Aircraft model
PIPER PA-20
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Pacer, built 1950-1954: the tailwheel four-seater that the Tri-Pacer was derived from. It is a short-coupled, fabric-covered high-wing aeroplane with a steel tube structure, and with 125 or 135 hp it cruises at a genuinely useful 108 knots. Pilots who like taildraggers generally prefer it to the nosewheel Tri-Pacer, and it sells for more as a result.
It carries four people only in the sense that four seats are fitted; in practice it is two adults and baggage, or two adults and two children with limited fuel. The fabric is the recurring cost and a recover will exceed the value of many examples, so establish its age and inspect the tubing underneath for corrosion. As a taildragger it has a relatively narrow track and a short wing, which makes it lively on the ground and steep on a power-off approach, so a tailwheel endorsement and genuine currency are needed. Many Tri-Pacers have been converted to Pacer configuration; a factory-built Pacer generally commands a premium over a conversion.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-20 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-20
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-290-D |
| Horsepower | 125 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1950 |
| Production end | 1954 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 108 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 480 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 620 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 43 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 830 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 614 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 970 lb |
| Usable fuel | 36 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 7 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $39,500 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $116,000 |
| 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 | 792 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 276 |
| Median year built | 1950.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 17 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 61.591 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 50.722 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 46 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16.673 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 276 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 276 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 276 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 1.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 6.3 of 102 |
| Access | 8 of 103 |
| Support | 6.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 25.1 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 28.36 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 11.65.
- Access: class median 767.75.
- Support: class median 141.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.57.
- 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.