Aircraft model
PIPER PA-18 105
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Super Cub 105, one of the lower-powered members of the PA-18 family. It is the same fabric-over-steel-tube tandem two-seater with the big wing and big flaps, but with a 105 hp Lycoming rather than the 150 hp engine that made the type famous.
With 105 hp it does not do what a 150 hp Super Cub does: climb is adequate rather than spectacular and the useful load disappears quickly with two adults aboard. It is also slow, at 90 knots. Prices are nonetheless high because demand for any Super Cub is high. 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. Fabric age is the other dominant cost.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-18 105 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-18 105
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-235-C1 |
| Horsepower | 105 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1950 |
| Production end | 1954 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 90 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 350 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 700 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 | 5.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $99,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $225,000 |
| 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 | 102 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 56 |
| Median year built | 1953.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 53.57 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 53.57 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 14 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 25 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 56 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 56 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 56 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 2.7 of 103 |
| Support | 3.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.1 of 105 |
- 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.