Aircraft model
PIPER PA-28-160
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Cherokee 160, from the first years of Piper's low-wing four-seater. It was built to take business from the Cessna 172 and it did: one door on the right, a wing you climb onto, a stable ride and 50 usable gallons, which is generous for the size and gives it genuinely long legs. It was used heavily for training and is still a common private aeroplane.
The short constant-chord wing gives a firmer, more abrupt stall than the later tapered-wing Warriors, and the rear seat is tight for adults. There is one cabin door, which is an inconvenience and an evacuation consideration. The Lycoming O-320 is among the most reliable and cheapest engines in general aviation to maintain. The important homework on any older PA-28 is the wing spar fatigue airworthiness directive, which targets exactly the high-cycle training profile many of these airframes flew — verify compliance and remaining life, because it now materially affects value on individual aircraft.
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Put PIPER PA-28-160 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-28-160
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-B2B |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1961 |
| Production end | 1967 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 115 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 620 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 700 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 50 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,620 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,250 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 700 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,200 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,200 lb |
| Usable fuel | 50 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $48,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $105,000 |
| 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 | 525 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 253 |
| Median year built | 1962.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 27.671 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 19.762 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 48 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 18.973 |
| Airworthiness directives | 4 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 253 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 253 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 253 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 8 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 4.6 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 9.6 of 103 |
| Support | 5.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 31.8 out of 506 |
- 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.