Twin-engine piston · operating costs

Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain Operating Costs and Cost per Hour

A Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain costs about $690 an hour to operate at 200 hours a year: $31,000 a year fixed plus $531 per flight hour, itemised with sources.

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CRAFT estimate, fuel priced October 4, 2026

At a glance

Per flight hour at 200 hrs a year: $686
Per year at 200 hrs: $137,170
Fixed costs / year: $30,970
Variable / flight hour: $531; 100LL, $326/hr today
Fuel burn: 44 gal/hr; no pilot salary
Crew assumed: Owner-flown

CRAFT estimates in USD for a U.S.-based aircraft. How we estimate them is below; every line has its source.

What a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain costs per hour

The Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain is a twin-engine piston, burning 44 gallons of 100LL avgas an hour. In our estimate it costs $531 for every hour it flies and $30,970 a year whether it flies or not. Spread over 200 hours a year, that is about $686 a flight hour; over 100 hours, $841; over 400, $608.

The estimate assumes the owner flies it, so there is no pilot salary in it. Hiring a pilot adds about $120,808 a year; the calculator below has a switch for that. The largest single cost at 200 hours is fuel cost, at $65,200 a year.

Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain cost calculator

Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain annual cost

Hours flown per yearhrs

100LL avgas price, per gallonDefault $7.41, the U.S. average FBO price. Fuel prices$

Hire a pilot (adds $120,808 a year with benefits). Off: the owner flies it, no salary.

$137,178 per year

$30,970 fixed + $531/hr × 200 hrs ($326/hr of it fuel: 44 gal at $7.41). About $686 per flight hour with the fixed costs spread over the hours. Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, CRAFT estimate.

Fixed costs

What the Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain costs a year before it flies an hour.

Fixed costs
Fixed costs	Per year	How it is worked out
Crew Salary	$0	Owner-flown: no pilot salary. A hired pilot would add about $120,808 a year: $84,540, the BLS 25th percentile, commercial pilots, plus 43% for benefits and payroll costs (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026). Switch it on in the calculator.Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (released May 15, 2026); BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026)
Crew TrainingEstimate, $2,500 to $6,000	$4,250	Recurrent training for the pilot each year (a flight review or instrument proficiency check with an instructor, or a type course), $2,500 to $6,000 for a twin-engine piston. CRAFT estimate.
HangarEstimate, $6,480 to $14,160	$10,320	A large T-hangar, from Concord-Padgett's T-50 unit ($540 a month) to a 56 ft cabin-class unit at Naples ($1,180): $540 to $1,180 a month. Big-city airports cost more, a tie-down much less.Source: Published airport hangar and tie-down rates (Concord-Padgett Regional, City of Concord NC; Naples Airport Authority FY2026) (read October 15, 2026)
InsuranceEstimate, $6,600 to $10,500	$8,550	Liability of $600 to $1,500 a year plus hull cover at 1% to 1.5% of a hull value of $600,000, a typical value for twin-engine piston airplanes, CRAFT estimate (no published price for this model). BWI's published guidance: twin-engine pistons typically $4,000 to $8,000 a year; liability $400 to $1,200 and hull at 1% to 1.5% of agreed value for piston aircraft (a twin's higher limits put liability at the top of that range). Midpoints used; pilot experience moves it a lot.Source: BWI Aviation Insurance, "How much is aircraft insurance? A complete 2026 cost breakdown" (January 4, 2026)
Management	$0	Owner-managed: no management company. The owner books maintenance and keeps the records.
Annual InspectionEstimate, $3,500 to $8,000	$5,750	The annual inspection every piston aircraft needs to stay airworthy, before any repairs it finds: $3,500 to $8,000 for a twin-engine piston. CRAFT estimate.
Miscellaneous FixedEstimate, $1,200 to $3,000	$2,100	Navigation database and chart subscriptions, an EFB app, weather, tie-down away from home and the aircraft's paperwork: $1,200 to $3,000 a year for a twin-engine piston. CRAFT estimate.
Total	$30,970

Variable costs

What each flight hour adds. Fuel is priced at $7.41 a gallon; every dollar a gallon moves the hourly cost by $44.

Variable costs
Variable costs	Per flight hour	How it is worked out
Fuel Cost	$326	44 gallons of 100LL avgas an hour (Lycoming Engines, Lycoming Operator's Manual 60297-23A, TIO-540 Series, Angle Valve Cylinder Heads, ENGINE-level figure, not the POH: TIO-540-J2B/-J2BD (Chieftain), Performance Cruise (75% rated, 260 hp at 2575 RPM) 22.0 gal/hr per engine = 44.0 gal/hr for two engines; Economy Cruise (60% rated, 210 hp) 15.0 per engine = 30.0 total. Lycoming lists these as maximum consumption, so leaned cruise burn is typically lower) at $7.41 a gallon, our u.S. average FBO price for 100LL avgas on 2026-10-04.Source: Lycoming Engines, Lycoming Operator's Manual 60297-23A, TIO-540 Series, Angle Valve Cylinder Heads; CRAFT fuel price data: AirNav Fuel Price Report, national 100LL average
MaintenanceEstimate, $70 to $150	$110	Scheduled maintenance, parts, labor and unscheduled repairs for the airframe and avionics: $70 to $150 a flight hour for a twin-engine piston. Older aircraft sit at the top of the range. CRAFT estimate.
Engine OverhaulEstimate, $40 to $80	$60	An hourly reserve for the next engine overhaul (time between overhauls 1,800 hours, Lycoming Engines): $20 to $40 per engine per hour for a twin-engine piston, for 2 engines. No published overhaul price for this engine, so a CRAFT estimate.Source: Lycoming Engines, Lycoming Service Instruction 1009BF, Time Between Overhaul (TBO) Schedules (2026-07-20)
Crew/Landing/Handling FeesEstimate, $10 to $35	$23	Landing and ramp fees away from home: $10 to $35 a flight hour for a twin-engine piston. CRAFT estimate.
Miscellaneous VariableEstimate, $6 to $18	$12	Oil, filters and cleaning supplies for two engines: $6 to $18 a flight hour. CRAFT estimate.
Total	$531

Annual cost at 100, 200 and 400 hours

Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain estimated annual operating cost
Hours a year	100 hours	200 hours	400 hours
Fixed costs	$30,970	$30,970	$30,970
Variable costs	$53,100	$106,200	$212,400
Total a year	$84,070	$137,170	$243,370
Per flight hour	$841	$686	$608

Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain specs

Class: Twin-engine piston
Engines: 2 × Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD / LTIO-540-J2BD
Fuel: 100LL avgas
Fuel burn: 44 gal/hr
Engine TBO: 1,800 hours

The Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain compared with similar aircraft

Same method, same fuel prices, at 200 hours a year.

Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain and similar aircraft, operating cost at 200 hours a year
Aircraft	Per hour	Per year	Fuel burn
Piper PA-31-350 Navajo ChieftainTwin-engine piston	$686	$137,170	44 gal/hr
Beechcraft Baron 58Twin-engine piston	$563	$112,570	27.4 gal/hr
Diamond DA62Twin-engine piston	$450	$89,970	11.8 gal/hr
Diamond DA42 Twin StarTwin-engine piston	$440	$87,970	10.4 gal/hr
Cessna 206 StationairSingle-engine piston	$324	$64,705	19.2 gal/hr
GippsAero GA8 AirvanSingle-engine piston	$315	$62,905	18 gal/hr

How we estimate these costs

Every aircraft on our operating cost calculator is costed the same way: fixed costs a year plus a cost per flight hour, from public inputs. Crew pay comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, hangar rates from published airport schedules, insurance from a broker's published guidance, fuel from our fuel price data, and the fuel burn, engine overhaul interval from Lycoming Engines. Lines marked “estimate” are the midpoint of a stated range for twin-engine piston airplanes, not a quote. Nothing here comes from another cost calculator or a broker's budgets.

Not included: the purchase price, financing, depreciation, sales tax, upgrades and paint or interior work, and any rental or charter income.
What moves it most: hours flown (fixed costs spread thinner), the fuel price, where it is hangared, the pilot's experience (insurance) and the aircraft's age (maintenance).

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Frequently asked questions

How much does a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain cost per hour?

About $690 a flight hour flown 200 hours a year, in CRAFT's estimate: $531 an hour in direct costs (fuel, maintenance, engine and parts reserves, fees) plus $30,970 a year in fixed costs spread over the hours. Flown 100 hours it is about $840 an hour; flown 400, about $610. That assumes the owner flies it, with no pilot salary.

How much does it cost to own a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain for a year?

About $137,000 a year flown 200 hours: $30,970 in fixed costs (crew training, hangar, insurance, annual inspection, miscellaneous fixed) and $106,200 in hourly costs. The purchase price, financing and depreciation are not included.

How much fuel does a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain burn?

44 gallons of 100LL avgas an hour (Lycoming Engines, Lycoming Operator's Manual 60297-23A, TIO-540 Series, Angle Valve Cylinder Heads). At $7.41 a gallon, the u.S. average FBO price for 100LL avgas on October 4, 2026, that is $326 a flight hour. Every dollar a gallon moves it by $44.

Does the Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain estimate include a pilot?

No. Most twin-engine piston airplanes are flown by their owners, so the crew line is $0. Hiring a pilot adds about $121,000 a year with benefits, from BLS pay data; the calculator on this page has a switch for it.

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