Range Map
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Payload vs. Range
Fuel on board
Cargo
nm
Range
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We do not have a cruise speed on file for this aircraft, so there is no honest time or cost to give you for this leg.
En route
Fuel burned
Direct cost
Fuel cost
Tanks run dry about past before at this burn.
Mission Profile
- High-Performance
- Tailwheel
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Estimated Ownership Costs
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About the Piper PA-25 Pawnee
Type certificated 1959
Overview
The Piper PA-25 Pawnee is a single-seat, low-wing agricultural taildragger, the airplane that brought purpose-built crop-dusting design to the mass market when it appeared in 1959. Piper put the pilot high and aft behind a forward chemical hopper, with a steel-tube “safety capsule” cockpit, wire cutters, and a braced low wing built to take the punishment of low-level work. The representative version is the PA-25-235, powered by a 235-horsepower Lycoming O-540; the family also ran a 150-horsepower base model and a 260-horsepower variant. It is type-certificated in the Restricted category only, for agricultural and dispensing operations.
As an owner’s airplane the Pawnee is most often a working ag plane or, increasingly, a glider-club tug. It cruises near 87 knots, carries a heavy hopper load on a 2,900-pound gross, and at roughly $129 an hour is the more affordable of the two vintage Piper ag singles. Its defining ownership concern is corrosion: years of chemical exposure attack the airframe, and the front wing spar in particular is an inspection item that drew an airworthiness directive in 2024. For an operator or glider club working to a budget, the Pawnee is the entry point: purpose-built for the job, cheap to run, and simple to maintain, with airframe condition the controlling variable at purchase.
Key Features for GA Buyers
- Purpose-built ag design. The forward hopper, high aft cockpit, steel-tube safety capsule, and wire cutters were designed around low-level dispensing and pilot survivability, not adapted from a touring airplane.
- Low running cost. A carbureted Lycoming O-540 and a fixed-pitch propeller keep direct cost near $129 an hour, the lower of the two Piper ag singles.
- Glider-tow and utility second life. Many Pawnees have left ag work for glider clubs, where the strong wing and torquey engine suit the tow role well.
- Large fleet, strong type knowledge. Thousands were built across two decades, with an active operator community and ready maintenance support.
Trade-offs
- Single seat, one job. It carries a pilot and a hopper, nothing else; this is a working tool, not a personal airplane.
- Corrosion is the watch item. Chemical exposure corrodes the airframe and especially the front spar; inspection and possible spar work are real recurring costs.
- Restricted category. Type-certificated for ag and dispensing operations only, with the operating limitations that carries.
- Taildragger at low level. A heavy taildragger flown low and slow demands tailwheel proficiency and an honest respect for the regime.
See Also
- Piper PA-36 Pawnee Brave – the larger, more powerful successor with a bigger hopper. Compare
- Cessna 188 – the contemporary all-metal Cessna ag wagon, the Pawnee’s direct piston rival. Compare
- Air Tractor AT-302 – the turbine-class ag aircraft that replaced piston dusters in commercial fleets. Compare
- Air Tractor AT-502B – the modern volume turboprop ag platform, for operators weighing piston against turbine. Compare
- Piper PA-18 Super Cub – the Piper-family taildragger that shares the Pawnee’s glider-tow and utility role. Compare
Technical Specifications
Dimensions & Weights
- Height
- 7 ft
- Length
- 25 ft
- Parking area (ft²2)
- 1,377 ft²
- Max Takeoff Weight
- 2,900 lbs
- Max Landing Weight
- 2,900 lbs
- Useful Load
- Source: third-party reference 1,412 lbs
- Fuel Capacity
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 38 gal
Performance
- Cruise Speed
- Source: third-party reference 87 KTAS
- Never-Exceed (VNE)
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 135 KIAS
- Max Structural Cruise (VNO)
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 108 KIAS
- Approach Speed
- 69 KIAS
- Stall, Clean (VS1)
- 53 KIAS
- Range
- 260 NM
- Service Ceiling
- 13,000 ft
- Rate of Climb
- 630 fpm
Engine
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Sources
Where the figures on this page come from. Piper PA-25 Pawnee specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.
Similar to the Piper PA-25 Pawnee
Similar PistonsCessna 188
Piper PA-36 Pawnee Brave
Compare the Piper PA-25 Pawnee to other aircraft