Cheyenne IIXL D-INFO on display at AERO Friedrichshafen, Germany, in April 2023. · Photo: Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Piper · Turboprop
Cheyenne IIXL (PA-31T2)
Stretched, more powerful version of the Cheyenne II, built 1981 to 1984 alongside the larger T-tail Cheyenne III.
One of the fastest small twin turboprops of its era, cruising near 270 knots on proven PT6 engines with more legroom than the Cheyenne II. The trade-offs are a low cabin, practical range near 800 nm, and a small fleet with thinning parts support.
Buy it if
You fly two to five people on 200 to 750 nm trips, want twin-turbine redundancy and speed near 270 knots, and care more about pace and purchase price than cabin height.
Skip it if
You regularly need more than 800 nm nonstop, want an enclosed lavatory or a stand-up cabin, or prefer a large fleet with strong factory parts support behind it.
Biggest compromise
Range and cabin size. With four passengers and standard fuel reserves the IIXL covers about 800 to 850 nm, so New York to Palm Beach usually needs a stop.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$674K–$675K
guide value (PlanePhD and Conklin & de Decker)
What it costs per year
$526K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,060 nm
769–850 nm with passengers
How fast
274 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
5
5 typical, up to 6 passengers
Pilots needed
1
Flown by one pilot; insurers expect simulator-based recurrent training every year.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$674K–$675K
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Two listings show prices, $990,000 and $1.4 million, both with upgraded glass cockpits; published guides value a typical IIXL near $675,000.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Cheyenne IIXL (PA-31T2) · This aircraft
$674K–$675K guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
Sits between the Cheyenne II (PA-31T) and the King Air E90.
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, maintenance and engine reserve rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$120,00023%
- Recurrent training$11,5002%
- Hangar$24,0005%
- Insurance$20,0004%
- Subscriptions and databases$5,5001%
- Fuel$175,31133%
- Maintenance$107,25020%
- Engine reserve$62,10012%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 33% of the total.
The JetGrade
69 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Beechcraft King Air C90, Beechcraft King Air E90, Piper Cheyenne II, Cessna Conquest I, Mitsubishi MU-2 short body
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on cabin & passenger comfort.
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
1 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.3 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop, well within range
- 3.0 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · High-altitude airport; depends on weight and weather
- 3.5 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Near practical range; headwinds may force a stop
- 4.1 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Usually one stop; nonstop only light and calm
- 5.2 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One stop, typically midway
- 9.3 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two stops across the country
Lineage
What came before and after
1981–1984
Cheyenne IIXL (PA-31T2)
Two-foot stretch, PT6A-135 engines, no stability augmentation system.
What changed from the Cheyenne II (PA-31T)
- Fuselage stretched 24 inches ahead of the wing, with an added cabin window.
- PT6A-135 engines rated 750 shp but held to 620, replacing the PT6A-28.
- Forward balance let Piper drop the stability augmentation system the Cheyenne II needs.
- About 20 inches more cabin legroom and 4 inches more in the cockpit.
- Strengthened landing gear and new propellers.
- Maximum takeoff weight of 9,474 lb.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Cheyenne IIXL (PA-31T2)
- JetGrade
- 69
- Price
- $674K–$675K guide
- Cost per year
- $526K
- Range
- 1,060 nm
- Speed
- 274 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1981–1984
← Before
- JetGrade
- 69
- Price
- $435K–$540K guide
- Cost per year
- $505K
- Range
- 1,510 nm
- Speed
- 283 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 8′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1974–1981
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 71
- Price
- $1.42M
- Cost per year
- $550K
- Range
- 1,120 nm
- Speed
- 247 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 12′ 4″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1984–1992
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $770K–$860K guide
- Cost per year
- $586K
- Range
- 1,490 nm
- Speed
- 248 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 12′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1972–1981
- Beechcraft King Air C90A instead: Taller, wider cabin, a much larger fleet and Textron factory support; about 25 knots slower and usually priced higher.
- Beechcraft King Air E90 instead: Same PT6 engine family in a roomier King Air cabin with factory support; roughly 25 knots slower.
- Piper Cheyenne II instead: Shorter cabin and needs a stability-augmentation system, but far more were built, so there are more aircraft and parts to choose from.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135 · 620 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Progressive inspection · 100 hr
- Nose baggage door latch · 1,000 hr
- Hot section inspection · 1,800 hr
- Propeller overhaul · 3,000 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,600 hr
- Rudder torque tube check every 12 months
No confirmed pay-per-hour plan for this engine; owners usually set money aside each hour or use an on-condition program based on trend monitoring and borescope checks.
Known issues
Structural and gear fixes
Older ADs required fuselage bulkhead and main gear brace fixes; missing paperwork means repeat inspections and possibly costly structural work.
Nose-heavy with light loads
With only the front seats filled it sits near its forward limit; poor flare technique risks hard landings or go-around pitch-up.
Nose baggage door latch
Latch and lock parts are life-limited and checked every 1,000 hours; an unlatched nose door in flight is a known hazard.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 9 checked
Pratt & Whitney PT6 shops are everywhere, but airframe parts and know-how sit with a few Cheyenne specialists such as Friend AirCare in Pennsylvania and Lyddon Aero in Kansas.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Fast for its class: 273 to 275 knots at maximum cruise, 25 to 50 knots quicker than King Air 90 models.
- Proven Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135 engines with a 3,600-hour overhaul interval and shops nationwide.
- The 24-inch stretch adds about 20 inches of cabin legroom and removes the Cheyenne II's stability-augmentation system.
Limitations
- Practical range near 800 to 850 nm with four passengers; New York to Palm Beach usually needs a stop.
- Cabin about 4 ft high and 4 ft wide, with a belted toilet seat rather than an enclosed lavatory.
- Only about 80 were built and roughly 24 remain US-registered, so parts and specialist shops are limited.
The Cheyenne IIXL is Piper's 1981 stretch of the Cheyenne II, the pressurized twin turboprop that grew out of the Navajo piston family. Piper added 24 inches to the fuselage ahead of the wing, fitted Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135 engines rated at 750 shaft horsepower but held to 620 for takeoff, and raised maximum takeoff weight to 9,474 lb. Only about 80 were built between 1981 and 1984, and roughly 24 remain on the US register today. It sits between the shorter Cheyenne II and the larger, T-tailed Cheyenne III.
Pilot's take
We would call the IIXL a pilot's airplane. The longer fuselage gives it the stable, predictable pitch feel the short Cheyennes lack, and it climbs at about 1,750 ft per minute to the low 20s, where 265 knots is routine. Engine management is manual, with no automatic start or exceedance protection, so disciplined starts matter. Light loads leave it nose-heavy: fly the flare with elevator rather than heavy nose-up trim, or a go-around can pitch up sharply. Plan fuel conservatively beyond 750 nm, and budget for simulator-based recurrent training every year.
Who this is for
An owner-pilot or small company stepping up from a piston twin or single-engine turboprop, flying 150 to 400 hours a year on regional trips with up to five passengers, who wants two turbine engines and accepts a smaller cabin.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Cheyenne IIXL (PA-31T2).
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