Aircraft model
PIPER PA-23-235
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Apache 235: the last and by far the best of the Apaches, with two 235 hp Lycoming O-540s, swept tail surfaces borrowed from the Aztec and a 4,800 lb maximum weight. 119 were built between 1962 and 1964. With 470 horsepower instead of 300 it finally has the single-engine performance the earlier Apaches were criticised for lacking, and it cruises about eighteen knots faster.
Ownership is dominated by having two of everything. The Lycoming engines themselves are simple and well supported; the accessories, the gear system and the sixty-year-old wiring are where the money goes. Corrosion in the wing spar and the nacelle structure is the structural item to inspect. Insurance for a low-time multi-engine pilot is the other real cost and is worth quoting before buying. On a 235 the engines are O-540s rather than O-320s, so the overhaul number roughly doubles against an early Apache -- which is the reason the purchase price gap is smaller than the capability gap.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-23-235 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-23-235
What it is
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-540-B1A5 |
| Horsepower | 235 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1962 |
| Production end | 1964 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 166 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 710 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,200 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,450 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 54 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,280 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,360 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 5 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,065 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,201 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 4,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 2,735 lb |
| Usable fuel | 144 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 26.3 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $70,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $125,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $45,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $64,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 97 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 25 |
| Median year built | 1963.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 0 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 4 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 8 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 25 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 25 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 25 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 1.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.2 of 105 |
- 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.