The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Engines · piston (reciprocating) · data as of October 5, 2026

Continental IO-520-L

11 aircraft on the U.S. register carry a Continental IO-520-L engine, rated at about 300 horsepower. The Cessna 210 Centurion is the model most often fitted with it (7 aircraft). The aircraft carrying it were built between 1975 and 2009.

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 IO-520-L. FAA spelling: IO-520-L.

Fitted to model families

Cessna 210 Centurion7Burtis William A SPENCER AMPHIB AIR1Cessna 207 Skywagon 2071Cessna U206 Stationair1Preceptor ULTRA PUP1

Cessna 210 Centurion · Burtis William A SPENCER AMPHIB AIR · Cessna 207 Skywagon 207 · Cessna U206 Stationair · Preceptor ULTRA PUP

Where they are owner's state

Wyoming2Texas2Alaska2Ohio1Kansas1Florida1California1

Kind of aircraft

Piston singles10 (91%)Turboprops1 (9%)

When the aircraft were built by decade

0124541970519801199012000

What the FAA has certified, ordered and been told about the Continental IO-520-L the component layer

The design is held under 1 type certificate (E5CE, held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC.). The FAA has issued 30 airworthiness directives (orders that owners must comply with) that name this engine series. Operators and repair shops have filed 257 failure reports with the FAA since 1995, 26 of them in the last ten years.

FAA orders 30 airworthiness directives · newest first

2023-10-262023-17-04 · Reciprocating Engine Oil System · engine
2023-03-152023-05-16 · Reciprocating Engine Power Section · engine
2023-02-232023-04-08 · Reciprocating Engine Power Section · engine
2023-02-172023-02-12 · Engine Air Intake System · engine
2022-08-152022-16-03 · Engine (RECIPROCATING) · engine
2022-03-292022-04-04 · Reciprocating Engine Oil System · engine

All orders naming the Continental IO-520-L

Failure reports 257 since · what operators and shops told the FAA

091828379500051015121

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Cylinder36Cylinder Head12Bearing7Bracket6Switch6Alternator5Bolt5Crankcase5Hose5Lifter5

Latest reports

2021-10-20None: none
2019-03-06Cylinder: cracked
2018-01-22Line: loose
2015-07-21Powerpack: faulty
2015-07-04Rib: cracked

Certificates and bulletins

E5CEType certificate held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC. · 18 models listed · revised March 8, 2022

Safety bulletins 10 · advice, not orders

2020-04-06NE-20-05 · POWERPLANT - Engine Camshaft Gear Tooth Fracture
2018-06-20NE-18-16 · POWERPLANT Alternator Drive Coupling
2017-05-10NE-17-11 · POWERPLANT Engine damage as a result of kickback
2016-03-08NE-16-13 · Powerplant - Prohibited use of sealant
2013-02-08NE-13-15 · Engine Controls: Continental Motors, Inc. (CMI) Throttle and Mixture Control Levers

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
Where they are
Biggest operators
Airworthiness

These connections as data: /graph/engine/continental-io-520-l.json · about the eFlight graph.

Aircraft newest certificates first · 11

Tail no.Maker and modelGroupOwner and baseCertificateRegisteredStatus
N210BV Cessna
210L
Fixed-wing, single engine Southern Aircraft Consultancy INC Trustee
Casper, Wyoming
Standard 2026-02-19 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N41YY Cessna
210N
Fixed-wing, single engine Southern Aircraft Consultancy INC Trustee
Casper, Wyoming
Standard 2026-02-10 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N206GK Cessna
U206G
Fixed-wing, single engine Jls Alaska LLC
Palmer, Alaska
Standard 2025-06-10 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N333LH Cessna
210N
Fixed-wing, single engine Koelbl Aviation LLC
Whitesboro, Texas
Standard 2024-04-11 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N99TM Cessna
210M
Fixed-wing, single engine Magdabenja Holdings LLC
Corona, California
Standard 2024-01-05 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N210M Cessna
210M
Fixed-wing, single engine Withheld at owner's request
Standard 2021-12-01 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N481J Cessna
210M
Fixed-wing, single engine Individual owner
Ohio
Standard 2021-02-26 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N17GN Cessna
207A
Fixed-wing, single engine Grant Aviation INC
Anchorage, Alaska
Standard 2020-10-19 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N356WB Burtis William A
SPENCER AMPHIB AIR
Fixed-wing, single engine Mwm Interests INC
The Woodlands, Texas
Experimental 2016-07-06 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N63ET Preceptor
ULTRA PUP
Fixed-wing, single engine Individual owner
Florida
Experimental 2007-06-07 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N54R Cessna
210N
Fixed-wing, single engine Aerometrix LLC
Lawrence, Kansas
Experimental 2005-11-21 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes

Source: FAA Civil Aviation Registry, Releasable Aircraft Database (the engine reference table and each aircraft's engine code), October 5, 2026. Horsepower and thrust are the FAA's figures for the series, not for a particular aircraft.