Aircraft model
PIPER PA-12S
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The PA-12S is the float-equipped model of the PA-12 -- 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.
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Put PIPER PA-12S side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-12S
What it is
| Seats | 3 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-235-C |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1949 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 79 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 540 nm |
| Service ceiling | 11,040 ft |
| Climb rate | 510 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 38 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 3 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 738 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 510 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,838 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,100 lb |
| Usable fuel | 38 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $65,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $200,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,400 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $24,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $34,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 16 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 5 |
| Median year built | 1946.5 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 0.6 of 103 |
| Support | 0.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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.