Ownership guide
Aviat A-1C-180
226 registered in the US, built from about 2008 to 2025, 2 seats, most with the Lycoming O-360. Its Airworthiness Directives, its engines', and what to check before buying one.
The fleet
- Registered in the US
- 226
- Built
- 2008 to 2025
- Half built by
- 2014
- Seats
- 2
- Engine type
- Piston
- Most common engine
- Lycoming O-360
Engines installed
- Lycoming O-360222 aircraft (98%) · 24 ADs, 3 with a repeat action
From the FAA aircraft registry, rebuilt daily. Years are those recorded on each registration.
Airworthiness Directives
2 current ADs name the A-1C-180 airframe, 1 with a repeat action. Its engines carry 24 more.
The ones that come back
ADs with a repeat action: an inspection or replacement at an interval, for as long as the AD applies. These are the airworthiness costs an owner keeps paying.
What gets reported
1 Service Difficulty Reports since 2016: a mechanic or operator files one when a part fails or is found defective.
Systems reported most
- Emergency Locator Beacon1
Parts reported most
- G switch, intermittent1
The latest reports
2018-12-29 · Emergency Locator Beacon · G switch, intermittent
During annual inspection, performed elt functional test and found g-switch intermittently inoperative. removed elt from service.
From the FAA's Service Difficulty Reporting System, refreshed monthly. Counts of what was reported, not failure rates: most of general aviation reports voluntarily, and a busy training fleet reports more than a private one.
Accident record
21 accidents since 2009, 3 fatal (3 people killed in them, a midair counting both aircraft), 2 aircraft destroyed.
What happened
- Loss of control on ground10
- Loss of control in flight5
- Nose over/nose down2
- Collision during takeoff/land1
- Low altitude operation/event1
- Fuel exhaustion1
Phase of flight
- Landing11
- Approach3
- Takeoff2
- Maneuvering2
- Initial climb1
The latest
| Date | Where | What happened | Injuries | NTSB number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08-03 | South park, IN | Takeoff: Loss of control on ground | None | CEN24LA300 |
| 2023-10-07 | Harrisonburg, VA | Landing: Loss of control on ground | None | ERA24LA005 |
| 2023-05-12 | Elko, NV | Landing: Loss of control on ground | None | WPR23LA190 |
| 2023-05-09 | Lakewood, WA | Approach: Collision during takeoff/land | Serious | WPR23LA186 |
| 2022-12-03 | Morgan, UT | Maneuvering: Low altitude operation/event | None | WPR23LA053 |
| 2022-05-25 | Madison, MN | Landing: Loss of control in flight | None | CEN22LA212 |
From the NTSB's aviation accident database, refreshed monthly; accidents only, homebuilts left out. Counts, not rates: nobody publishes how many hours each model flies, and a training fleet flies far more than a private one. Look up any case by its number in the NTSB's CAROL.
What it costs to run
Per hour flown
Per year, flown or not
- Fuel
- $0/hr
- Engine reserve
- $0/hr
- A year
- $0
- All in, per hour
- $0/hr
Filled in for a Aviat A-1C-180 with the Lycoming O-360: the engine maker's published overhaul time. Everything else is yours to fill in: insurance, hangar and overhaul prices vary too much by pilot, airport and shop for a default to mean anything. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Before you buy one
- Run its N-number through the AD check: every AD that names its airframe and engine, as a checklist to take to the logbooks.
- For each repeat-action AD (1 on the airframe), find the last compliance in the logbooks and when the next one is due.
- Compare the engine's time since overhaul with its maker's published overhaul time, and look for the reason behind any long gap in flying.
- Ask the mechanic doing the pre-buy to look hard at the emergency locator beacon and for intermittent g switchs: they are what gets reported most on this model.
- Check the registration, the airworthiness certificate and the date of the last annual inspection.
- Work out the sales or use tax your state will charge with the aircraft tax calculator.
The rest of the A-1C family
Questions
- How many Aviat A-1C-180s are registered in the US?
- 226, in the FAA aircraft registry.
- When was the Aviat A-1C-180 built?
- From about 2008 to 2025. Half of those registered today were built by 2014.
- What engine does the Aviat A-1C-180 have?
- Most have the Lycoming O-360 (98% of those registered).
- What are common problems with the Aviat A-1C-180?
- In 1 Service Difficulty Reports filed with the FAA since 2016, the systems reported most were emergency locator beacon, and the part most often reported was a intermittent g switch.
- How many accidents has the Aviat A-1C-180 had?
- 21 in the NTSB's database since 2009, 3 of them fatal. The most common defining event was loss of control on ground. These are counts, not rates: how many hours the fleet flew is not published.
- How many Airworthiness Directives does the Aviat A-1C-180 have?
- 2 current ADs name the A-1C-180 airframe, 1 of them with a repeat action, and 24 more name its engines. Whether each applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number and installed equipment.
Figures from the FAA aircraft registry and the FAA's Airworthiness Directives, rebuilt daily. An AD listed for a model is one to read; whether it applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number, equipment and records.