Aircraft model
PIPER PA-31-325
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Navajo C/R is the counter-rotating version, with 325 hp a side and propellers turning in opposite directions so there is no critical engine. That is a genuine safety improvement on a heavy twin and it is the main reason to prefer it over the standard Navajo.
It cruises at 210 knots and carries eight people, and like every Navajo it is bought for capability rather than comfort. Costs are two large turbocharged Lycomings, roughly 36 gallons an hour, two propellers, and an annual inspection appropriate to an eight-seat twin. Exhaust and turbocharger condition is the recurring maintenance theme and matters for both power and carbon monoxide. Counter-rotating engines mean two different part numbers for many components, which raises spares costs slightly. Airframe hours and cycles from commercial use dominate value.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA-31-325 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-31-325
What it is
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Lycoming TIO-540-F2BD (turbocharged, counter-rotating) |
| Horsepower | 325 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1975 |
| Production end | 1984 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 210 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,100 nm |
| Service ceiling | 26,300 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,445 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 66 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 2,000 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 2,000 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,600 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,448 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 6,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,900 lb |
| Usable fuel | 192 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 37.7 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $180,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $350,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $62,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $88,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 397 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 137 |
| Median year built | 1978.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 6 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 43.81 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 14.62 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 38 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 27.743 |
| Airworthiness directives | 15 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 137 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 137 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 137 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 4 of 103 |
| Support | 5.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.5 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 15.87 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 20.42.
- Access: class median 3,096.5.
- Support: class median 132.5.
- Liquidity: class median 23.08.
- 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.