Aircraft model
PIPER PA-31T1
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Cheyenne I is the lower-powered member of the family, with 500 shp PT6A-11 engines in place of the Cheyenne II's 620 shp units. It cruises at 250 knots and carries six or seven people in a pressurised cabin, and it was sold as a more economical entry into turbine twins.
The reduced power costs about thirty knots and some climb performance but lowers fuel burn to around 80 gallons an hour, which over a long ownership is real money. The same considerations apply as to any Cheyenne: a smaller fleet and thinner parts support than the King Air equivalents, and the stability augmentation system that Piper fitted to address the type's pitch behaviour — verify it is present and serviceable. Below 12,500 lb no type rating is required, though insurers demand formal initial and recurrent simulator training.
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Put PIPER PA-31T1 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-31T1
What it is
| Seats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-11 |
| Horsepower | 500 hp |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1978 |
| Production end | 1984 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine;pressurized/high-altitude |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 250 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,200 nm |
| Service ceiling | 28,200 ft |
| Climb rate | 2,000 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 | 7 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 4,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,427 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 9,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 5,000 lb |
| Usable fuel | 384 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 80 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $350,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $500,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 3,600 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $290,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $440,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 209 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 64 |
| Median year built | 1980.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 46.88 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 15.63 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 9 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 14.06 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 7 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 64 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 64 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 64 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, turbo-prop, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 0.9 of 103 |
| Support | 5.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.2 of 105 |
- 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.