Aircraft model
PIPER PA-24
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Comanche 180, the entry-level version of Piper's clean laminar-flow retractable. With only 180 hp it cruises at about 143 knots on nine to ten gallons an hour and carries 60 gallons, giving it roughly 900 nautical miles of range. That is remarkable efficiency for a 1960 four-seater and it remains one of the cheapest ways to travel a long way quickly.
The reason it is cheap is parts. Piper ended Comanche production in 1972 after a flood destroyed the tooling and has supported the type minimally since; several components come only from specialist suppliers or through the owners' association, and a damaged item can ground an aeroplane for months. There are airworthiness directives on the stabilator control system and the fuel system that must be verified. The 180 hp version is also the least powerful, so it is the slowest to climb and the most affected by density altitude. Buy one with an active type-club connection and a mechanic who knows it, or do not buy one at all.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-24 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-24
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360-A1A |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1958 |
| Production end | 1964 |
| Endorsements required | complex |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 143 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 900 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 910 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 53 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,650 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,400 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,075 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 715 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,550 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,475 lb |
| Usable fuel | 60 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $55,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $160,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $32,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $46,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 690 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 346 |
| Median year built | 1960.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 16 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 46.241 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 40.462 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 70 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 20.233 |
| Airworthiness directives | 7 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 346 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 346 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 346 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 3.2 of 101 |
| Severity | 6.3 of 102 |
| Access | 8.3 of 103 |
| Support | 6.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 5.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 30.3 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.