| PA-42 Cheyenne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| PA-42-720 Cheyenne IIIA | |
| Role | Turboprop |
| Manufacturer | Piper Aircraft |
| First flight | May 18, 1979 |
| Produced | 1979-1993 [1] |
| Number built | 192; 149 IIIAs and 43 400s |
| Developed from | Piper PA-31T Cheyenne |
The Piper PA-42 Cheyenne is a turboprop aircraft built by Piper Aircraft. The PA-42 Cheyenne is a larger development of the earlier PA-31T Cheyennes I and II (which are, in turn, turboprop developments of the PA-31 Navajo).
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. [2]
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. [3] The PA-42-1000 Cheyenne IV was certified in 1984, 44 were built until 1991 and 37 remain in service in 2018. [3]
Due to its top speed over 400 mph, it was renamed the Cheyenne 400LS when Lear Siegler owned Piper, then the Cheyenne 400. [3]
Flat rated to ISA+37, the turboprops maintain their power to almost 20,000 ft (6,100 m). The 106 in (2.7 m) Dowty Rotol propellers had 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 (0.52 bar) 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. [3]
The aircraft's top speed is 351 kn (650 km/h; 404 mph) and was faster than the Citation I on most trips while burning one-third less fuel. It can cruise at the same long-range speed over 1,842 nmi (3,411 km), 400 nmi (740 km) more; 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 is shortened by the rotating speedbrake effect of the propellers in beta pitch. [3] 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 its cabin is quieter than a King Air. [3]
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). Other records later set by the 400LS, again piloted by Yeager in 400LS N4118Y (later reregistered as N46HL) for the C-1e Group 2 class, were: Miami-to-Boston, Miami-to-New York City, San Francisco-to-Charleston, West Virginia, San Francisco-to-Cincinnati, San Francisco-to-Los Angeles, New York City-to-Paris, Washington, DC-to-Paris and Gander-Paris. [4] [5] [6]
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. [3]
| Variant | III (PA-42) [9] | IIIA (PA-42-720) | 400 (PA-42-1000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1-2 | ||
| Passengers [1] | 6-9 | ||
| Length | 43ft 5in / 13.2m | ||
| Span | 47ft 8in / 14.5m | ||
| Height | 14ft 9in / 4.5m | 17ft 0in / 5.18m [1] | |
| Wing area | 293sq ft / 27.2m² [1] | ||
| Cabin W × H | 4ft 3in by 4ft 8in / 1.30m by 1.42m | ||
| MTOW | 11,080lb / 5,026kg | 11,200 lb (5,080 kg) | 12,050 lb (5,466 kg) |
| OEW | 6,389lb / 2,898kg | 6,837 lb (3,101 kg) | 7,565 lb (3,431 kg) |
| Fuel Capacity [7] | 562 US gal (2,130 L) 3,752 lb (1,702 kg) | 582 US gal (2,200 L) 3,819 lb (1,732 kg) | |
| 2× Turboprops | P&WC PT6A-41 | P&WC PT6A-61 | Garrett TPE331-14 |
| Unit power | 720 hp (537 kW) | 1,000 hp (746 kW) | |
| Cruise | 290 kn (537 km/h) | LR 282–305 kn (522–565 km/h) Max | LR 298–351 kn (552–650 km/h) Max |
| Range | 1,330 nmi / 2,463 km | 2,270 nmi (4,204 km) | 2,240 nmi (4,148 km) |
| BFL | 3,920 ft (1,195 m) | 3,363 ft (1,025 m) | 3,180 ft (969 m) |
| Ceiling [7] | 33,000 ft (10,100 m) | 35,000 ft (10,700 m) | 41,000 ft (12,500 m) |
| Climb rate [1] | 2,380 ft/min / 12.1 m/s [10] | 2,235 ft/min (11.35 m/s) | 3,242 ft/min (16.47 m/s) |
| Wing loading | 37.8 lb/sq ft (185 kg/m2) | 38.2 lb/sq ft (187 kg/m2) | 41.1 lb/sq ft (201 kg/m2) |
| power/mass | 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg) | 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg) | 0.17 hp/lb (0.28 kW/kg) |
The aircraft is operated by private individuals, companies and executive charter operators. A number of companies also use the aircraft as part of fractional ownership programs.
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The Piper PA-24 Comanche is an American four-seat or six-seat, low-wing, all-metal, light aircraft of semimonocoque construction with tricycle retractable landing gear. Piper Aircraft designed and developed the Comanche, which first flew on May 24, 1956. Together with the PA-30 and PA-39 Twin Comanches, it made up the core of the Piper Aircraft lineup until the production lines for both aircraft were destroyed in the 1972 Lock Haven flood.
The Piper PA-46 Malibu and Matrix, now known as the M-Class, are a family of American light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft of Vero Beach, Florida. The aircraft is powered by a single engine and has the capacity for one pilot and five passengers. Early Malibus were all piston-engined, but a turboprop version, introduced as the Malibu Meridian but now called the M500, is also available. Currently, Piper offers the M350, M500, and M600 in the PA-46 family.
The Interceptor 400 was a turboprop-powered single-engined light aircraft developed from the Meyers 200 single engine piston plane. It attracted buyers but was unable to obtain adequate manufacturing financing, and was perhaps too far ahead of its time. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, at the time of its development, the market for single-engined turboprops was still a decade away.
The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2, Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush Aircraft. It is one of the most successful and long-lived agricultural application aircraft types in the world, with almost 2,000 sold since the first example flew 66 years ago. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seat monoplane of conventional taildragger configuration. Originally powered by a radial piston engine, most examples produced since the 1980s have been turboprop-powered.
The Embraer EMB 121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop fixed-wing aircraft built by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer. The design is based on the EMB 110 Bandeirante, using its wing and engine design merged with an all-new fuselage. The EMB 121 first flew on 10 October 1976.
The Piper PA-48 Enforcer is an American turboprop-powered light close air support aircraft built by Piper in the 1970s. It is a development of the World War II-era North American P-51 Mustang fighter. The Enforcer concept was originally created and flown as the Cavalier Mustang by David Lindsay, owner of Cavalier Aircraft, in response to the United States Air Force PAVE COIN program, but Cavalier did not have the manufacturing abilities to mass-produce the Enforcer, so the program was sold to Piper by Lindsay in 1970.
The Cessna 441 Conquest II is the first turboprop powered aircraft designed by Cessna, and was meant to fill the gap between their jets and piston-engined aircraft. It was developed in November 1974, with the first aircraft delivered in September 1977. It is a pressurized, 8–9 passenger turbine development of the Cessna 404 Titan.
The Cessna 425, known as the Corsair and later as the Conquest I, is an eight-seat American pressurized turboprop twin-engined light aircraft. Now out of production, it was built by Cessna Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas, between 1980 and 1986.
The Piper PA-31T Cheyenne is a turboprop development of the earlier PA-31P Pressurized Navajo.
The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engined aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also license-built in a number of Latin American countries. 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 in 1984.
The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411.
The PZL-106 Kruk is a Polish agricultural aircraft designed and built by WSK PZL Warszawa-Okęcie.
The Piper PA-36 Pawnee Brave is a 1970s American single-engined, low-wing, propeller-driven agricultural plane built by Piper Aircraft.
The Avtek 400A was an American prototype turboprop-powered business aircraft developed in the early 1980s. It was of unusual and distinctive configuration: a low-wing monoplane with two pusher engines mounted above the wings, and a large canard mounted atop the forward fuselage. The aircraft's sleek, futuristic design earned it a guest appearance on the Airwolf TV series as the X-400, the plane used by the villain Lou Stappleford in the episode Eagles.
The Swearingen Merlin or the Fairchild Aerospace Merlin is a pressurized, twin turboprop business aircraft first produced by Swearingen Aircraft, and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas.
The Beechcraft Model 38P Lightning was an experimental turboprop aircraft built and tested by Beechcraft in the 1980s.
The Potez 840 was a 1960s French four-engined 18-passenger executive monoplane, the last aircraft to use the Potez name.
The Piper PA-35 Pocono was an American 16/18 seat commuter airliner developed by Piper in the late 1960s. Only one aircraft was built and the design was not developed.
The Hongdu N-5,, originally known as the Nanchang N-5, is a Chinese agricultural aircraft. First flown in 1989, and entering into production in 1992, the N-5 is a single-engined low-wing monoplane, and is available in versions powered by a piston engine or a turboprop.
The Weatherly 620 is a 1970s American agricultural monoplane designed and built as an improved variant of the Weatherly 201 by the Weatherly Aircraft Company of McClellan, California.
