Cessna 320 Skyknight

This page describes the Cessna 320 Skyknight, specifically the final and highest-powered 320F "Executive Skyknight" (1966–1968). It was split out of the former cessna-310-320 page on 2026-09-09: that page's frontmatter described only the 310 (its own type certificate is 3A10, which lists 23 "310-something" models and not one "320"). The 320 sits instead on FAA TCDS 3A25, the same document that governs the pressurized Cessna 340A — a certificate grouping that has nothing to do with the 320's marketing-driven pairing with the 310.

The 320 is the turbocharged derivative of the 310F/310G airframe, produced 1962–1968 alongside the 310 it visually resembles. Early 320/320A-C variants used the Continental TSIO-470-B at 260 hp per side; from the 320D onward Cessna moved to the TSIO-520-B/-BB at 285 hp per side, culminating in the 320F "Executive Skyknight" this page describes. Cessna effectively replaced the standalone 320 line with turbocharged 310 variants (T310P onward) starting in 1969, and total 320-series production across all variants was approximately 577 aircraft — a genuinely rare airplane today.

Why a new page rather than a row on the 310's Variants table. The splitting rule's Step 1 test — different type certificate — settles this without judgment. It is reinforced rather than contradicted by the airplanes' similarities: both share the 310 airframe pedigree, but the FAA has always treated the Skyknight's turbocharging and structural changes as a distinct type design requiring its own certificate, sharing that document instead with the 340.

For the unpressurized conventional-twin 310 this airplane is most often cross-shopped against, see Cessna 310. For the pressurized twin sharing this exact certificate, see Cessna 340A.

No handbook was obtained for the 320F. A 2026-09-11 pass could not find one either — see the confidence note. What IS now sourced comes from two press sources instead of a POH, and the cruise/burn figures are a deliberate, flagged cross-variant borrow — read this section before trusting the numbers at face value.

Cruise speed and fuel burn (190 KTAS at 15,000 ft, 60% power, 28 gph combined) are a 320E owner's real-world report, not a 320F owner's, from Cessna Flyer magazine (April 2014). No 320F-specific pilot report was found. This is used anyway because FAA TCDS 3A25 Sections VII (320E) and VIII (320F) are identical on every performance-determining certificated figure — same engine (TSIO-520-B/-BB), same engine limits and manifold-pressure schedule, same 5,300 lb gross weight, same fuel capacity ladder — and this article's own history describes the 320F as only "minor changes" from the 320E. The owner's report actually gives three rows at 60% power — 180 kt at 10,000 ft, 190 kt at 15,000 ft, 200 kt at 20,000 ft, all at a constant 28 gph combined — and the middle row is stored as the page's headline figure. See raw/press/press-cessna320f-cessnaflyer-apr2014-2026-09-11.md for the full reasoning. Flagged in the confidence note as one of this page's weakest figures precisely because it is a cross-variant borrow, even a well-justified one.

Empty weight (3,273 lb), initial climb (1,924 fpm), service ceiling (29,000 ft) and both 50-ft runway distances (1,190 ft takeoff, 1,513 ft landing) ARE 320F-specific, from manufacturer spec blocks independently republished by Cessna Flyer and Plane & Pilot (identical figures in both — treated as one lineage, not two independent sources). service_ceiling_ft replaces the previous session's 20,000 ft engine-critical-altitude placeholder with this sourced figure. Neither source states a power setting for its own "Cruise mph 256" or "Range 845 mi" figures, so those two are NOT stored — pairing them with the 320E owner's power-labeled 60% row would mismatch two different flights, exactly what rule 3 forbids. Both sources' single "Stall speed: 78 mph" figure is also not stored, since it is not labeled clean vs. landing-configuration and MOSAIC eligibility turns specifically on vs1.

What the certificate itself establishes: the TSIO-520-B/-BB is flat-rated to 285 hp per engine (570 combined) with a stated critical altitude of 16,000 ft, meaning full rated power is available to that altitude before manifold pressure begins to taper on the published schedule. That is the airplane's whole performance argument over the normally-aspirated 310 of the same era — full power well into the teens where a carbureted or normally-aspirated engine has already lost a third of its output.

V-speeds are CAS-stated on this certificate (runbook rule 24) — Vne 224, Vno (max structural cruising) 183, Va (maneuvering) 148, Vfe 139, all in knots, all with no stated IAS-equivalence finding for this specific certificate the way the 172 family enjoys under 3A12 NOTE 4. Store as published; do not convert.

Fuel is a factory ladder, not one number, exactly as on the 310R and 340A: 102 gal standard (2 tip tanks), 143 gal with one factory-optional auxiliary tank pair, 183 gal with auxiliary tanks and wing locker transfer tanks added — all listed directly on this certificate, none of them an STC.

See Business Travel, Cross-Country Flying.

Cross-Country (8/10) and Business Travel (7/10): provisional scores carried from the airplane's general class (turbocharged cabin-class light twin, similar mission profile to the T310R and 340) pending a proper performance-based scoring pass once cruise/range/burn are sourced. Treat these as directional, not measured.

Flight Training (2/10), Backcountry (1/10), Aerobatics (1/10): low scores consistent with any retractable-gear, low-wing turbocharged twin of this class — not specific to a sourced figure.

See Maintenance Ecosystem. parts_availability: "fair" and mechanic_familiarity: "specialist" reflect the airplane's rarity (roughly 577 built across all 320 variants, a small fraction of the 310's ~5,700) relative to shared-airframe parts support through the 310 aftermarket ecosystem — a judgment call (Tier 5), not a cited figure.

See Aircraft Valuation Methodology. This page's price is MARKET ASKING data, not a Vref or Aircraft Bluebook figure — this catalogue has no subscription to either guide, and rule 27 of the research runbook allows market asking as a fallback only when it is labeled as exactly that. It is, here, plainly: $69,500 is a single asking price, not an observed sale, and not even a same-variant one.

A survey of Controller.com, Trade-A-Plane, AeroTrader, AeroGurus and Barnstormers on 2026-09-11 found exactly one Cessna 320 of any variant for sale anywhere: a 1964 320B — the earlier, 260 hp TSIO-470-C airframe, out of annual with an open 5-year prop AD — asking $69,500 in Cornish, Maine. No 320D, 320E or 320F (the variant this page describes) was found for sale on any channel checked. The full survey, with the raw listing text, is saved at raw/market/market-cessna320-barnstormers-2026-09-11.md.

This is used here as a floor, not a same-variant comparable. The 320F is the last, most powerful (285 hp TSIO-520-B/-BB) and scarcest sub-variant, and should be expected to command a premium over a 260 hp 320B in worse condition — so treat $69,500 as a conservative low anchor for the family rather than a typical 320F asking price. price_min_usd, price_max_usd and price_typical_usd are all stored at $69,500 because that is the one data point available, not because the market is that narrow; a genuine band needs either a Vref/Bluebook lookup or a second live 320F listing to compare against. Flagged as one of the least-confident figures on this page.

The 320 shares its airframe lineage, gear system, and most airframe ADs with the contemporary 310 (see Cessna 310's ADs & Common Problems section for the shared items: landing gear rigging on the push-pull tube system, fuel bladder aging, exhaust corrosion on pre-310I-style overwing exhaust runs on the earliest 320/320A models, and wing spar corrosion inspection). Turbocharger-specific items (TSIO-470/TSIO-520 induction and wastegate wear, CHT management on a flat-rated engine) apply in addition and are not yet researched for this specific page.

See GA Insurance Underwriting. Provisionally categorized complex_twin_turbocharged, the same category as the T303 and T310R — a reasonable class placement given the airframe (retractable, turbocharged piston twin, similar era and weight to the 310) but not yet backed by a rate quote or published guidance specific to this rare type.