Silhouette traced from a photo by Aeroprints.com · CC BY-SA 3.0
Piper · Turboprop
Cheyenne 400LS (PA-42-1000)
The final and fastest Cheyenne: a Garrett-powered version of the T-tail Cheyenne III built alongside the IIIA.
The fastest Cheyenne and one of the quickest turboprops ever sold, at roughly King Air prices. You give up headroom, an enclosed toilet and easy maintenance: with about two dozen on the US register, parts and experienced shops take planning.
Buy it if
You fly yourself or with one pilot, want near-jet speed and altitude for trips of 300 to 1,200 nm, and are ready to build a relationship with one of the few shops that know the type.
Skip it if
You need a stand-up cabin, an enclosed lavatory or full seats with full fuel, or you want an airplane any turboprop shop can fix quickly. A King Air or Conquest is the simpler choice.
Biggest compromise
Rarity. Only 44 were built and about 23 remain on the US register, so some airframe parts, propeller work and know-how are scarce.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$1.47M–$1.53M
guide value (Aircraft Cost Calculator and PlanePHD)
What it costs per year
$851K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,640 nm
1,125–1,400 nm with passengers
How fast
340 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
6
6 typical, plus belted toilet seat
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot with no type rating; insurers expect yearly training.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$1.47M–$1.53M
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
One of two aircraft for sale shows a price, $999,000. Published guide values run about $1.47M to $1.53M.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Cheyenne 400LS (PA-42-1000) · This aircraft
$1.47M–$1.53M guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
Sits between the Conquest II (441) and the King Air B200.
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe and propeller maintenance, engine overhaul set-aside and other trip costs rise as you fly more. Pilot salary and benefits, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and databases and subscriptions stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- Pilot salary and benefits$170,00020%
- Recurrent training$17,0002%
- Hangar$37,5004%
- Insurance$31,0004%
- Databases and subscriptions$8,5001%
- Fuel$268,92032%
- Airframe and propeller maintenance$135,00016%
- Engine overhaul set-aside$162,00019%
- Other trip costs$21,0002%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 32% of the total.
The JetGrade
66 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Cessna Conquest II (441), Beechcraft King Air B200, Beechcraft King Air 300, Piper Cheyenne IIIA (PA-42-720), Piaggio P.180 Avanti
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on reliability & support.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-08.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
4 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.0 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop; climbs straight to the flight levels
- 2.3 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Hot-and-high; depends on weight and weather
- 2.8 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Comfortable nonstop with four passengers
- 3.2 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Owners report about 2 hr 45 min airborne
- 4.2 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Nonstop with four; strong headwinds may force a stop
- 7.6 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Needs one stop, typically mid-continent
Lineage
What came before and after
1984–1992
Cheyenne 400LS (PA-42-1000)
1,000 shp Garrett engines, 41,000 ft ceiling, about 340 kt.
What changed from the Cheyenne IIIA (PA-42-720)
- Garrett TPE331-14 engines at 1,000 shp each replace 720 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6s.
- Four-blade 106-inch composite propellers replace three-blade 95-inch metal propellers.
- Larger tail and strengthened fuselage for higher speeds and altitudes.
- Pressurization raised to 7.6 psi, keeping a 10,000 ft cabin at 41,000 ft.
- Maximum takeoff weight rises from 11,200 lb to 12,050 lb.
- Cruise rises from about 300 kt to about 340 kt.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Cheyenne 400LS (PA-42-1000)
- JetGrade
- 66
- Price
- $1.47M–$1.53M guide
- Cost per year
- $851K
- Range
- 1,640 nm
- Speed
- 340 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 18′ 1″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1984–1992
← Before
- JetGrade
- 66
- Price
- $700K–$1.09M guide
- Cost per year
- $737K
- Range
- 1,763 nm
- Speed
- 305 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 18′ 1″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1984–1993
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $1.36M
- Cost per year
- $671K
- Range
- 2,000 nm
- Speed
- 314 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 12′ 10″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1977–1986
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 74
- Price
- $1.85M
- Cost per year
- $827K
- Range
- 1,580 nm
- Speed
- 291 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 16′ 8″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1981–2009
- Cessna Conquest II (441) instead: About 30 to 40 kt slower, but many more examples, wider shop coverage and a lower yearly budget of about $670,000 at 300 hours.
- Beechcraft King Air B200 instead: Slower at about 290 kt, but a taller cabin, the deepest support network of any business turboprop and easy resale.
- Piper Cheyenne IIIA (PA-42-720) instead: Same cabin with Pratt & Whitney engines that far more shops know, usually for less money, at about 40 kt slower.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Honeywell (Garrett) TPE331-14A and -14B · 1,000 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Airframe inspection · 100 hr
- Nose baggage door checks · 100 hr
- Aileron hinge bracket checks · 100 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 1,500 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,000 hr
- Fuselage life limit · 15,000 hr
Honeywell's pay-by-the-hour plan covers these engines and transfers with the aircraft; check enrollment and any buy-in balance before buying.
Known issues
Expensive engine overhauls
Hot sections at 1,500 hours and overhauls at 3,000 hours; two engines can cost over $1 million to overhaul.
Scarce airframe parts and shops
Only 44 built; unique parts can take time to source, and few mechanics know the airframe well.
Low propeller clearance
About 8 in of ground clearance; blades erode and composite propellers are costly. A five-blade replacement exists.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Honeywell and many independent shops support the TPE331 engines. Airframe support is thinner: few shops see a 400LS regularly, so owners usually build a relationship with one specialist and keep spare parts in mind.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Cruises around 340 kt in the high 20,000s, faster than any King Air and quicker than early Citation jets on short trips.
- Climbs about 3,200 ft a minute at maximum weight and is certified to 41,000 ft with a 10,000 ft cabin.
- Certified for one pilot with no type rating, and burns roughly 105 to 110 gallons an hour on typical trips.
Limitations
- Only about 365 lb of payload with full tanks, so four passengers means trading fuel and range.
- The cabin is about 4 ft 4 in tall, with a curtained toilet seat rather than an enclosed lavatory.
- About 23 remain on the US register, so parts, propeller service and experienced mechanics take effort to find.
The Cheyenne 400LS is the last and most powerful member of Piper's Cheyenne family of pressurized twin turboprops. It takes the T-tail cabin of the Cheyenne III and IIIA and replaces their Pratt & Whitney engines with two Garrett TPE331-14 turboprops, now supported by Honeywell, each limited to 1,000 shaft horsepower and turning large four-blade composite propellers. The tail was enlarged and the fuselage strengthened for the extra speed and altitude. The FAA approved it in July 1984, and Piper built 44 by the early 1990s, making it the largest aircraft Piper has produced and one of the rarest business turboprops on the market.
Pilot's take
From the left seat, the 400LS feels closer to an early jet than a turboprop. The climb is the headline, and the airplane is a stable instrument platform with firm, honest controls. The Garrett engines have their own habits: they reward careful starts, ideally with ground power in the cold, and their computers trim power above about 21,500 ft to protect temperatures. Single-pilot workload is reasonable with a good autopilot and navigator, and many owners have added Garmin displays. Respect the low propeller clearance on uneven ramps, and plan fuel honestly: with every seat filled, this is a 1,100 nm airplane, not a 2,000 nm one.
Who this is for
An owner-pilot or a business with one professional pilot who values time over cabin size, usually flies three to six people up to about 1,200 nm, and is comfortable owning a rare airplane with a specialist support plan.
Ask about this aircraft
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