Engines · piston (reciprocating) · data as of October 8, 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

The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/engine/continental-c85-series.json.

Aircraft newest certificates first · 4,671

Tail no.	Maker and model	Group	Owner and base	Certificate	Registered	Status
N4516M	Piper PA-11	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	1997-08-27	Valid
N76871	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	1997-08-23	Valid
N3163N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	1997-08-18	Valid
N2443N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1997-08-07	Valid
N211JV	Vanburen John M SMITH MINIPLANE DSA1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Experimental	1997-08-06	Valid
N76239	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	1997-07-29	Valid
N1971E	Champion AERONCA 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Standard	1997-07-11	Valid
N76861	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	1997-06-25	Valid
N2374N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Autoair Research INC Wilmington, Delaware	Standard	1997-06-04	Valid
N90302	Globe GC-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1997-05-28	Valid
N82U	Funk B85C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1997-05-07	Valid
N99119	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	1997-04-30	Valid
N1425B	Luscombe 8F	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	1997-04-29	Valid
N89111	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1997-04-07	Valid
N10516	Haberman Raymond N HABERCRAFT	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Experimental	1997-03-28	Valid
N1531B	Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1997-03-28	Valid
N42751	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner South Dakota	Standard	1997-03-24	Valid
N4315	Cassutt-Moore SS-2	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Experimental	1997-03-11	Valid
N82252	Aeronca 7DC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Multiple	1997-03-05	Valid
N75067	Aeronca L-16A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	1997-02-21	Valid
N90691	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	1997-02-04	Valid
N786D	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1997-01-27	Valid
N89760	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	1997-01-21	Valid
N2102N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	1997-01-16	Valid
N2592N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	1996-12-10	Valid
N35986	Piper J4E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	1996-12-10	Valid
N1835V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	1996-11-15	Valid
N2478N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	1996-11-07	Valid
N26279	Stinson 10	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	1996-11-07	Valid
N43292	Taylorcraft BCS12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Multiple	1996-10-15	Valid
N70266	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nevada	Standard	1996-10-03	Valid
N138JJ	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1996-10-02	Valid
N72240	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Michigan	Standard	1996-08-30	Valid
N4095N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner New Mexico	Standard	1996-08-21	Valid
N89974	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	1996-08-21	Valid
N2747K	Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	1996-08-09	Valid
N5167	Smith Miniplane DSA-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Louisiana	Experimental	1996-07-30	Valid
N2949N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	1996-07-26	Valid
N2212E	Champion 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	1996-07-24	Valid
N1850V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Standard	1996-07-10	Valid
N2707N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Dakota	Standard	1996-07-02	Valid
N3349H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	1996-07-01	Valid
N86250	Aeronca 11BC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner West Virginia	Standard	1996-06-25	Valid
N3398H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Texas	Standard	1996-06-14	Valid
N89010	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Standard	1996-06-05	Valid
N1441N	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Air Tractor West INC San Joaquin, California	Standard	1996-05-30	Valid
N95673	Taylorcraft BC12-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Arizona	Standard	1996-05-23	Valid
N24134	Funk B85C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Airpower Museum INC Ottumwa, Iowa	Standard	1996-05-09	Valid
N76253	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1996-04-04	Valid
N18268	Wittman W	Fixed-wing, single engine	Eaa Aviation Foundation INC Oshkosh, Wisconsin	Experimental	1996-04-03	Valid
N6631N	Taylorcraft Aviation Corp 19	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1996-03-21	Valid
N72756	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	1996-03-21	Valid
N111NZ	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1996-03-08	Valid
N7334H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Idaho	Standard	1996-03-08	Valid
N2790K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Rhode Island	Standard	1996-02-15	Valid
N94196	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-D	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	1996-02-02	Valid
N77356	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1996-02-01	Valid
N3140H	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	1995-12-01	Valid
N3131N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Jersey	Standard	1995-11-30	Valid
N9173L	Desanti Michael P DOUGLAS LARK	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Experimental	1995-11-28	Valid
N89030	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1995-11-09	Valid
N77049	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	J R Bane Land Corporation Oakland, Iowa	Standard	1995-10-31	Valid
N3020N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	1995-10-27	Valid
N72949	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1995-10-24	Valid
N72994	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Elmore Kimberly L Norman, Oklahoma	Standard	1995-10-17	Valid
N96012	Taylorcraft BC12D-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	1995-10-13	Valid
N76092	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1995-09-29	Valid
N3286N	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Whirly Leasing INC Richvale, California	Standard	1995-09-16	Valid
N2081V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	1995-08-28	Valid
N3406K	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Barnstormer Aeroplanes INC Wilmington, Delaware	Standard	1995-08-28	Valid
N2703C	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	1995-08-17	Valid
N6018H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Twin Oaks Airpark INC Hillsboro, Oregon	Standard	1995-07-19	Valid
N81030	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	Standard	1995-06-28	Valid
N215JM	Maitland John C CUBBY II	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Experimental	1995-06-22	Valid
N73029	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Arizona	Standard	1995-06-22	Valid
N94378	Engineering & Research ERCOUPE 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner New York	Standard	1995-06-20	Valid
N2462N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Carolina	Standard	1995-06-15	Valid
N90172	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1995-06-01	Valid
N86135	Aeronca 11AC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Florida	Standard	1995-05-31	Valid
N27844	Piper J4A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1995-05-09	Valid
N1908K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1995-05-05	Valid
N1928N	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arizona	Standard	1995-04-29	Valid
N1416B	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1995-04-20	Valid
N14193	Hutchins BREEZY PUSHER	Fixed-wing, single engine	Ward Robert I Coopersburg, Pennsylvania	Experimental	1995-04-13	Valid
N117PJ	Anderson John P ANDERSON VARIEZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Montana	Experimental	1995-04-11	Valid
N6637H	Piper J3C-65	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Multiple	1995-04-07	Valid
N2306K	Luscombe 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	1995-04-05	Valid
N85511	Aeronca 7DC-CONV	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	1995-04-04	Valid
N2384N	Cessna 140A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1995-03-22	Valid
N34135	Commonwealth 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	1995-03-13	Valid
N6451C	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	1995-03-06	Valid
N68588	Aeronca 7BCM	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	1995-02-01	Valid
N30849	Piper J5A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	1995-01-20	Valid
N99686	Ercoupe 415-C	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1995-01-17	Valid
N2203N	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	1995-01-06	Valid
N34117	Commonwealth REARWIN 185	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	1995-01-04	Valid
N5629M	Taylorcraft BC12D-85	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1994-12-14	Valid
N3924E	Aeronca 11BC	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1994-12-13	Valid
N2089V	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	1994-11-21	Valid
N1870K	Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8E	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1994-11-08	Valid

Source: FAA Civil Aviation Registry, Releasable Aircraft Database (the engine reference table and each aircraft's engine code), October 8, 2026. Horsepower and thrust are the FAA's figures for the series, not for a particular aircraft.