Aircraft model
PIPER PA-14
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Family Cruiser is a four-seat development of the PA-12 Super Cruiser, with a widened cabin, four seats and 115 hp. Piper built it for two years as a genuine family aeroplane at a time when most of its range carried two people. It is rare — roughly 240 were made — and sought after by people who want a four-seat fabric taildragger.
Four seats is optimistic with 115 hp: two adults and two children, or two adults and fuel and camping gear, is the realistic load, and climb on a warm day with four aboard is poor. What it offers is a big cabin, 38 gallons of fuel for long endurance, and Super Cub-like short-field ability. Most surviving aircraft have engine upgrades to 150 or 160 hp, which transform it and are worth seeking. Fabric age is the dominant cost question.
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Put PIPER PA-14 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-14
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-235-C1 |
| Horsepower | 115 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1948 |
| Production end | 1949 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 95 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 500 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 600 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 40 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 900 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 672 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,850 lb |
| Empty weight | 950 lb |
| Usable fuel | 38 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 6.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $75,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $150,000 |
| 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 | 207 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 100 |
| Median year built | 1948.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 9 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 901 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 802 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 13 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 133 |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 100 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 100 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 100 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 1.8 of 103 |
| Support | 4.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 14.6 out of 506 |
These record scores treat PIPER PA-14 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes the record of aircraft once registered under LUCKEY MICHAEL L. Prices are not combined.
- 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.