Aircraft model
PIPER PA-18A-135
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The PA-18A-135 is the agricultural version of the 135 hp Super Cub: certified in the restricted category with provision for a chemical hopper and spray gear. Piper sold them to crop dusters, and many have since had the agricultural equipment removed and been returned to normal-category operation.
That conversion history is what to investigate. An aircraft that spent years spraying at low level has both chemical corrosion exposure and a very high number of takeoff and landing cycles, and the paperwork returning it to standard category must be complete and correct. Beyond that it is a Super Cub: fabric is the recurring cost, it carries two people and little else, it cruises at 95 knots, and it is a taildragger with a big wing that demands currency and wind awareness.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-18A-135 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-18A-135
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-290-D2 |
| Horsepower | 135 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1954 |
| Production end | 1956 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 95 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 400 nm |
| Service ceiling | 16,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 900 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 37 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 600 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 384 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 900 lb |
| Usable fuel | 36 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 7.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $70,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $190,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $26,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $36,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 176 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 52 |
| Median year built | 1953.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 19.23 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 19.23 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 8 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 15.38 · 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 52 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 52 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 5.1 of 103 |
| Support | 3.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.7 of 105 |
These record scores treat PIPER PA-18A-135 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes the record of aircraft once registered as PIPER PA-18A-135RESTRICTED. Prices are not combined.
- 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.