Aircraft model
PIPER PA-28
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The bare PA-28 designation, which the registry records with two seats — most likely a Cherokee 140 delivered in the two-place configuration that Piper offered for training, before the optional rear bench was fitted. It is a low-wing, constant-chord-wing four-seat airframe used as a two-seater.
The low wing is the main difference in character from a Cessna: you climb onto the wing to get in through one door on the right, and it sits lower and feels more stable in turbulence. Fifty usable gallons is generous for the size and gives long legs. The weaknesses are a cramped rear seat if fitted, one cabin door, and modest climb on a warm day. The wing spar fatigue airworthiness directive applies to high-time PA-28 airframes and its compliance status now materially affects value.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-28 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-28
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-E2A |
| Horsepower | 150 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1964 |
| Production end | 1977 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 108 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 600 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,300 ft |
| Climb rate | 660 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 47 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,700 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,000 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 945 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 645 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,150 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,205 lb |
| Usable fuel | 50 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $35,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $125,000 |
| 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 | 277 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 117 |
| Median year built | 1962.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 8 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 68.381 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 51.282 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 35 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 29.913 |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 117 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 117 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 117 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 9 of 103 |
| Support | 6.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.3 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- 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.