Aircraft model
PIPER PA-30
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Twin Comanche, built 1963-1972: a light, clean twin with two small 160 hp four-cylinder engines that cruises at 170 knots on about 16 gallons an hour total. That is remarkable efficiency for a twin and is the reason the type still has a devoted following — it goes as fast as much larger twins on roughly half the fuel, with far cheaper engine overhauls.
The qualification is important and historically serious. With only 160 hp a side, single-engine performance is marginal: the aircraft will barely hold altitude on one engine at gross weight in warm conditions, and the type accumulated a bad accident record in engine-failure training before the industry changed how minimum-control-speed exercises were taught. It demands precise airspeed discipline and a pilot who genuinely understands asymmetric flight. The other problem is parts: Piper ended production in 1972 and support is now largely through specialist suppliers and the owners' association, with some components hard to source. A well-maintained one with an engaged owner network is an excellent aeroplane; a neglected one is a money pit with a demanding flight profile.
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Put PIPER PA-30 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-30
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-320-B1A |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1963 |
| Production end | 1972 |
| Endorsements required | complex;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 170 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 950 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,600 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,460 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 63 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,530 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,530 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,330 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 826 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 3,600 lb |
| Empty weight | 2,270 lb |
| Usable fuel | 84 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 17.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $95,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $295,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $30,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $42,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 1,844 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 877 |
| Median year built | 1966.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 49 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 12 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 55.871 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 38.772 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 196 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 22.353 |
| 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 877 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 877 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 877 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2 of 101 |
| Severity | 5.5 of 102 |
| Access | 6.7 of 103 |
| Support | 9.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 30.4 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 22.1 · 57 models in class.
- Severity: class median 25.
- Access: class median 2,924.5.
- Support: class median 57.
- Liquidity: class median 21.42.
- 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.