FORCETALLY
Loading the evidence…
Preparing your view.
Preparing your view.
Support aircraftIn serviceProfile in progress
twin engine turboprop aircraft
Piper PA-42 Cheyenne is a twin engine turboprop aircraft. It was built by Piper Aircraft.
Technical data
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
No check recorded yet.
Turboprop
Piper Aircraft
192; 149 IIIAs and 43 400s
1979-1993
May 18, 1979
Piper PA-31T Cheyenne
The Piper PA-42 Cheyenne is a twin engine turboprop aircraft built by Piper Aircraft .
The PA-42 Cheyenne III was announced in September 1977. The first production Cheyenne III flew for the first time on May 18, 1979, and FAA certification was granted in early 1980. Compared with the Cheyenne II, the PA-42-720 was about 1 m (3 ft) longer, was powered by 537 kW (720-shp) PT6A-41 turboprops and introduced a T-tail, the most obvious external difference between the PA-31T and PA-42, as well as the most significant change to the series. Deliveries of production Cheyenne IIIs began on June 30, 1980.
In the late 1970s, Piper avoided developing a clean-sheet light business jet to compete with the Cessna Citation I and upgraded its PT6As from 720 to 1,000 hp (540 to 750 kW) Honeywell TPE331 -14s. The PA-42-1000 Cheyenne IV was certified in 1984, 43 were built until 1991 and 37 remain in service in 2018.
Due to its top speed over 351 kn (404 mph; 650 km/h) it was renamed the Cheyenne 400LS when Lear Siegler owned Piper, then the Cheyenne 400.
Flat rated to ISA+37, the turboprops maintains its power to almost 20,000 ft (6,100 m). The 106 in (2.7 m) Dowty Rotol propellers have four round-tip composite blades and 8 in (20 cm) of ground clearance. Its empennage was enlarged for stability at higher speeds and altitudes, and its fuselage was strengthened. Pressurization was increased to 7.6 psi (520 hPa) to elevate its ceiling from 35,000 to 41,000 ft (10,700 to 12,500 m) while maintaining a 10,000 ft (3,000 m) cabin.
The aircraft's top speed is 351 kn (650 km/h; 404 mph), faster than the Citation I on most trips while burning one-third less fuel. It can fly 1,842 nmi (3,411 km) at the same speed; it can carry eight passengers farther than a King Air 200 while cruising 50 kn (93 km/h) faster. It can operate out of 3,000 ft (900 m) runways with a 97 kn (180 km/h) minimum control speed , similar to a King Air 300 ; it can operate from much shorter hot and high runways than a Citation I and landing distance is shortened by the rotating speedbrake effect of the propellers in beta pitch . It can climb directly to FL 410 at its 12,050 lb (5,470 kg) MTOW and typical single-pilot BOWs are 7,850–7,900 lb (3,560–3,580 kg). It can hold 3,819 lb (1,732 kg) of fuel plus two passengers with baggage, while each extra passenger costs 100 nmi (190 km) of range. It has a 98% dispatch reliability and a cabin that is quieter than a King Air.
The 400LS made aviation history on 16 April 1985 by setting two new time-to-climb records for its class (C-1e Group 2, 3000m and 9,000m) and shattering two time-to-climb records for all turboprop classes (6,000m and 12,000m): with retired United States Air Force Brigadier General Chuck Yeager at the helm of N400PS (with co-pilot Renald "Dav" Davenport flying right-seat), the aircraft departed from Portland- Hillsboro Airport 's Runway 31L, immediately reached a 5,959-foot-per-minute climbout and achieved its 3,000m record in 1 minute, 47.6 seconds; the 6,000m record in 3 minutes, 42.0 seconds; its 9,000m record at 6 minutes, 34.6 seconds; the 12,000m record at 11 minutes, 8.3 seconds (time-to-altitude records were captured by on-board video camera aimed at relevant panel gauges, timed with superimposed timer; also verified by Hillsboro Airport tower personnel via radar, using encoded altimeter data transmitted from aircraft to tower via transponder ).
The 400LS has 100-hour inspection intervals , engine midlife inspections are due at 1,500 hours and overhauls come at 3,000 hours. The fuselage is limited to a 15,000-hour life, while the wing and empennage have 20,000-hour life limits.
Cheyenne IV , model PA-42-1000, later the Cheyenne 400LS , and then Cheyenne 400 . This is the largest aircraft ever made by Piper, with 43 built. Powered by 1,000 shp (750 kW) Garrett TPE-331 engines, and four-blade props.
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Piper PA-42 Cheyenne equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
HondurasAir Force exact named equipment holdings: PA-42 Cheyenne. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / Light. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.