Aircraft model
PIPER PA-31T
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Cheyenne II is Piper's pressurised twin turboprop, built on the Navajo airframe with two PT6A-28 engines. It carries six to eight passengers at 280 knots with a 29,000-foot ceiling, and it was Piper's answer to the King Air. The designation PA-31T ran from 1974 to 1985 and the aeroplane under it did not change; the name did. It was sold simply as the Cheyenne until 1978, when Piper introduced the lower-powered Cheyenne I (the separate PA-31T1) and renamed this one the Cheyenne II. The stretched Cheyenne IIXL of 1981 is the separate PA-31T2. So a 1975 'Cheyenne' and a 1980 'Cheyenne II' are the same aircraft, and the thing to check on any of them is the stability-augmentation system that the short-fuselage aircraft carries because of its aft centre of gravity.
It is faster than a King Air C90 and cheaper to buy, which is the argument for it. The counter-argument is support: Piper left the turboprop market, the fleet is much smaller than the King Air's, and Cheyenne-specific parts and knowledge are harder to find. The early Cheyenne also had a pitch stability issue that led to a stability augmentation system being required; verify it is fitted and working. Costs are turbine costs — two hot sections and overhauls, around 95 gallons an hour, pressurisation and a cabin-class annual. Below 12,500 lb no type rating is required.
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- PIPER PA-31T
What it is
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-28 |
| Horsepower | 620 hp |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1974 |
| Production end | 1984 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine;pressurized/high-altitude |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 280 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,200 nm |
| Service ceiling | 29,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 2,500 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 75 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 2,400 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 2,200 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 4,024 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,451 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 9,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 4,976 lb |
| Usable fuel | 384 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 95 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $389,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $1,480,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 3,600 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $340,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $520,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 471 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 87 |
| 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 | 68.97 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 34.48 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 9 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 10.34 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 18 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 87 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 87 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 87 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, turbo-prop, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 3.2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 7.7 of 103 |
| Support | 6.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 19.3 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 13.13 · 24 models in class.
- Severity: class median 31.67.
- Access: class median 5,500.
- Support: class median 59.
- Liquidity: class median 22.37.
- 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.