryland	Experimental	2008-11-21	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.