Aircraft model
PIPER PA-18S-105 SPECIAL
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The PA-18S-105 SPECIAL is the float model of the PA-18-105 SPECIAL on type certificate 1A2 -- a separate certificated model with its own maximum weight, not a landplane with floats bolted on. A Super Cub on floats is the aeroplane that opens up country nothing else can reach, and it gives up roughly a tenth of its cruise and a seventh of its climb to do it.
A Super Cub is the most useful small aeroplane ever certificated and the market has known it for decades: prices are set by the bush and float trade, not by the four-seat market, and they do not fall. Ownership is fabric-and-tube ownership -- the recover is the big periodic bill and corrosion under the fabric is what ends airframes -- plus whatever the operating environment adds. Tailwheel time is required and insurers will want a great deal of it. Add the float trade's own concerns on top: float condition and leaks, corrosion at every fitting, and a salt-water history that is worth a great deal of inspection. Values for float-capable Super Cubs are the highest in the light aircraft market and have been for years.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-18S-105 SPECIAL side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-18S-105 SPECIAL
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 | 1994 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 79 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 315 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,800 ft |
| Climb rate | 595 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 37 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 534 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 426 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,474 lb |
| Empty weight | 940 lb |
| Usable fuel | 18 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $80,000 |
|---|---|
| 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 | 1 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 0 |
| Median year built | — |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 0.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- 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.