Engines · piston (reciprocating) · data as of October 8, 2026

Lycoming O-235 series

6,134 aircraft on the U.S. register carry a Lycoming O-235 series engine, rated at about 115 horsepower. The Cessna 152 is the model most often fitted with it (1,545 aircraft). The aircraft carrying it were built between 1945 and 2025.

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 Lycoming O-235 series. FAA spelling: 0-235 SERIES.

Fitted to model families

Model families, as a table

	aircraft
Cessna 152	1,545
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser	878
Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer and Colt	552
Piper PA-38 Tomahawk	409
Bellanca 7 Citabria	318
Champion 7 Citabria and Champ	311
Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1 Yankee and Trainer	305
Piper PA-16 Clipper	252
American Aviation AA-1	198
American AA-1	165
Piper PA-18 Super Cub	165
Beechcraft 77 Skipper	106

Cessna 152 · Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser · Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer and Colt · Piper PA-38 Tomahawk · Bellanca 7 Citabria · Champion 7 Citabria and Champ · Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1 Yankee and Trainer · Piper PA-16 Clipper · American Aviation AA-1 · American AA-1

Where they are owner's state

Texas571California547Florida484Alaska383Washington217Minnesota186North Carolina185Michigan180Oregon179New York166

By state, as a table

	aircraft
Texas	571
California	547
Florida	484
Alaska	383
Washington	217
Minnesota	186
North Carolina	185
Michigan	180
Oregon	179
New York	166

Kind of aircraft

Piston singles6,132 (100%)Helicopters1 (0.0%)Gliders1 (0.0%)

By kind, as a table

	aircraft	share
Piston singles	6,132	100%
Helicopters	1	0.0%
Gliders	1	0.0%

When the aircraft were built by decade

By decade built, as a table

	aircraft
1930	4
1940	1,107
1950	157
1960	759
1970	2,138
1980	668
1990	159
2000	72
2010	16
2020	4

What the FAA has certified, ordered and been told about the Lycoming O-235 series the component layer

The design is held under 1 type certificate (E-223, held by Lycoming Engines). The FAA has issued 13 airworthiness directives (orders that owners must comply with) that name this engine series. Operators and repair shops have filed 20 failure reports with the FAA since 1995, 3 of them in the last ten years.

FAA orders 13 airworthiness directives · newest first

2026-09-142026-17-10 · Reciprocating Engine Cylinder Section · engine

2026-04-082026-04-11 · Engine (Reciprocating) · engine

2024-12-052024-21-02 · Engine (Reciprocating) · engine

2022-08-152022-16-03 · Engine (RECIPROCATING) · engine

2012-03-272012-03-07 · Carburetor · engine

2004-06-252004-10-14 · Crankshaft gear · engine

All orders naming the Lycoming O-235 series

Failure reports 20 since · what operators and shops told the FAA

Failure reports by year, as a table

	reports
98	9
99	2
00	3
02	2
03	1
09	1
10	1
17	1

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Axle6Cylinder4Fork2Spark Plug2Balance Weight1Coil1Pin1Plug1Support1Tube1

Parts most reported, as a table

	reports
Axle	6
Cylinder	4
Fork	2
Spark Plug	2
Balance Weight	1
Coil	1
Pin	1
Plug	1
Support	1
Tube	1

Latest reports

2017-07-03Coil: failed

2010-02-12Support: misinstalled

2009-05-24Spark Plug: broken

2003-12-05Spark Plug: worn

2002-11-21Cylinder: cracked

Certificates and bulletins

E-223Type certificate held by Lycoming Engines · 43 models listed · revised January 31, 2020

Safety bulletins 4 · advice, not orders

2019-05-02NE-19-08 · Reciprocating Engine Cylinder Section - Lycoming Engines Parallel Valve Cylinders

2014-03-24NE-14-13 · Reciprocating Engine - Cylinder Mounting Studs

2008-09-10NE-06-32R1 · Reciprocating Engine - Crankshaft

2005-09-30NE-05-89 ·

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 152 1,545 with this engine series
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser 878 with this engine series
Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer and Colt 552 with this engine series
Piper PA-38 Tomahawk 409 with this engine series
Bellanca 7 Citabria 318 with this engine series
Champion 7 Citabria and Champ 311 with this engine series
Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1 Yankee and Trainer 305 with this engine series
Piper PA-16 Clipper 252 with this engine series

Where they are

Texas 571 of these aircraft
California 547 of these aircraft
Florida 484 of these aircraft
Alaska 383 of these aircraft
Washington 217 of these aircraft

Biggest operators

Wings Over Texas Holdings LLC 52 of these aircraft
Hillsboro Aero Academy LLC 42 of these aircraft
Sunrise Aviation INC 36 of these aircraft
Piper Aircraft INC 16 of these aircraft
Pea-Wayman Flight LLC 14 of these aircraft

Airworthiness

FAA orders naming the Lycoming O-235 series 13 airworthiness directives
Failure reports on the Lycoming O-235 series 20 reports since 1995

Analytics

The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/engine/lycoming-o-235-series.json.

Aircraft newest certificates first · 6,134

Tail no.	Maker and model	Group	Owner and base	Certificate	Registered	Status
N4759Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	1990-05-23	Valid
N67807	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Cal Aggie Flying Farmers INC Davis, California	Standard	1990-05-14	Valid
N6240L	American AA-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	1990-03-30	Valid
N4649M	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Daviation INC Willoughby, Ohio	Standard	1990-03-13	Valid
N283T	Piper PA-18 105	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner West Virginia	Standard	1990-02-20	Valid
N3418M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	1990-01-30	Valid
N6878K	Piper PA-16	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner North Carolina	Standard	1990-01-29	Valid
N7140K	Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL	Fixed-wing, single engine	Chandelle LTD Brighton, Colorado	Standard	1990-01-22	Valid
N6DS	Piper PA-22	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Oregon	Standard	1990-01-11	Valid
N5188X	Champion 7ECA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	1989-12-07	Valid
N78WS	Piper PA-38-112	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Minnesota	Standard	1989-12-07	Valid
N4838B	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Aerolina INC Hendersonville, North Carolina	Standard	1989-11-28	Valid
N9328L	American Aviation AA-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Georgia	Standard	1989-11-27	Valid
N6840K	Piper PA-16	Fixed-wing, single engine	Valley Airways INC Scottsbluff, Nebraska	Standard	1989-11-21	Valid
N5258H	Piper PA-16	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1989-11-14	Valid
N3492M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wyoming	Standard	1989-11-06	Valid
N3745V	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Experimental	1989-11-03	Valid
N5160Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	1989-10-11	Valid
N5151B	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1989-09-27	Valid
N6349M	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1989-09-27	Valid
N5151L	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Standard	1989-09-22	Valid
N5644H	Piper PA-16	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	1989-09-11	Valid
N3613M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	1989-09-05	Valid
N5724H	Piper PA-16	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1989-09-01	Valid
N34JR	Ferris John O/Johnson Roger C LONG-EZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Arizona	Experimental	1989-08-28	Valid
N94655	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Iowa Great Lakes Flyers INC Cheyenne, Wyoming	Standard	1989-08-24	Valid
N2LL	Lindsey EAA ACRO SPORT	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Mississippi	Experimental	1989-08-17	Valid
N9378L	American Aviation AA-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Louisiana	Standard	1989-08-01	Valid
N5047U	Bellanca 7ECA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Rio Aero Club Sun Prairie, Wisconsin	Standard	1989-07-24	Valid
N11NL	Gould Leland E LONG EZ	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Experimental	1989-07-07	Valid
N8977L	Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1B	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Standard	1989-06-20	Valid
N93526	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Delta State University Cleveland, Mississippi	Standard	1989-06-16	Valid
N757DQ	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Iowa Great Lakes Flyers INC Cheyenne, Wyoming	Standard	1989-06-15	Valid
N67375	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	T Craft Aero Club Nampa, Idaho	Standard	1989-06-05	Valid
N2513A	Piper PA-38-112	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Massachusetts	Standard	1989-05-16	Valid
N3669M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	1989-04-19	Valid
N5242Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	1989-03-21	Valid
N9130R	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1989-03-17	Valid
N3287M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Iowa	Standard	1989-02-14	Valid
N3309M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1989-02-09	Valid
N9342L	American Aviation AA-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1989-02-06	Valid
N256BL	Basic Airplane Society Inc BAKENG DUCE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Basic Airplane Society INC Delphi, Indiana	Experimental	1989-02-01	Valid
N7047Q	Rivera Juan Robert LONG EZ	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Experimental	1989-01-26	Valid
N8EZ	Maccauley Peter J LONG EZ	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Experimental	1989-01-12	Valid
N5394B	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Richmor Aviation INC Hudson, New York	Standard	1989-01-06	Valid
N5299Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	1988-12-19	Valid
N95993	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Delta State University Cleveland, Mississippi	Standard	1988-11-21	Valid
N68356	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Don Davis Aviation INC Henderson, Kentucky	Standard	1988-10-19	Valid
N2475M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	N B Tweet and Sons Nome, Alaska	Standard	1988-09-06	Valid
N2215K	Luscombe 8A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1988-08-30	Valid
N5089P	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	1988-08-13	Valid
N9306L	American Aviation AA-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1988-08-10	Valid
N89132	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Affiliated Air Services INC Southampton, New Jersey	Standard	1988-08-04	Valid
N7859H	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner South Dakota	Standard	1988-08-02	Valid
N68750	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Poplar Grove Airmotive INC Poplar Grove, Illinois	Standard	1988-07-29	Valid
N147T	Piper PA-18 105	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	1988-07-26	Valid
N77396	Cessna 120	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1988-07-06	Valid
N83NM	Mayo Mike And Nancy RUTAN LONG EZ	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner California	Experimental	1988-06-14	Valid
N30121	Eaa BIPLANE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Missouri	Experimental	1988-06-08	Valid
N5387C	Cessna 140A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1988-06-07	Valid
N3913M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	1988-05-16	Valid
N53740	Gardner Robert J RUTAN LONG EZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Experimental	1988-04-13	Valid
N6544L	Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1B	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alabama	Standard	1988-04-01	Valid
N5203Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Standard	1988-03-30	Valid
N130TW	Alkire Richard P WITTMAN TAILWIND W 8	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Ohio	Experimental	1988-03-29	Valid
N5671L	American AA-1	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Jersey	Standard	1988-03-24	Valid
N67535	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Nevada	Standard	1988-02-24	Valid
N4342M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1988-02-23	Valid
N67431	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1988-02-11	Valid
N186T	Piper PA-18 105	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New York	Standard	1988-02-02	Valid
N7581H	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Kansas	Standard	1987-12-10	Valid
N5357H	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Richmor Aviation INC Hudson, New York	Standard	1987-12-09	Valid
N115SS	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, Oklahoma	Standard	1987-12-07	Valid
N4669A	Cessna A152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Standard	1987-11-17	Valid
N47672	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Cruiseair Aviation INC Ramona, California	Standard	1987-09-21	Valid
N36009	Bellanca 7ECA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Svanda Roger D Tyndall, South Dakota	Standard	1987-09-15	Valid
N189T	Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL	Fixed-wing, single engine	New London Taildraggers Lynchburg, Virginia	Standard	1987-09-04	Valid
N4223M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Texas	Standard	1987-08-05	Valid
N3853M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner South Dakota	Standard	1987-07-31	Valid
N757NN	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Hampshire	Standard	1987-07-29	Valid
N5720Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner New Jersey	Standard	1987-07-28	Valid
N95374	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Board of Trustees DBA Murphysboro, Illinois	Standard	1987-07-13	Valid
N785	Noonan Kenneth R VARI-EZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Pennsylvania	Experimental	1987-07-01	Valid
N6800K	Piper PA-16	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	1987-05-26	Valid
N971FM	Cessna 152	Fixed-wing, single engine	Freeway Airport INC Mitchellville, Maryland	Standard	1987-05-12	Valid
N7515H	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Alaska	Standard	1987-04-27	Valid
N5018Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	1987-04-08	Valid
N4018M	Piper PA-12	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Maine	Standard	1987-03-13	Valid
N9289L	American Aviation AA-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Wisconsin	Standard	1987-03-13	Valid
N450EZ	Bassen/Acheson RUTAN VARIEZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Utah	Experimental	1987-03-12	Valid
N12BN	Nitz Bernard Frederick Jr VARIEZE	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Illinois	Experimental	1987-03-10	Valid
N127T	Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL	Fixed-wing, single engine	Benham Charles Lorena, Texas	Standard	1987-03-06	Valid
N88TH	Hamilton Thomas S HAM 2	Fixed-wing, single engine	Eaa Aviation Foundation INC Oshkosh, Wisconsin	Experimental	1987-02-12	Valid
N57661	Bellanca 7ECA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Maine	Standard	1987-02-10	Valid
N2550P	Piper PA-38-112	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner California	Standard	1987-01-27	Valid
N37271	Interstate S-1A	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Colorado	Standard	1986-12-31	Valid
N72883	Cessna 140	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Washington	Standard	1986-12-16	Valid
N287EB	Bellanca 7ECA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Michigan	Standard	1986-11-19	Valid
N5644Z	Piper PA-22-108	Fixed-wing, single engine	Individual owner Minnesota	Standard	1986-11-14	Valid
N4209Y	Bellanca 7ECA	Fixed-wing, single engine	Co-owned owner Missouri	Standard	1986-11-13	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.