Piper PA-42 Cheyenne III

Piper Aircraft · United States · first flew 1979 · light aircraft

The Piper PA-42 Cheyenne III is a pressurised twin-turboprop business aircraft offering cabin-class comfort at moderate cost, bridging the gap between piston twins and larger turboprops. It features a T-tail and low wing with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engines.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × turboprop, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	11.58 m fuselage
T — Tail	T-tail

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

T-tail on a twin-turboprop light business aircraft
Pressurised cabin with oval windows
Retractable tricycle gear with wing-mounted nacelles

Identify by the T-tail, low tapered wing, twin underwing turboprop nacelles, and pressurised circular fuselage cross-section. Similar to the Beechcraft King Air but with a more tapered fuselage and T-tail.

Specifications

The Piper PA-42 Cheyenne III has a length of 11.58 m (38 ft).
It has a wingspan of 14.6 m (48 ft).
Its maximum speed is 560 km/h (348 mph).
Typical crew: 1–2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Introduced in 1980, the Cheyenne III was an enlarged development of the earlier Cheyenne I and II, offering a stretched fuselage and more powerful engines. The later Cheyenne IIIA refined the design further with additional performance improvements.

Variants

The family includes the Cheyenne I, II, IIXL, III, IIIA, and 400 (400LS), the last being a T-tail design with much more powerful Garrett TPE331 engines and turbofan-like performance.

Where you'll see it

Popular with charter operators, corporate flight departments, and regional air taxis worldwide; commonly seen at general aviation airports across North America, Europe, and Australia.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 5,024 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.