Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Piper built the PA-31 Navajo for commuter, cargo and corporate transport, using a low wing, twin engines and tricycle gear. Production ran from 1967 to 1984, including licensed manufacture in Latin America. Versions differed in cabin layout and capability. Simulator enhancement packages identify the base aircraft they require.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A charter company’s introduction became a cross-country
Leighton’s company collected its Navajo in California after the required transition training, then took it home to Florida with stops in Las Vegas and at the Grand Canyon. That long introduction grew into a working relationship over the following months. He valued its loading flexibility, the passenger-friendly airstair and the steady feel when flying instruments. Older equipment remained part of the experience.
Piper Flyer · November 2005 account, republished online in 2014. The company’s 1970 PA-31-310.
Piper Flyer · Read more ↗An expansion for the Carenado Navajo
SimCoders identifies Carenado’s X-Plane 11 PA-31 as the required base aircraft. The developer documents X-Plane 12 support from REP 4.7.0, including rain effects. Added features cover a custom piston-engine model, turbocharger behaviour, oxygen and vacuum systems, with an option for small differences between the two engines.
Piper PA-31 Navajo · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
SimCoders · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube A10boy
Piper Navajo cockpit intro.
An introduction to the Navajo cockpit layout.
Real PA-31-350 Navajo
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Piper PA-31 Navajo
Piper built the PA-31 Navajo for commuter, cargo and corporate transport, using a low wing, twin engines and tricycle gear. Production ran from 1967 to 1984, including licensed manufacture in Latin America. Versions differed in cabin layout and capability. Simulator enhancement packages identify the base aircraft they require.
Piper PA-31 Navajo
Piper → · Explore the family →
Piper PA-31 Navajo
Wikipedia contributors · Piper PA-31 Navajo ↗SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Growing from Navajo to Chieftain
Piper introduced the original Navajo in 1967. The later Chieftain added a 24-inch fuselage extension ahead of the main spar and 350 hp engines, creating more passenger and cargo space. Winter’s history treats the pressurised Navajo and Mojave separately.
Piper Flyer · The Piper Navajo: The Last of the Lock Haven Planes ↗Piper Flyer family history · variant distinctions
Development milestones
First flight: 30 September 1964
Wikipedia contributors · Piper PA-31 Navajo ↗Piper PA-31 Navajo · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1374354704
Pilot accounts
A charter company’s introduction became a cross-country
Leighton’s company collected its Navajo in California after the required transition training, then took it home to Florida with stops in Las Vegas and at the Grand Canyon. That long introduction grew into a working relationship over the following months. He valued its loading flexibility, the passenger-friendly airstair and the steady feel when flying instruments.
Older equipment remained part of the experience. The radar and original autopilot needed familiarity, but he found them useful once understood. Maintenance was generally manageable for his operation, although tasks such as bleeding the brakes were distinctly less enjoyable. The company eventually sold the aircraft when commercial insurance economics pushed it towards turboprops. His positive recollection is rooted in that particular aircraft and business, rather than a promise that every Navajo will have the same costs or condition.
Piper Flyer · November 2005 account, republished online in 2014. The company’s 1970 PA-31-310.
Read the full account · Piper Flyer ↗Looking up at the aeroplane for the first time
Winter’s introduction was abrupt. After a checkride in a Cessna 310, her employer told her to take another in a Navajo and then fly it back to the remote base. She had never been inside one, and its sheer height was intimidating. Memorising the cockpit and aircraft figures got her through, but she remained critical of the employer’s casual approach to training.
As familiarity replaced that first anxiety, Winter found the Navajo unusually gentle and comfortable to fly. Later experience across short-body versions and the Chieftain gave her a more detailed view of their loading and handling differences. She remembered the family as useful working aircraft with cabin space passengers appreciated. Even finding a suitable hangar could become part of the ownership decision once its wingspan and tall tail were considered.
Piper Flyer · February 2017. Recollections spanning the original Navajo, Navajo C and Chieftain.
Read the full account · Piper Flyer ↗A larger family aircraft, with a hangar problem to solve
Hughes chose the Chieftain when his family’s needs outgrew the Aztec he had owned for years. Adult children, their families and baggage made space valuable, while his wife particularly wanted air conditioning. The longer cabin helped decide the choice. He retained much of the aircraft’s older equipment while making selected navigation and communications improvements.
At home, the tall tail would not fit through his hangar door. Hughes devised a lifting tug that raised the nose enough to lower the tail beneath the opening. The story captures both the utility and the practical complications of a large personal twin. Asked what she liked best, his wife immediately picked the air conditioning; her remaining wish was a cabin tall enough to stand up in fully.
Piper Owner Society · April 2020. A Chieftain acquired at a government auction in August 2014, after earlier charter service.
Read the full account · Piper Owner Society ↗A big cabin and a surprisingly approachable flight
Davy enjoyed the sense of occasion before the engines even started: the airstair entrance, substantial luggage space and comfortable seats made the Chieftain feel like a small airliner. Reaching the cockpit also meant negotiating the spar across the cabin floor, which caught him out. Once airborne, he was surprised by how approachable the large twin felt.
Formation work with the camera aircraft showed him light, effective controls, although engine response still required patience. Returning to Blackbushe, he turned in more tightly than Tim had intended and had to revise the descent. The mains touched gently, quickly followed by the nosewheel, a landing characteristic Tim recognised from his own recent experience. Davy left enthusiastic enough to welcome the suggestion of a future group trip to Europe.
Pilot flight test. A 1979 PA-31 Chieftain flown from Blackbushe with the owner aboard and Tim, a retired airline captain, in the right seat.
Read the full account · Pilot ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 Enhancement Piper PA-31 Navajo
SimCoders · Released
Piper PA-31 Navajo
SimCoders · Released
X-Plane 12PA-31 Chieftain
JetStream / CIS · Released
PA-31 Chieftain
JetStream / CIS · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 32 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (9.94 m) |
| Wingspan | 40 ft 8 in (12.40 m) |
| Height | 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) |
| Wing area | 229 sq ft (21.3 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 3,930 lb (1,783 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 6,500 lb (2,948 kg) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Lycoming TIO-540-A air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally opposed piston engine , 310 hp (230 kW) each |
| Propellers | 3-bladed Hartzell metal, fully feathering propellers, 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) diameter |
| Maximum speed | 261 mph (420 km/h, 227 kn) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m) |
| Cruise speed | 238 mph (383 km/h, 207 kn) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) (econ. cruise) |
| Stall speed | 73 mph (117 km/h, 63 kn) (flaps down) |
| Range | 1,165 mi (1,875 km, 1,012 nmi) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) (econ. cruise speed) |
| Service ceiling | 26,300 ft (8,000 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,445 ft/min (7.34 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
An expansion for the Carenado NavajoPiper PA-31 Navajo · SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
SimCoders identifies Carenado’s X-Plane 11 PA-31 as the required base aircraft. The developer documents X-Plane 12 support from REP 4.7.0, including rain effects. Added features cover a custom piston-engine model, turbocharger behaviour, oxygen and vacuum systems, with an option for small differences between the two engines.
Gathered SimCoders page · compatibility milestone, not an observed installed revision
SimCoders · Read the source ↗A twin whose condition carries into the next sessionPiper PA-31 Navajo · SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
REP adds a walkaround, towing, a mass-and-balance tool and maintenance reporting. Its description says battery state and engine temperatures continue across sessions, with elapsed time affecting the next start. An optional economy system attaches virtual costs to fuel and repairs, and the preheater can remain active while the simulator is closed.
Developer-documented ownership and systems features
SimCoders · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Developer documentation
PA-31 Chieftain — product listingPA-31 Chieftain · X-Plane 12
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
www.jetstreamfs.com · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Aircraft background
Piper PA-31 NavajoWikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12Product
Reality Expansion Pack · Piper PA31 NavajoSimCoders · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 CIS Piper Chieftain - JetStream FSwww.jetstreamfs.com · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 5 profile choices
Carenado PA31-350 Chieftain
Carenado · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Partial review
X-Plane 11
Carenado PA31-350 Chieftain: The profile supplies the piston twin’s selected yoke loading.
Carenado PA31 Navajo
Carenado · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 11
Carenado PA31 Navajo: The profile supplies the piston twin’s selected yoke loading.
JetStream / CIS PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain
JetStream / CIS · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
JetStream / CIS PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain: The profile supplies the piston twin’s selected yoke loading.
SimCoders REP / Carenado PA-31 Navajo (XP12)
SimCoders · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
SimCoders REP / Carenado PA-31 Navajo (XP12): The profile supplies the piston twin’s selected yoke loading.
Piper PA-31 Navajo
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Piper PA-31 Navajo: The profile supplies the piston twin’s selected yoke loading.
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