| PA-31 Navajo | |
|---|---|
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| Piper PA-31 Navajo | |
| Role | Piston |
| Manufacturer | Piper Aircraft |
| First flight | 30 September 1964[1] |
| Primary user | Corporate |
| Number built | 2044 |
The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built by Embraer as the EMB 820.[2]
In the mid-1960s company founder William T. Piper started development of the PA-31. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and the corporate market, the aircraft was a success. It continues to prove a popular choice, but due to greatly decreased demand across the general aviation sector in the 1980s, production of the PA-31 ceased.
Contents |
Variants
The PA-31 series was produced in the following versions.
- PA-31-310 Navajo, sometimes referred to as a "straight Navajo". Also called the "Mini - Liner"
- PA-31-325 Navajo, referred to as the "CR" or Counter Rotating.
- PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain (originally called the "Navajo II") featured a stretched cabin and more powerful engines (Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD)
- T-1020 was a Chieftain modified to be marketed to the commuter airline market.
- PA-31P-425 Pressurized Navajo (commonly referred to as "P-Navajo") was equipped with a pressurized cabin and Lycoming TIGO-541-E1A engines.[3]
- Piper Mojave was an upgraded, reengineered version of the PA-31P
- PA-31T Cheyenne, pressurized, turboprop
- T-1040, PA-31T3, was an airline version of the PA-31T Cheyenne.
Accidents
- On 8 October 1979, Comair Flight 444, operating a PA-31, crashed shortly after takeoff from Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport. All eight on board were killed.
- On 31 May 2000 a Navajo Chieftain flying from Adelaide to Whyalla in South Australia crashed into the Spencer Gulf following a dual engine failure. All eight on board were killed.
- On 9 July 2009, a Navajo operated by Canadian Air Charters and carrying units of blood for Canadian Blood Services flying from Victoria, British Columbia crashed in an industrial area in Richmond, British Columbia en route to Vancouver International Airport. [1] [2] [3]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77 [4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 or 2
- Capacity: 5 to 7 passengers
- Length: 32 ft 7½ in (9.94 m)
- Wingspan: 40 ft 8 in (12.40 m)
- Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
- Wing area: 229 sq. ft (21.3 m²)
- Empty weight: 3,930 lb (1,782 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 6,500 lb (2,948 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Lycoming TIO-540-A air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally-opposed piston engine, 310 hp (231 kW) each
- Propellers: Three blade, metal, fully feathering, Hartzell propeller propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 227 knots (420 km/h, 261 mph) at 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
- Cruise speed: 207 knots (383 km/h, 238 mph) econ cruise at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
- Stall speed: 63.5 knots (118 km/h, 73 mph) flaps down
- Range: 1,011 nmi (1,875 km, 1,165 mi)
- Service ceiling: 26,300 ft (8,015 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,445 ft/min (7.3 m/s)
Specifications (PA-31-350 Chieftain)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77 [5]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 or 2
- Capacity: 8 passengers
- Length: 34 ft 7½ in (10.55 m)
- Wingspan: 40 ft 8 in (12.40 m)
- Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
- Wing area: 229 ft² (21.3 m²)
- Empty weight: 4,114 lb (1,866 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 7,000 lb (3,175 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally-opposed piston engine, 350 hp (261 kW) each
- Propellers: Three blade, metal, fully feathering, Hartzell propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 234 knots (435 km/h, 270 mph) at 15,000 ft (7,315 m)
- Cruise speed: 214 knots (396 km/h, 246 mph) econ cruise at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
- Stall speed: 74 knots (137 km/h, 85 mph) flaps down
- Range: 1,103 nmi (2044 km, 1,270 mi)
- Service ceiling: 27,200 ft (8,290 m)
See also
 |
Wikinews has related news: Two pilots dead in Richmond plane crash |
Related development
Comparable aircraft
References
- ^ Taylor 1976, p.354.
- ^ Bonelli, Regis and Armando Castelar Pinheiro. "New Export Activities in Brazil: Comparitive Advantage, Policy or Self-Discovery", Research Network Working Paper #R-551, Inter-American Development Bank, July 2008.
- ^ "The Piper PA-31 Navajo/Pressurized Navajo". airliners.net. 2009. http://ww.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=311. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
- ^ Taylor 1976, p.355.
- ^ Taylor 1976, p.357.
- The Piper PA-31 Chieftain/Mojave/T-1020/T-1040 from Airliners.net
- The Piper PA-31 Navajo/Pressurized Navajo from Airliners.net
- Piper Navajo Information Manual, Revision 9, March 18th 1994, Piper Aircraft Corporation, Manual Part Number 761-723
- Piper Navajo Pilot's Operating Manual, Revision 34, April 22nd 2002, Piper Aircraft Corporation, Manual Part Number 761-456
- Taylor, John W.R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1976, ISBN 0 354 00538 3.
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