Aeronca 11 Chief vs Cessna 120

Side-by-side specs, range, and operating costs.

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Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Aeronca 11 Chief
36.0 × 20.8 ft 6.8 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized
Cessna 120
33.3 × 21.5 ft 6.3 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Mission Performance

Stall, approach, cruise, range, ceiling and climb: best values are at the top.

Mission performance specifications
Specification Aeronca 11 ChiefCessna 120
Stall speed 33 kt40 kt
Approach speed 49 kt61 kt
Cruise speed 72 kt94 kt
Range 180 nm395 nm
Service ceiling 11000 ft15500 ft
Rate of climb 360 fpm640 fpm
Fuel burn 4.5 gph5.0 gph

Each axis is scaled independently across the compared aircraft and printed in its own units; every vertex sits at the published figure. Higher is better on all axes: Stall, Approach and Fuel Burn are inverted (lower = higher). A missing figure breaks the line at that axis.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Aeronca 11 Chief Avgas
4.5 gph
Baseline
180 nm range 16.0 nm/gal 15 gal usable $29 fuel/hr 3h 20m endurance
Aeronca 11 Chief: 4.5 gallons per hour at cruise, 180 nautical mile published range, 3 hour 20 minute endurance, 16.0 nautical miles per gallon.
Cessna 120 Avgas
5.0 gph
Baseline
395 nm range 18.8 nm/gal 25 gal usable $32 fuel/hr 5h 00m endurance
Cessna 120: 5.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 395 nautical mile published range, 5 hour 0 minute endurance, 18.8 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
Aeronca 11 Chief Avgas
$66 /hr
Baseline
Aeronca 11 Chief: $66 per flight hour — fuel $29, maintenance and reserve $37.
Cessna 120 Avgas
$73 /hr
Baseline
Cessna 120: $73 per flight hour — fuel $32, maintenance and reserve $41.
Aeronca 11 Chief Piston
$3,304 /yr Baseline
Aeronca 11 Chief: $3,304 per year — insurance $568, hangar $840, annual inspection $1,896.
Cessna 120 Piston
$7,939 /yr Baseline
Cessna 120: $7,939 per year — insurance $900, hangar $5,164, annual inspection $1,875.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

lb

+ lb / pax

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1
Aeronca 11 Chief
2 / 2 seats 15 / 15 gal fuel 440 lb wet payload 530 lb useful 1,250 lb MTOW
Cessna 120
2 / 2 seats 25 / 25 gal fuel 515 lb wet payload 665 lb useful 1,450 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Payload-Range Map

Origin: · two fingers to move map

lb

+ lb / pax

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1

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