Cessna A185F Market Report
Single-Engine Piston · generated 2026-10-20 · fyiAero market data, FAA registry, NTSB, aircraft.com sold records.
Market summary
1,110in operation (FAA)
13for sale · 1.2% of fleet
$402kaverage asking
$358kmedian asking
58avg days on market
20registry transfers, 6 mo
12.5 yravg length of ownership
| Low | Avg | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking price | $220k | $402k | $650k |
| Model year | 1973 | 1976 | 1980 |
| Airframe time | 459 | 4,939 | 10,904 |
| Days on market | — | 58 | 97 |
For sale & average asking by month reconstructed from listing history
| Month | For sale | Avg asking | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06 | 1 | $275k | |
| 2026-07 | 5 | $381k | |
| 2026-08 | 19 | $400k | |
| 2026-09 | 19 | $364k | |
| 2026-10 | 15 | $369k |
Features of aircraft for sale
| ADS-B | 62% (8) | |
| GPS navigator | 38% (5) | |
| Autopilot | 23% (3) | |
| Glass flight deck | 15% (2) | |
| GTN 750 / 750Xi | 8% (1) | |
| FIKI | 0% (0) |
Fleet & safety
110NTSB events, 10 yr
6fatal
80.6per 1,000 airframes
Where the fleet is based top states, FAA registry
| AK | 312 | |
| WA | 75 | |
| TX | 64 | |
| MN | 51 | |
| ID | 51 | |
| MT | 50 | |
| CO | 48 | |
| ME | 40 | |
| CA | 39 | |
| OR | 35 |
478 of 1,110 are individually registered.
Registry transfers by month new registration certificates, 12 mo
| 2025-10 | 5 | |
| 2025-11 | 7 | |
| 2025-12 | 6 | |
| 2026-01 | 5 | |
| 2026-02 | 9 | |
| 2026-03 | 4 | |
| 2026-04 | 2 | |
| 2026-05 | 6 | |
| 2026-06 | 7 | |
| 2026-07 | 7 |
Aircraft for sale 13 units · asking vs fyiEstimate
| Year | Reg | Serial | Asking | fyiEstimate | vs est | TTAF | Engine | Seller | DOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | — | $520,000 | $381,250 | +36% | — | — | Diane Wille NEW PRICE - Rare | 72 | |
| 1974 | TF-ORN | 18502355 | $275,000 | $282,000 | -2% | 4,504 | 2,013 | Aircraft Canada | 13 |
| 1975 | N103AM | 18502615 | $249,000 | $329,000 | -24% | 7,653 | 431 | Hiller Aviation Brokerage & | 72 |
| 1975 | N185HR | 18502815 | $540,000 | $378,250 | +43% | 459 | 459 | Ron Drosselmeyer | 97 |
| 1975 | — | 18502787 | $650,000 | $341,750 | +90% | 5,234 | 43 | Jeramiah Larsen | 33 |
| 1976 | N115AW | 18502941 | $220,000 | $336,750 | -35% | 3,940 | 950 | Skywagons LLC | 41 |
| 1976 | C-FTLM | 18502952 | $495,000 | $390,250 | +27% | 2,505 | 1,068 | Nelson Morberg | 60 |
| 1977 | N585Z | 18503266 | Inquire | $377,250 | — | 3,590 | 435 | Mike Green | 88 |
| 1977 | N866PH | 18503167 | $357,500 | $375,250 | -5% | 3,890 | 510 | Jet Air Inc | 72 |
| 1978 | V5-RED | 18503573 | Inquire | $358,000 | — | 5,112 | 50 | Ascend Aviation | 34 |
| 1979 | — | Inquire | $348,250 | — | — | — | 69 | ||
| 1979 | N4095L | $314,594 | $345,250 | -9% | 10,904 | 343 | AEROMECCANICA SA | 72 | |
| 1980 | ZS-FNF | 185-04095 | Inquire | $347,500 | — | 6,540 | 88 | Ascend Aviation | 43 |
Market by model year fleet · for sale · asking
| Year | Fleet | For sale | % | Low | Avg | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1972 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1973 | 62 | 1 | 1.6% | $520k | $520k | $520k |
| 1974 | 105 | 1 | 1.0% | $275k | $275k | $275k |
| 1975 | 110 | 3 | 2.7% | $249k | $480k | $650k |
| 1976 | 133 | 2 | 1.5% | $220k | $358k | $495k |
| 1977 | 120 | 2 | 1.7% | $358k | $358k | $358k |
| 1978 | 97 | 1 | 1.0% | — | — | — |
| 1979 | 93 | 2 | 2.2% | $315k | $315k | $315k |
| 1980 | 77 | 1 | 1.3% | — | — | — |
| 1981 | 88 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1982 | 26 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1983 | 14 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1984 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1985 | 14 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1986 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | — | — | — |
fyiEstimate values by model year and airframe time
| Model year | Units | Avg fyiEstimate |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 1 | $381,250 |
| 1974 | 1 | $282,000 |
| 1975 | 3 | $349,666 |
| 1976 | 2 | $363,500 |
| 1977 | 2 | $376,250 |
| 1978 | 1 | $358,000 |
| 1979 | 2 | $346,750 |
| 1980 | 1 | $347,500 |
| Airframe hours | Units | Avg asking | Avg fyiEstimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–1,999 | 1 | $540,000 | $378,250 |
| 2,000–3,999 | 4 | $357,500 | $369,875 |
| 4,000–5,999 | 3 | $462,500 | $327,250 |
| 6,000–7,999 | 2 | $249,000 | $338,250 |
| 10,000–11,999 | 1 | $314,594 | $345,250 |
Recent market activity last 60 days
| Date | Event | Aircraft | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-18 | Off market | 1976 N115AW | $220k |
| 2026-10-18 | Price change | 1973 | $545k → $520k |
| 2026-10-18 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $314k → $315k |
| 2026-10-11 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $315k → $314k |
| 2026-10-07 | Newly listed | 1974 TF-ORN | $275k |
| 2026-10-04 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $319k → $315k |
| 2026-10-04 | Price change | 1975 N185HR | $580k → $540k |
| 2026-09-27 | Off market | 1980 N666SB | $285k |
| 2026-09-27 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $321k → $319k |
| 2026-09-20 | Off market | 1980 | $330k |
| 2026-09-20 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $325k → $321k |
| 2026-09-17 | Newly listed | 1975 | $650k |
| 2026-09-16 | Newly listed | 1978 V5-RED | Inquire |
| 2026-09-13 | Off market | 1973 N192JR | $385k |
| 2026-09-13 | Newly listed | 1976 N115AW | $220k |
| 2026-09-13 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $325k → $325k |
| 2026-09-09 | Newly listed | 1976 N115AW | $220k |
| 2026-09-07 | Newly listed | 1980 ZS-FNF | Inquire |
| 2026-09-06 | Off market | 1977 N7560H | Inquire |
| 2026-09-06 | Off market | 1985 ZK-MCR | $325k |
| 2026-09-06 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $324k → $325k |
| 2026-09-06 | Price change | 1976 C-FTLM | $550k → $495k |
| 2026-08-30 | Off market | 1985 | $275k |
| 2026-08-30 | Newly listed | 1982 N185TK | $310k |
| 2026-08-30 | Off market | 1982 N185TK | $310k |
| 2026-08-30 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $327k → $324k |
| 2026-08-23 | Price change | 1979 N4095L | $324k → $327k |
| 2026-08-21 | Newly listed | 1976 C-FTLM | $495k |
Sold aircraft.com sold records · last asking at sale
12sold records
$485kavg last asking
$275k – $900krange
| Month | Sold | Avg asking |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08 | 8 | $572k |
| 2026-09 | 4 | $355k |
| Date | Year | Reg | TTAF | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-27 | 1980 | 3,740 | — | |
| 2026-09-20 | 1973 | N192JR | 7,800 | $385k |
| 2026-09-13 | 1977 | N7560H | 3,814 | — |
| 2026-09-13 | 1985 | ZK-MCR | 6,602 | $325k |
| 2026-08-16 | 1975 | N185HR | 459 | $540k |
| 2026-08-16 | 1978 | 3,109 | — | |
| 2026-08-16 | 1974 | N185 | 8,520 | — |
| 2026-08-16 | 1978 | YV1742 | 7,429 | — |
| 2026-08-16 | 1974 | TF-ORN | 4,504 | $275k |
| 2026-08-16 | 1975 | N3463Y | 3,490 | — |
| 2026-08-10 | 1977 | 1,632 | — | |
| 2026-08-10 | 1978 | N4800Q | 997 | $900k |
Operating costs full cost analysis →
$32,892annual budget · 122 hrs
$133variable cost / hour
$1.02cost per nm
16.5gph fuel burn
fyiEstimate values are market estimates from comparable asking prices (which skew high versus sold prices), not certified appraisals. Fleet and ownership figures from the FAA Releasable Registry; "registry transfers" count new registration certificates issued. Sold records from aircraft.com reflect the last asking price, not the transaction price. Monthly history is reconstructed from when listings first and last appeared.
