1978 Piper Navajo Chieftain – Well-Equipped, Corrosion-Free, and Ready for a New Home

Well, this is a post I was hoping I wouldn’t have to make…. I’m putting my 1978 Piper Navajo Chieftain (PA-31-350) up for sale. I bought this plane to fly my family around, and it has been absolutely incredible for us. We’ve taken it all over the country, into Canada, and even down to the Bahamas. It’s been a fantastic, reliable hauler, and if I didn’t have to sell it, I wouldn’t. Unfortunately was recently involved in a bad car accident when a 91 year old ran a red light and hit me going about 50mph and broke my leg, ribs and tore up my shoulder which is going to require surgery and have me grounded for at least the next six months. With me being out of work and us only flying it 30-40 hours a year anyways, it’s just getting harder to justify keeping it around. I love this airplane, and I hope someone else will enjoy it as much as I have.


The aircraft is corrosion-free and has been Midwest-based for the last 20+ years—mostly in Iowa before moving to Chicagoland. It’s in very good shape, with paint about 7/10 and the interior 6.5/10—comfortable, but could use some refreshing. Mechanically, it’s in good condition. Recent maintenance includes GAMI turbo fuel injectors, new vacuum pumps, engine mounts, valve cover gaskets, intake gaskets, and magneto work—the left got a 500-hour service, and the right was fully overhauled to new tolerances. Heated pilot windshield and boots are all in good condition. All logs are complete since new. There was an accident where the nose gear collapse in 1996. It was repaired and has flown reliably ever since. The aircraft is also on Savvy analysis engine monitoring and borescope analysis.

One small note: I swapped the aft-facing potty seat for a forward-facing seat, intending to reupholster it, but never got around to it. If you’d prefer, I can swap it back to the original configuration before the sale.

So if you’re looking at a Cessna 400 Series but want to avoid the pressurization and insurance costs the Navajo is a phenomenal option. It’s a ton of airplane for the price—big cabin, great performance, and solid reliability without the extra complexity. I’m happy to share everything I know and don’t know about the airplane. Sorry about the photo quality, I had to compress them down to make them fit in the post!



TTSN: 7,533

SMOH L/R: 1,258 (2005)

SPOH: 131 (2020)

IFR Certification October 2024

June Annual

• Garmin GTN750

• Garmin GNC255 Nav/Com

• Garmin GTX345 ADS-B In/Out transponder

• Bendix FCS-810 A/P- Works well!

• Keith Electric Air Conditioning recently serviced and works great!

$229,000

I'm not in the market but I always thought these things were super cool and lusted after flying one. What kind of speeds and fuel burns do you usually see on your trips? What's the range with full fuel and useful load on one of these beasts?

Loved my time in the front and the back of the Navajo Chieftan(s)! Those days are long gone and you will miss it. However, it's hard to fly and pay for flying when you are grounded and rehabbing.

First charter I flew as a pax back in the mid 80’s was a Chieftain. Syracuse NY to Findlay OH and back. I was hooked. ice, ifr, low viz. Changed my life.

Went to the SYR airport. Got a discovery flight and 10,000 hours and millions of $ later….i wouldn’t change a thing. Well I would have bought my last airplane first.

PM sent

Passenger configuration with the pilot door - nice.

I've only got a couple hundred hours in the 350 Chieftain but I love the plane. I think this is the top of the line for cabin class non-pressurized twin.