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

Continental O-470-A

5 aircraft on the U.S. register carry a Continental O-470-A engine, rated at about 225 horsepower. The Cessna 180 Skywagon is the model most often fitted with it (2 aircraft). The aircraft carrying it were built between 1950 and 2016.

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 O-470-A. FAA spelling: O-470-A.

Fitted to model families

Cessna 180 Skywagon2Beech-Nogle D-451Dehavilland DHC-11Lisanke Joseph M BEARHAWK1

Cessna 180 Skywagon · Beech-Nogle D-45 · Dehavilland DHC-1 · Lisanke Joseph M BEARHAWK

Where they are owner's state

Colorado2Texas1Florida1Alaska1

Kind of aircraft

Piston singles5 (100%)

When the aircraft were built by decade

012344195012010

What the FAA has certified, ordered and been told about the Continental O-470-A the component layer

The design is held under 1 type certificate (E-273, held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC.). The FAA has issued 21 airworthiness directives (orders that owners must comply with) that name this engine series. Operators and repair shops have filed 1 failure report with the FAA since 1995, 1 of them in the last ten years.

FAA orders 21 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
2022-03-292022-04-04 · Reciprocating Engine Oil System · engine
2010-06-162010-11-04 · Hydraulic lifters · engine

All orders naming the Continental O-470-A

Failure reports 1 since · what operators and shops told the FAA

00011199

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Spider1

Latest reports

1999-02-17Spider: cracked

Certificates and bulletins

E-273Type certificate held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC. · 21 models listed · revised September 19, 2022

Safety bulletins 4 · 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
2009-11-20NE-10-09 · Reciprocating Engine Power Section: Hydraulic Valve Lifters
2009-01-30NE-09-08 · Reciprocating Engine Cylinder Section

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-o-470-a.json · about the eFlight graph.

Aircraft newest certificates first · 5

Tail no.Maker and modelGroupOwner and baseCertificateRegisteredStatus
N3191C Cessna
180
Fixed-wing, single engine Individual owner
Alaska
Standard 2024-10-29 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N1027X Cessna
180
Fixed-wing, single engine Individual owner
Colorado
Standard 2023-08-11 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N640WB Dehavilland
DHC-1C
Fixed-wing, single engine Individual owner
Texas
Experimental 2017-01-03 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N35JL Lisanke Joseph M
BEARHAWK
Fixed-wing, single engine Individual owner
Florida
Experimental 2013-10-24 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N5QN Beech-Nogle
D-45
Fixed-wing, single engine Greatest Generation Naval Museum
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Standard 2013-01-11 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.