Piper PA-23-235 Aztec
The Piper PA-23 Aztec is a rugged, six-seat piston twin that became a popular choice for both personal travel and light commercial work, from air-taxi charters to pipeline patrol and flight training. Its wide, boxy fuselage carries more cargo and passengers than many sleeker twins of similar power, at some cost to outright speed. Twin-engine redundancy and forgiving handling made it a common multi-engine trainer for decades, alongside its passenger-carrying and freight roles. Though production ended in the 1980s, many well-maintained Aztecs remain in active commercial and personal service today.
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Did you know?
The Aztec's wide, boxy fuselage carries more cargo than sleeker twins, making it a long-serving air-taxi and pipeline-patrol workhorse.
Specifications
| Length | 9.5 m (31 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 11.3 m (37 ft) |
| Height | 3.1 m (10 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 5 |
| Persons on board | 6 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 2.3 t |
| Range | 940 NM (1,741 km) |
| Maximum speed | 180 kt (333 km/h) |
| Stall speed | 51 kt (94 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 19,500 ft (5,944 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 24,000 ft (7,315 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,490 ft/min (7.6 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 381 m (1,250 ft) |
| Landing distance | 500 m (1,640 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 550 l |
| Engines | 2x Lycoming IO-540 |
| Units built | 4,930 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
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