Cessna 401 vs Cessna 402

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 401 Cessna Cessna 402 Cessna
Stall Speed 64 kts 68 kts
Approach Speed 83 kts 93 kts
Cruise Speed 179 kts 213 kts
Range — 875 nm
Service Ceiling 26,900 ft 26,900 ft
Rate of Climb — 1,450 fpm
Fuel Burn 32.0 gph 46.0 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 401 Avgas
32.0 gph
baseline

Range not published.

206 gal usable 6h 26m endurance 5.6 nm/gal $208 fuel/hr
Cessna 401: 32.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 6 hour 26 minute endurance, 5.6 nautical miles per gallon.
Cessna 402 Avgas
46.0 gph
+14.0 gph
875 nm range 213 gal usable 4h 37m endurance 4.6 nm/gal $299 fuel/hr
Cessna 402: 46.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 875 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 37 minute endurance, 4.6 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 401Avgas
$450 /hr
Cessna 401: $450 per flight hour — fuel $208, maintenance and reserve $242.
Cessna 402Avgas
$531 /hr
Cessna 402: $531 per flight hour — fuel $299, maintenance and reserve $232.
Cessna 401 Piston
$12,597 /yr
Cessna 401: $12,597 per year — insurance withheld, hangar $10,097, annual inspection $2,500.
Cessna 402 Piston
$12,579 /yr
Cessna 402: $12,579 per year — insurance withheld, hangar $10,079, annual inspection $2,500.

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.

190 + 30 lb Occupants
×
1
Cessna 401
8 seats 206 gal fuel — lb useful 6,850 lb MTOW
Cessna 402
10 / 10 seats 213 / 213 gal fuel 1,495 lb wet payload 2,773 lb useful 6,850 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 401
44.2 × 36.4 ft 11.4 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Unpressurized
Cessna 402
44.1 × 36.4 ft 11.5 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · two fingers to move map

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