Aircraft model
PIPER PA-24-250
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Comanche 250, built from 1958 and for its era a genuinely fast, efficient four-seat retractable — 160 knots on around 13 gallons an hour, with a laminar-flow wing and a clean airframe. Piper stopped building Comanches in 1972 after a flood destroyed the production line, which is why the type is a fixed and shrinking population. Owners who have them tend to keep them.
It remains excellent value for the performance: nothing else at this price cruises at 160 knots with four seats. The costs are in the ownership. Parts are the problem — Piper no longer supports much of the type, several components are made only by specialist suppliers or under owner-association arrangements, and a damaged item can ground an aircraft for months. The landing gear system is robust but needs a knowledgeable mechanic, and there are airworthiness directives on the stabilator control system and the fuel system that must be verified. Insurance requires a complex and high-performance endorsement and meaningful retractable time. Buy one with an active owners' association history and a mechanic who knows the type, or do not buy one.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-24-250 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-24-250
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-540-A1A5 |
| Horsepower | 250 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1958 |
| Production end | 1964 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 160 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 750 nm |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,350 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 | 1,210 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 850 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,900 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,690 lb |
| Usable fuel | 60 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 14 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $55,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $155,000 |
| 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 | 2,335 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 1,222 |
| Median year built | 1960.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 65 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 15 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 53.191 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 45.832 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 209 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 17.13 |
| Airworthiness directives | 8 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 1,222 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 1,222 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 1,222 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 2.4 of 102 |
| Access | 5.5 of 103 |
| Support | 9.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 22.6 out of 506 |
These record scores treat PIPER PA-24-250 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 1 aircraft registered under KARL N CLIFFORD. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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.