Aircraft model
PIPER PA-23-160
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Apache 160, with ten more horsepower a side and a swept fin in place of the original rounded one. It carries four or five people at 155 knots and remains the cheapest entry into multi-engine flying, which is most of why it is bought — for building multi-engine time rather than for travelling.
The extra power improves single-engine performance from very poor to merely marginal, and that remains the central fact about the type. Light twins are statistically more dangerous than singles in the hands of pilots who do not stay current, and an Apache is the least forgiving illustration of that. The compensations are genuine: two small Lycomings are cheap to overhaul, the airframe is simple, and the aeroplane is docile with both engines running. Fabric-covered control surfaces need periodic attention.
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Put PIPER PA-23-160 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-23-160
What it is
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-B |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1958 |
| Production end | 1962 |
| Endorsements required | complex;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 155 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 700 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,350 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 58 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,600 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,600 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,480 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,048 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 3,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 2,320 lb |
| Usable fuel | 72 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 17.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $110,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $28,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $40,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 747 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 188 |
| Median year built | 1959.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 21.281 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 15.962 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 33 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 17.553 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 188 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 188 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 188 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 6.7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 7.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 1.6 of 103 |
| Support | 8.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.1 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 27.8 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 28.74 · 56 models in class.
- Severity: class median 33.33.
- Access: class median 2,812.25.
- Support: class median 57.
- Liquidity: class median 21.91.
- 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.