Aircraft model
PIPER PA-11S
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The PA-11S is the float-equipped model of the PA-11 -- a separate model on the type certificate rather than a modification, with its own maximum weight and its own limitations. On floats a Cub-family aeroplane becomes a genuinely different machine: it will get into and out of water almost nobody else can use, and it gives up speed, climb and payload to do it.
A floatplane costs more to own than the same airframe on wheels and always has. The floats themselves need inspection and repair, water corrosion attacks the airframe and the fittings, and an aircraft that has lived on salt water is a different proposition from one that has lived on a lake. Against that, the market for float-capable light aircraft is small and permanently short of supply, so values hold up. A seaplane rating is required and the flying is a genuinely separate skill.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-11S side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-11S
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental C-90-8F |
| Horsepower | 90 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1949 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 66 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 270 nm |
| Service ceiling | 12,880 ft |
| Climb rate | 437 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 34 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 400 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 292 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,300 lb |
| Empty weight | 900 lb |
| Usable fuel | 18 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $55,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $110,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $23,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $33,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 11 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 4 |
| Median year built | 1948.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 1.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.