Aircraft model
PIPER PA-22
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The original Tri-Pacer, from the start of the run in the early 1950s with the 125 hp Lycoming. Piper took the tailwheel Pacer, bolted a nosewheel on the front and sold enormous numbers to people who wanted four seats for less than a Cessna cost. It is short, tall and slightly odd-looking, and with only 125 hp it is the slowest and least capable of the family.
The overriding question on any Tri-Pacer is the fabric. The airframe is steel tube covered in fabric and a recover job costs more than most of these aeroplanes are worth, so establish the covering's age, type and condition before anything else, and inspect the tube structure underneath for corrosion at the same time. The aeroplane itself is quirky: many have interconnected aileron and rudder controls, it sits high and feels tippy on the ground, and the short wing means a steep descent with the power off. With 125 hp and four people aboard it is genuinely underpowered. Many have been converted back to tailwheel configuration, which changes the endorsement requirement and usually the price.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-22 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-22
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-290-D |
| Horsepower | 125 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1951 |
| Production end | 1953 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 100 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 420 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 620 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 43 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,600 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,280 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 820 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 604 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 980 lb |
| Usable fuel | 36 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 7 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $30,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $65,000 |
| 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 | 1,142 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 277 |
| Median year built | 1953.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 11 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 39.711 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 39.712 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 45 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16.253 |
| 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 277 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 277 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 277 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 3.3 of 101 |
| Severity | 8.4 of 102 |
| Access | 7 of 103 |
| Support | 6.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.1 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 27.3 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.