Aircraft model
PIPER PA18-160
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The PA18-160 is a Super Cub with more engine than Piper ever certificated in one. The factory aircraft tops out at the 150 hp PA-18-150; this designation records an airframe re-engined under a supplemental type certificate, which is one of the most common modifications in light aviation and the basis of most of the serious backcountry Super Cubs flying today. What the extra power buys is climb and a shorter takeoff, which is exactly what the aeroplane is used for.
A Super Cub is the most useful small aeroplane ever certificated and the market has known it for decades: prices are set by the bush and float trade, not by the four-seat market, and they do not fall. Ownership is fabric-and-tube ownership -- the recover is the big periodic bill and corrosion under the fabric is what ends airframes -- plus whatever the operating environment adds. Tailwheel time is required and insurers will want a great deal of it. An STC aircraft needs its paperwork read with care: which STC, whether the gross weight was raised with it, what propeller is approved, and whether the flight manual supplement is actually in the aircraft. Two outwardly identical modified Super Cubs can have materially different approved weights and limitations.
Compare with…
Put PIPER PA18-160 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA18-160
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-B2B |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1954 |
| Production end | 1994 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 102 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 460 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,380 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,024 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 37 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 500 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 725 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 812 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 596 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,750 lb |
| Empty weight | 938 lb |
| Usable fuel | 36 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $120,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $260,000 |
| 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 | 3 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 2 |
| Median year built | 1965.5 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 1.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- 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.