Cessna 120 vs Cessna 140

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs for up to 5 aircraft.

Aircraft

Search for an aircraft above to begin your comparison.

Mission Performance

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Values normalised across compared aircraft. Fuel Economy is inverted (lower burn = higher score). See table below for raw figures.

Mission Performance Details

Metric Cessna 120 Cessna Cessna 140 Cessna
Stall Speed 40 kts 39 kts
Approach Speed 61 kts 65 kts
Cruise Speed 94 kts 91 kts
Range 395 nm 390 nm
Service Ceiling 15,500 ft 15,500 ft
Rate of Climb 640 fpm 680 fpm
Fuel Burn 5.0 gph 5.0 gph

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

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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.

Fuel Burn & Range

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

Cessna 120 Avgas
5.0 gph
baseline
395 nm range 25 gal usable 5h 00m endurance 18.8 nm/gal $32 fuel/hr
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.
Cessna 140 Avgas
5.0 gph
−0.0 gph
390 nm range 25 gal usable 5h 00m endurance 18.2 nm/gal $32 fuel/hr
Cessna 140: 5.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 390 nautical mile published range, 5 hour 0 minute endurance, 18.2 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:
Cessna 120Avgas
$73 /hr
Cessna 120: $73 per flight hour — fuel $32, maintenance and reserve $41.
Cessna 140Avgas
$73 /hr
Cessna 140: $73 per flight hour — fuel $32, maintenance and reserve $41.
Cessna 120 Piston
$7,939 /yr
Cessna 120: $7,939 per year — insurance $900, hangar $5,164, annual inspection $1,875.
Cessna 140 Piston
$7,942 /yr
Cessna 140: $7,942 per year — insurance $900, hangar $5,167, 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.

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each
1
Cessna 120
2 / 2 seats 25 / 25 gal fuel 515 lb wet payload 665 lb useful 1,450 lb MTOW
Cessna 140
2 / 2 seats 25 / 25 gal fuel 410 lb wet payload 560 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.

Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Cessna 120
33.3 × 21.5 ft 6.3 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized
Cessna 140
33.3 × 21.5 ft 6.2 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · two fingers to move map

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