Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016
Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]
The Company and Basis of Presentation	(a) The Company and Basis of Presentation AeroCentury Corp., a Delaware corporation incorporated in 1997, typically acquires used regional aircraft and engines for lease to foreign and domestic regional carriers. In August 2016, AeroCentury Corp. formed two wholly-owned subsidiaries, ACY 19002 Limited ("ACY 19002") and ACY 19003 Limited ("ACY 19003") for the purpose of acquiring aircraft using a combination of cash and financing separate from the parent's credit facility. Financial information for AeroCentury Corp., ACY 19002 and ACY 19003 (collectively, the "Company") is presented on a consolidated basis in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") for interim financial information, the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. For further information, refer to the financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.
Use of Estimates	(b) Use of Estimates The Company's financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable for making judgments that are not readily apparent from other sources. The most significant estimates with regard to these financial statements are the residual values and useful lives of the assets, the amount and timing of cash flows associated with each asset that are used to evaluate whether assets are impaired, accrued maintenance costs, accounting for income taxes, and the amounts recorded as allowances for doubtful accounts.
Fair Value Measurements	(c) Fair Value Measurements Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs, to the extent possible. The fair value hierarchy under GAAP is based on three levels of inputs. Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 - Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 - Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Assets and Liabilities Measured and Recorded at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis The carrying amount of the Company's money market funds included in cash and cash equivalents was $1,547,900 and $1,946,600 at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. The fair value of the Company's money market funds would be categorized as Level 1 under the GAAP fair value hierarchy. As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, there were no liabilities that were required to be measured and recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. Assets Measured and Recorded at Fair Value on a Nonrecurring Basis The Company determines fair value of long-lived assets held and used, such as aircraft and aircraft engines held for lease and assets held for sale, by reference to independent appraisals, quoted market prices (e.g., offers to purchase) and other factors. An impairment charge is recorded when the Company believes that the carrying value of an asset will not be recovered through future net cash flows and that the asset's carrying value exceeds its fair value. Assets held for lease The Company recorded no impairment charges on its aircraft held for lease in the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $147,500 on its aircraft held for lease during the nine months ended September 2015. Assets held for sale The Company recorded no impairment charges on its assets held for sale during the three months ended September 30, 2016 or 2015. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recorded $321,200 of impairment charges on three aircraft held for sale prior to their sale. Fair Value of Other Financial Instruments The Company's financial instruments, other than cash and cash equivalents, consist principally of finance leases receivable, amounts borrowed under its credit facility (the "Credit Facility") and notes payable under special purpose financing. The fair value of accounts receivable, finance leases receivable, accounts payable and the Company's maintenance reserves and accrued maintenance costs approximates the carrying value of these financial instruments. Borrowings under the Company's Credit Facility bear floating rates of interest that reset periodically to a market benchmark rate plus a credit margin. The Company believes the effective interest rate under the Credit Facility approximates current market rates for such indebtedness at the balance sheet date, and therefore that the outstanding principal and accrued interest of $110,180,000 and $110,435,600 at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, approximate their fair values on such dates. The fair value of the Company's outstanding balance of its Credit Facility would be categorized as Level 3 under the GAAP fair value hierarchy. The amounts payable under the Company's special purpose financing are payable through the fourth quarter of 2020 and bear a fixed rate of interest, as described in Note 4(b) to the financial statements. The outstanding balance of such financing approximates the fair value of such notes at September 30, 2016. Such fair value would be categorized as Level 3 under the GAAP fair value hierarchy.
Finance Leases	(d) Finance Leases The Company currently has five aircraft finance leases that contain lessee purchase options at prices substantially below the assets' estimated residual values at the exercise date for the options. Consequently, the Company considers the purchase options to be bargain purchase options and has classified the leases as sales-type finance leases for financial accounting purposes. The Company reports the discounted present value of (i) future minimum lease payments (including the bargain purchase option) and (ii) any residual value not subject to a bargain purchase option as a finance lease receivable on its balance sheet and accrues interest on the balance of the finance lease receivable based on the interest rate inherent in the applicable lease over the term of the lease. For sales-type finance leases, the Company recognizes as a gain or loss the amount equal to (i) the net book value of the aircraft less (ii) the net investment in sales-type finance leases plus any initial direct costs and lease incentives. The Company recognized interest earned on finance leases in the amount of $199,800 and $184,000 in the quarters ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $571,900 and $275,400 in the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	(e) Recent Accounting Pronouncements In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, "Presentation of Financial Statements - Going Concern," which added Subtopic 205-40 to the ASC ("Subtopic 205-40"). Subtopic 205-40 requires management to determine whether substantial doubt exists concerning the reporting entity's ability to continue as a going concern, in which case certain disclosures will be required. Subtopic 205-40 affects financial statement presentation but not methods of accounting, and is effective on a prospective basis for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016 and each reporting period thereafter, although early adoption is permitted. The Company has not early adopted Subtopic 205-40 and is evaluating the impact the adoption of this standard will have on its financial statements. In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments -- Credit Losses (Topic 326) ("ASU 2016-13"), which will modify accounting for credit losses on most financial assets measured at amortized cost, including net investment in leases. Unlike current accounting, which delays credit loss recognition until a probable loss is incurred, the new model will use a current expected credit loss ("CECL") model that will estimate future credit losses over the entire term of the financial instrument. As such, it is generally expected that adoption of the CECL model will result in earlier recognition of credit losses than current GAAP. The Company will be required to adopt ASU 2016-13 for its yearly and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019, although adoption in the preceding year and periods is permitted. The Company has not yet estimated the impact of adoption of this standard on its financial statements. In August 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) ("ASU 2016-15"), which is intended to reduce diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-15 addresses how the following cash transactions are presented: (1) debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; (2) settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments; (3) contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; (4) proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; (5) proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, including bank-owned life insurance policies; (6) distributions received from equity method investments; and (7) beneficial interests in securitization transactions. It also addresses how to present cash flows with aspects of multiple classifications. ASU 2016-15 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, provided that all of the amendments are adopted in the same period. The Company has not yet estimated the impact of adoption of this standard on its financial statements.

Disclosure of accounting policy for leasing arrangements (both lessor and lessee). This disclosure may address (1) lease classification (that is, operating versus capital), (2) how the term of a lease is determined (for example, the circumstances in which a renewal option is considered part of the lease term), (3) how rental revenue or expense is recognized for a lease that contains rent escalations, (4) an entity's accounting treatment for deferred rent, including that which arises from lease incentives, rent abatements, rent holidays, or tenant allowances (5) an entity's accounting treatment for contingent rental payments and (6) an entity's policy for reviewing, at least annually, the residual values of sales-type and direct-finance leases. The disclosure also may indicate how the entity accounts for its capital leases, leveraged leases or sale-leaseback transactions.