Piper PA-23-150/160 Apache

2 × Piston Unpressurized Low Wing • Retractable

Range Map

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+ cargo

Payload vs. Range

Occupants:

Fuel on board

Cargo

Range

Cargo is additional payload after occupants and baggage.

Adjust payload

full tanks

Available Range / nm

Mission capable. This load flies with full fuel.

Fuel reduced by . left aboard for nm range.

Over max payload by . At this load it cannot lift a single occupant.

Trip Preview

Mission Profile

Used market

140

KTAS

Cruise Speed

616

Max Range

17,000

Service Ceiling

Occupants

1,138

lbs

Wet Payload

Endorsements & ratings:

Complex
Multi-Engine

Piper PA-23 Apache (N1346P) at Rantoul, Kansas. Photo: Aeroprints.com, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Estimated Ownership Costs

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About the Piper PA-23-150/160 Apache

Type certificated 1954 Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet

Overview

The Piper PA-23 Apache is the airplane that put Piper in the twin-engine business. Piper acquired the twin-Stinson design and brought it to market in 1954 as the four-seat PA-23, then refined it in 1957 as the PA-23-160 with a pair of 160-horsepower Lycoming O-320 engines. Production ran until 1962, when the more powerful Aztec superseded it, and roughly 2,000 Apaches were built across the run. It remains one of the least expensive ways to own and fly a piston twin.

The Apache’s appeal is entry-level economics, not performance. A pair of small, carbureted, naturally aspirated O-320s gives docile, forgiving handling and modest running costs, which is why the type endured for decades as a multi-engine trainer and time-builder. Cruise is a leisurely 135 to 145 knots on about 16 gallons per hour combined, and single-engine climb is marginal by modern standards. The honest case against the Apache is its engine-out performance: with two 160-horsepower fours, single-engine climb is marginal, and density-altitude and weight planning matter on every flight. Accept that limit and it earns its keep as a low-cost path to a multi-engine rating, to time-building, or to affordable twin redundancy on shorter trips.

Key Features for GA Buyers

Acquisition and operating costs at the bottom of the light-twin market. A common first multi-engine airplane and time-builder.
Docile, forgiving handling. Type literature consistently describes the Apache as stable and easy to fly, well suited to multi-engine training and instrument practice.
Carbureted Lycoming O-320s. Two 160-horsepower fours with a 2,000-hour TBO and a deep parts and overhaul network, simple to maintain relative to turbocharged or fuel-injected twins.
Four to five seats with a baggage compartment. Capacity for two adults and bags, or a family on shorter legs.
Retractable gear and constant-speed propellers. A complex twin for rating and currency, with acquisition cost comparable to a high-performance single.

Trade-offs

Marginal single-engine performance. With two 160-horsepower engines, engine-out climb is anemic; density altitude and weight planning matter on every flight.
Slow by twin standards. A 140-knot cruise trails later light twins like the Aztec and Twin Comanche.
No altitude capability. Naturally aspirated engines limit useful performance to the low and middle teens.
Aging fleet. The newest Apache is over sixty years old; some model-specific interior, electrical, and airframe parts now come through salvage.
Insurance step-up for low-time multi pilots. As with any twin, premiums and minimum-experience requirements rise sharply versus a single.

Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Height: 10 ft
Length: 28 ft
Parking area (ft²²): 1,539 ft²

Max Takeoff Weight: Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 3,800 lbs
Max Landing Weight: 3,800 lbs
Useful Load: Source: third-party reference 1,570 lbs
Fuel Capacity: 72 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed: Source: third-party reference 140 KTAS
Never-Exceed (V_NE): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 197 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (V_NO): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 156 KIAS
Approach Speed: 85 KIAS
Stall, Clean (V_S₁): 65 KIAS
Range: Source: third-party reference 616 NM
Service Ceiling: 17,000 ft

Engines

Sources

Where the figures on this page come from. Piper PA-23-150/160 Apache specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.

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