Beechcraft Sundowner 23 vs Piper Archer II

Side-by-side specs, range, and operating costs.

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Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Beechcraft Sundowner 23
32.8 × 25.8 ft 8.2 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed Unpressurized
Piper Archer II
35.4 × 23.9 ft 7.3 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed Unpressurized

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Mission Performance

Stall, approach, cruise, range, ceiling and climb: best values are at the top.

Mission performance specifications
Specification Beechcraft Sundowner 23Piper Archer II
Stall speed 63 kt53 kt
Approach speed 68 kt66 kt
Cruise speed 118 kt128 kt
Range 565 nm600 nm
Service ceiling 12600 ft13236 ft
Rate of climb 792 fpm667 fpm
Fuel burn 9.5 gph10.5 gph

Each axis is scaled independently across the compared aircraft and printed in its own units; every vertex sits at the published figure. Higher is better on all axes: Stall, Approach and Fuel Burn are inverted (lower = higher). A missing figure breaks the line at that axis.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Beechcraft Sundowner 23 Avgas
9.5 gph
Baseline
565 nm range 12.4 nm/gal 59 gal usable $62 fuel/hr 6h 12m endurance
Beechcraft Sundowner 23: 9.5 gallons per hour at cruise, 565 nautical mile published range, 6 hour 12 minute endurance, 12.4 nautical miles per gallon.
Piper Archer II Avgas
10.5 gph
Baseline
600 nm range 12.2 nm/gal 48 gal usable $68 fuel/hr 4h 34m endurance
Piper Archer II: 10.5 gallons per hour at cruise, 600 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 34 minute endurance, 12.2 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
Beechcraft Sundowner 23 Avgas
$97 /hr
Baseline
Beechcraft Sundowner 23: $97 per flight hour — fuel $62, maintenance and reserve $35.
Piper Archer II Avgas
$114 /hr
Baseline
Piper Archer II: $114 per flight hour — fuel $68, maintenance and reserve $46.
Beechcraft Sundowner 23 Piston
$9,666 /yr Baseline
Beechcraft Sundowner 23: $9,666 per year — insurance $1,250, hangar $5,916, annual inspection $2,500.
Piper Archer II Piston
$7,800 /yr Baseline
Piper Archer II: $7,800 per year — insurance $2,500, hangar $3,600, annual inspection $1,700.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

lb

+ lb / pax

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Beechcraft Sundowner 23
4 / 4 seats 59 / 59 gal fuel 602 lb wet payload 956 lb useful 2,450 lb MTOW
Piper Archer II
4 / 4 seats 48 / 48 gal fuel 846 lb wet payload 1,134 lb useful 2,550 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Payload-Range Map

Origin: · two fingers to move map

lb

+ lb / pax

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1

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