Aircraft model
PIPER PA-25-260
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The PA-25-260 is the 260 hp Pawnee, approved in April 1967 as a distinct model on type certificate 2A8 with the Lycoming O-540-G1A5 in place of the 235 hp O-540-B. Maximum weight stays at 2,900 lb and the hopper is still placarded at 1,200 lb, so the extra twenty-five horsepower goes entirely into climb and into getting out of short strips with a full load on a hot day -- which is the whole of the job. It arrived with the Pawnee C and shared the one later airframe change: from 1974 the Pawnee D moved the fuel from the fuselage tank ahead of the pilot into wing tanks, which is the modification a buyer should want for the crash-safety reason it was made. A 1967 to 1973 aircraft is a C with the fuselage tank; a 1974 or later one is a D.
Buying one means reading the airframe rather than the logbook. Chemical corrosion in the fuselage tubes behind the hopper is the classic killer, the wing spar and attach fittings have spent thousands of hours being pulled round at low level, and the hopper and its plumbing are either serviceable or a large bill. Prices are set by the tug market at the low end and by working operators at the high end. A tailwheel endorsement is a legal minimum and no substitute for a season of training.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-25-260 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-25-260
What it is
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-540-G1A5 |
| Horsepower | 260 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1967 |
| Production end | 1982 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 101 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 230 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,800 ft |
| Climb rate | 775 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 53 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,200 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,105 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,412 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,184 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,900 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,488 lb |
| Usable fuel | 38 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 14.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $40,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $110,000 |
| 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 | 383 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 47 |
| Median year built | 1968.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 42.55 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 6 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 12.77 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 4 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 47 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 47 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 47 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 9.7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 5.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 7.4 of 103 |
| Support | 3.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 27.3 out of 506 |
These record scores treat PIPER PA-25-260 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 1 aircraft registered under LAVIA ARGENTINA SA (LAVIASA). Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- 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.