Piper Aero Star vs Piper PA-34 Seneca

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

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Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Piper Aero Star
36.7 × 34.8 ft 12.7 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Pressurized
Piper PA-34 Seneca
38.9 × 28.6 ft 9.9 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Unpressurized

Mission Performance

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

Mission performance specifications
Specification Piper Aero StarPiper PA-34 Seneca
Stall speed 74 kt67 kt
Approach speed 96 kt90 kt
Cruise speed 261 kt200 kt
Range 1200 nm828 nm
Service ceiling 25000 ft25000 ft
Rate of climb 1840 fpm1550 fpm
Fuel burn 40.0 gph24.0 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.

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.

Fuel Burn & Range

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

Piper Aero Star Avgas
40.0 gph
Baseline
1,200 nm range 166 gal usable 6.5 nm/gal $260 fuel/hr 4h 09m endurance
Piper Aero Star: 40.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 1,200 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 9 minute endurance, 6.5 nautical miles per gallon.
Piper PA-34 Seneca Avgas
24.0 gph
Baseline
828 nm range 122 gal usable 8.3 nm/gal $156 fuel/hr 5h 04m endurance
Piper PA-34 Seneca: 24.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 828 nautical mile published range, 5 hour 4 minute endurance, 8.3 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:
Piper Aero Star Avgas
$495 /hr
Baseline
Piper Aero Star: $495 per flight hour — fuel $260, maintenance and reserve $235.
Piper PA-34 Seneca Avgas
$385 /hr
Baseline
Piper PA-34 Seneca: $385 per flight hour — fuel $156, maintenance and reserve $229.
Piper Aero Star Piston
$10,864 /yr Baseline
Piper Aero Star: $10,864 per year — insurance withheld, hangar $8,364, annual inspection $2,500.
Piper PA-34 Seneca Piston
$21,000 /yr Baseline
Piper PA-34 Seneca: $21,000 per year — insurance $8,500, hangar $6,000, annual inspection $6,500.

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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Piper Aero Star
6 / 6 seats 166 / 166 gal fuel 748 lb wet payload 1,744 lb useful 6,315 lb MTOW
Piper PA-34 Seneca
6 / 6 seats 122 / 122 gal fuel 605 lb wet payload 1,337 lb useful 4,750 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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