Piper Chieftain

The Piper Chieftain is chartered as a whole aircraft, not per seat. Planning rates start around US$950 per occupied flight hour before airport, handling and navigation charges. On most African sectors the larger variable is positioning: if no Piper Chieftain is sitting at your departure airport, the empty leg flown in to collect you is priced into the quote, which is why a short hop can cost more than its flight time suggests. Every route page on this site shows the all-in estimate rather than the bare hourly rate.

Up to 8 passengers in the cabin layout typically offered for charter in Africa. Operators configure individual aircraft differently, so the usable seat count on the specific tail allocated to your trip is confirmed at quote stage, along with baggage allowance, which is usually the binding limit on safari and golf trips rather than seats.

The Piper Chieftain plans to roughly 850 nautical miles (about 1,574 km) with normal reserves. From its Johannesburg base that reaches scheduled airports in 9 African countries without a fuel stop. Hot and high departures, strong headwinds and a full cabin all reduce that figure, so longer sectors are planned with a technical stop where needed.

It needs roughly 2,500 ft of paved runway at typical charter weights. On our airport data that covers 364 of the 394 African airports with scheduled service, before allowing for elevation, temperature and runway condition on the day. Its short-field performance also opens up regional and bush strips that jets cannot use, which is what makes it the workhorse for safari and remote-site flying.

Piper Chieftain aircraft in our fleet data are based at Johannesburg, Windhoek. Departing from or near one of those cities keeps positioning cost down, because the aircraft does not have to fly an empty leg to reach you.

The Piper Chieftain has a wingspan of 12.4 m (40.7 ft) and an overall length of 10.55 m (34.6 ft). Those dimensions decide which hangars and apron stands can take it, which matters at smaller African airports where parking for business jets is limited.

The Piper Chieftain has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 3,175 kg (7,000 lb), with a maximum payload of about 1,270 kg and an empty weight of about 1,905 kg. On hot, high or short runways the usable take-off weight is lower, which can limit fuel, passengers or baggage on the day.

The Piper Chieftain is certified to a maximum operating altitude of 24,000 ft (7,315 m) and cruises at about 175 knots (324 km/h). The crew picks the actual cruising altitude for each sector from its length, the aircraft weight and the winds; short hops are flown lower.

Typical baggage capacity for the Piper Chieftain is 1.0 m3. Soft-sided bags pack far better than hard cases, and on safari sectors the combined weight of passengers and bags is usually the real limit, so give the operator your bag count when you request a quote.

The Piper Chieftain is powered by 2 x Lycoming TIO-540 piston. It is flown by a crew of 1-2. It is built by Piper Aircraft (1972-1984).