Engines · piston (reciprocating) · data as of October 7, 2026

Continental E185 series

1,109 aircraft on the U.S. register carry a Continental E185 series engine, rated at about 205 horsepower. The Beechcraft 35 Bonanza and Debonair is the model most often fitted with it (233 aircraft). The aircraft carrying it were built between 1946 and 1972.

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 E185 series. FAA spelling: E185 SERIES.

Fitted to model families

Beechcraft 35 Bonanza and Debonair233Beechcraft C35136Beechcraft A35124North American NAVION123Ryan NAVION111Beechcraft B3599Beechcraft D3578Ryan NAVION A59Navion NAVION A57North American NAVION A28Luscombe 1117Cessna 1508

Beechcraft 35 Bonanza and Debonair · Beechcraft C35 · Beechcraft A35 · North American NAVION · Ryan NAVION · Beechcraft B35 · Beechcraft D35 · Ryan NAVION A · Navion NAVION A · North American NAVION A

Where they are owner's state

Texas141California109Florida65Washington56Ohio46Tennessee37Missouri35Arizona35Colorado32Oklahoma31

Kind of aircraft

Piston singles1,109 (100%)

When the aircraft were built by decade

What the FAA has certified, ordered and been told about the Continental E185 series the component layer

The design is held under 1 type certificate (E-246, 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 9 failure reports with the FAA since 1995, 1 of them in the last ten years.

FAA orders 7 airworthiness directives · newest first

1997-10-2797-21-02 · Cylinders · engine

1969-12-3163-15-01 · Exhaust Valves · engine

51-26-03 · Valve Lifters · engine

56-06-01 · Piston Pin Assembly · engine

60-06-04 · Generator Drive Gear · engine

60-12-01 · Piston Pins · engine

All orders naming the Continental E185 series

Failure reports 9 since · what operators and shops told the FAA

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Fitting2Crankcase1Gasket1Landing Gear1Light1Link1Seat1Support1

Latest reports

2020-12-22Crankcase: cracked

2010-06-15Support: cracked

2007-05-16Seat: cracked

2006-07-27Landing Gear: collapsed

2006-03-15Fitting: cracked

Certificates and bulletins

E-246Type certificate held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC. · 11 models listed · revised September 19, 2022

Safety bulletins 2 · advice, not orders

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

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

Beechcraft 35 Bonanza and Debonair 233 with this engine series
Beechcraft C35 136 with this engine series
Beechcraft A35 124 with this engine series
North American NAVION 123 with this engine series
Ryan NAVION 111 with this engine series
Beechcraft B35 99 with this engine series
Beechcraft D35 78 with this engine series
Ryan NAVION A 59 with this engine series

Where they are

Texas 141 of these aircraft
California 109 of these aircraft
Florida 65 of these aircraft
Washington 56 of these aircraft
Ohio 46 of these aircraft

Biggest operators

Bas Part Sales LLC 5 of these aircraft
Sky West Aviation INC Trustee 4 of these aircraft
Northwest Navion INC 3 of these aircraft
Jed Homes INC 3 of these aircraft
American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum 3 of these aircraft

Airworthiness

FAA orders naming the Continental E185 series 7 airworthiness directives
Failure reports on the Continental E185 series 9 reports since 1995

Analytics

These connections as data: /graph/engine/continental-e185-series.json · about the eFlight graph.

Aircraft newest certificates first · 1,109

Tail no.	Maker and model	Group	Owner and base	Certificate	Registered	Status
N455B	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Virginia	Standard	1992-08-20	Valid
N8781A	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1992-03-16	Valid
N8440A	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1992-03-10	Valid
N410B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	1992-03-09	Valid
N5812C	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Florida	Standard	1992-02-21	Valid
N4497K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	1992-01-02	Valid
N8727A	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1991-12-17	Valid
N3222V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1991-09-24	Valid
N444AC	Ryan NAVION A	Fixed-wing, single engine	American Airpower Heritage Fly Museu Dallas, Texas	Standard	1991-09-10	Valid
N3111V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	1991-08-16	Valid
N732B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	1991-06-20	Valid
N2969B	Beech D35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	1991-04-24	Valid
N431B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Florida	Standard	1991-03-13	Valid
N91530	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1991-01-29	Valid
N91600	North American NAVION A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	1990-11-20	Valid
N225E	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	1990-11-09	Valid
N4833K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	1990-10-01	Valid
N3342V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	1990-07-21	Valid
N91702	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1990-06-14	Valid
N4309K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard	1990-05-23	Valid
N3741N	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	1990-05-15	Valid
N8676H	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Hoogeveen Douglas F Clifton, Colorado	Standard	1990-04-19	Valid
N3472B	Beech D35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Maryland	Standard	1989-10-30	Valid
N1690B	Luscombe 11A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1989-08-16	Valid
N1919D	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Idaho	Standard	1989-07-20	Valid
N3300V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Illinois	Standard	1989-06-28	Valid
N2165D	Beech D35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard	1989-05-16	Valid
N78852	Aircraft Manufacturing TEXAS BULLET 205	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1989-04-17	Valid
N5084C	Beech B35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	1988-09-15	Valid
N2968C	Navion L-17A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	1988-08-24	Valid
N607B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	1988-07-29	Valid
N969P	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1988-06-08	Valid
N14147	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Washington	Standard	1987-09-14	Valid
N1625B	Luscombe 11A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	1987-08-31	Valid
N4037K	North American NAVION A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Standard	1987-08-19	Valid
N3920N	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	1987-07-30	Valid
N21RC	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Utah	Standard	1987-04-14	Valid
N239V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Tennessee	Standard	1987-03-10	Valid
N1915D	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1987-01-08	Valid
N3101V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1986-10-31	Valid
N91608	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1986-10-27	Valid
N3778N	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	1986-07-30	Valid
N795D	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	1986-04-28	Valid
N1984D	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Foster Buell M Yucca Valley, California	Standard	1986-02-20	Valid
N91616	Ryan NAVION B	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Mississippi	Standard	1985-10-09	Valid
N8681A	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1985-01-28	Valid
N8602A	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	1984-10-19	Valid
N689B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Florida	Standard	1984-08-10	Valid
N4193K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Texas	Standard	1984-04-10	Valid
N135Y	Beech D35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Delaware	Standard	1984-01-19	Valid
N91195	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1983-10-24	Valid
N4214K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Nevada	Standard	1983-06-29	Valid
N4640S	Beech B35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard	1983-06-27	Valid
N2904B	Beech D35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Texas	Standard	1982-09-07	Valid
N5011C	Beech B35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	1981-04-29	Valid
N80412	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Washington	Standard	1981-04-29	Valid
N4346K	Ryan NAVION A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Massachusetts	Standard	1980-08-29	Valid
N4880K	Ryan NAVION A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Standard	1980-04-28	Valid
N1957D	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Liggenstoffer Buddy L Kiowa, Kansas	Standard	1979-10-12	Valid
N711DJ	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1978-08-15	Valid
N3178G	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1978-07-24	Valid
N2819V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Elgin Sky Snoopers INC. Crystal Lake, Illinois	Standard	1978-06-08	Valid
N80438	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	1978-05-08	Valid
N5100C	Beech B35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner West Virginia	Standard	1978-04-15	Valid
N3320V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1978-01-12	Valid
N4441	Beech B35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	1977-08-01	Valid
N7RT	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1976-12-21	Valid
N9126R	Navion NAVION A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard	1975-12-09	Valid
N91487	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1974-04-22	Valid
N661B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	1974-03-05	Valid
N3858N	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1973-04-13	Valid
N91569	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1971-06-24	Valid
N91578	North American NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	1970-12-11	Valid
N8574H	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Dirty Birds INC Noblesville, Indiana	Standard	1969-04-23	Valid
N681B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Virginia	Standard	1966-04-07	Valid
N80406	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Dakota	Standard	1965-03-09	Valid
N723B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1963-09-03	Valid
N390	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner District of Columbia	Standard	1962-06-11	Valid
N797B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	1953-02-16	Valid
N11E	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Nebraska	Standard		Canceled
N146D	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard		Sale reported
N1614B	Luscombe 11A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard		Valid
N1993D	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kentucky	Multiple		Sale reported
N2121D	Beech D35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard		Canceled
N2795V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Bas Part Sales LLC Greeley, Colorado	Standard		Valid
N2846V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard		Pending
N2996B	Beech D35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Standard		Sale reported
N3061V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Indiana	Standard		Pending
N316BM	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard		Valid
N3405V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard		Pending
N3975N	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Bas Part Sales LLC Greeley, Colorado	Standard		Valid
N42X	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard		Pending
N4341K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard		Pending
N4457K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard		Sale reported
N4488V	Beech 35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard		Pending
N4581K	Ryan NAVION	Fixed-wing, single engine	Bas Part Sales LLC Greeley, Colorado	Standard		Valid
N486B	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Standard		Sale reported
N490P	Beech A35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oklahoma	Standard		Revoked
N5271C	Beech B35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard		Sale reported
N694D	Beech C35	Fixed-wing, single engine	Bas Part Sales LLC Greeley, Colorado	Standard		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.