Aircraft model
PIPER PA-18
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The base PA-18, sold as the Super Cub 95 with a 90 hp Continental. It is the first rung of the Super Cub ladder: the same fabric-over-steel-tube tandem two-seater with the big wing and the big flaps, but with modest power. It was bought new for flight training, glider towing and cheap utility work, and it is bought today for short-field flying and for the pleasure of it.
With 90 hp it does not do what a 150 hp Super Cub does. Climb is adequate rather than spectacular, the useful load is small once two adults are aboard, and 18 gallons gives limited endurance. It is also slow at 85 knots, so it is not transport. The fabric is the recurring cost and its age should be the first question. Almost no PA-18 remains in original configuration — engine upgrades to 125, 135, 150 or 160 hp are extremely common and transform the aeroplane, so establish exactly what a candidate has and that the paperwork supports it. Prices are high because demand for any Super Cub is high.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-18 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-18
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 | 1949 |
| Production end | 1961 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 85 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 300 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,750 ft |
| Climb rate | 660 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 37 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 700 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 592 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 800 lb |
| Usable fuel | 18 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $65,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $200,000 |
| 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 | 1,205 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 478 |
| Median year built | 1953.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 26 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 54.391 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 43.932 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 83 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 17.363 |
| Airworthiness directives | 9 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 478 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 478 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 478 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.6 of 101 |
| Severity | 5.1 of 102 |
| Access | 4.2 of 103 |
| Support | 9.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 24.7 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- 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.