The PA-12 market this morning
What does a used PA-12 ask right now?
With 8 for sale this morning, the Piper PA-12 is the 50th most-listed piston type on Barnstormers and second to the Piper PA-28 Cherokee among Piper types. 2 were listed in the last 30 days and 7 came down, slower churn than the piston singles average.
Asking prices run from $12,000 to $200,000, and half of the 7 priced listings sit between $48,500 and $189,500. The median is $129,000, 26% above the piston singles median of $102,249; 2 of the 9 Piper types here ask more.
3 sellers cut price in the last 30 days, 38% of the live fleet against 27% across every type we track; the average cut took 4% off the ask. Of the PA-12s we watched appear, 30% were still for sale 30 days later.
Written from this morning's figures and how they compare with the other types on the site. It changes as the market does.
Asking price distribution
Asking prices as typed by the seller. "Call" and "make offer" are counted as unpriced.
Median asking by decade
| Built | Seen | Median ask | Cut rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 8 | $88,750 | 25% |
| 2000s | 2 | $164,500 | 50% |
| 2010s | 2 | $48,750 | 100% |
| 2020s | 1 | $189,500 | 100% |
Year is read from the seller's title, so 61% of PA-12 listings don't have one. They count everywhere else on this page but not in this table.
Be first to the next PA-12 that lists or drops
One Telegram message the morning a PA-12 appears in your budget, and another the day a seller cuts, with days listed and where the ask sits against these 8. Free during beta.
Buyer's notes
About the Piper PA-12
What it is
The PA-12 Super Cruiser is the three-seat Cub that Piper built from 1946 to 1948, a little under four thousand airplanes in that short postwar run. It took the J-5 Cruiser layout, a pilot up front and two passengers side by side on a rear bench, and gave it a 100 or 108 hp Lycoming O-235, wing tanks and a wider fuselage than the J-3. It is a steel-tube fuselage under fabric, and the wings left the factory with wood spars.
It flies like a heavier, more purposeful Cub: stable, honest and willing to carry a load out of a short strip. Alaska adopted it early, and a large share of the surviving fleet has spent its life on floats, skis or big tires with an engine far bigger than the one it was born with. Owners talk about it as the Cub that can actually carry something.
Variants that matter for price
There is only one model, so the value spread comes from what has been done to it. A stock PA-12 with the original O-235 and wood spars sits at the bottom. The common path is an O-320 conversion to 150 or 160 hp under a long-standing STC, and a Super Cruiser with 160 hp, a climb prop and a gross-weight increase asks far more. Wing work matters just as much: many have been rebuilt with metal spars, and some carry PA-18 style wings with flaps, which the original airplane did not have. Extended baggage, a skylight, big tires and floats each add value. A stock restoration sells to a different buyer than a bush rebuild.
What buyers check
Wood spars are inspected for compression cracks, rot and repairs, and the buyer should know whether the wings were rebuilt and by whom. Lift struts on the fabric Pipers corrode from the inside and are either replaced with sealed struts or inspected on a schedule. The fuselage tubing gets the usual look at the lower longerons, tail post and gear clusters. Conversion paperwork is checked carefully: a 160 hp airplane with a proper STC, matching prop and correct weight and balance is worth a lot more than the same engine with questionable paperwork. An annual tends to find worn tailwheel parts, tired shock cords, cracked exhaust and small fabric repairs.
Who it suits
The PA-12 suits a pilot who wants a Cub that carries two friends or a load of camping gear and is willing to fly a tailwheel airplane into short and unimproved places. It is not fast, the rear bench is cozy for two adults and a stock 100 hp version is marginal on a hot day with three aboard. Buyers cross-shop the PA-18 Super Cub (two seats, flaps, more STCs, more money), the rare four-seat PA-14, a Cessna 170 for a metal airplane that carries more and the Citabria 7GCBC.
How much does a used Piper PA-12 cost?
Asking prices on Barnstormers this morning run from $12,000 to $200,000, and the median is $129,000. The middle half of the 7 priced listings sit between $48,500 and $189,500. These are asking prices, not sale prices.
How many Piper PA-12s are for sale right now?
8 on Barnstormers as of Oct 18, 2026. 2 were listed in the last 30 days and 7 came down. PlaneSnipe has tracked 33 since Jul 19, 2026.
How long does a Piper PA-12 take to sell?
30% of the PA-12 listings we watched appear are still for sale 30 days later, so most take longer than that. We will publish a median once more than half of the cohort has closed.
How often do Piper PA-12 sellers cut the price?
3 price cuts in the last 30 days against 8 live listings, averaging 4% off the previous ask. Cuts are logged when the asking price drops between two consecutive mornings.
Last 30 days
Which PA-12 sellers cut their price in the last 30 days?
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Experimental PA-12Oct 13 | — | 72 d | $49,000$48,500−1% |
| Piper J-5A (PA12)Oct 10 | TX | 31 d | $49,500$45,900−7% |
| 2026 PA-12 Super CruiserOct 8 | OR | 79 d | $199,500$189,500−5% |
For sale now
Which PA-12s are for sale right now?
Newest first. Days listed is counted from the morning we first saw the ad; listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 show the day we started watching.
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Cuts | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA-12 Projects | — | 20 d | – | $12,000 |
| Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser | AR | 28 d | – | $68,000 |
| 1946 Piper PA-12 | CA | 39 d | – | $195,000 |
| 2005 Restored PA12 | WI | 62 d | 1 | $129,000 |
| 2003 PA12 Amphib Boyer | MN | 64 d | – | $200,000 |
| 2019 Experimental PA-12 | — | 72 d | 1 | $48,500 |
| 2026 PA-12 Super Cruiser | OR | 79 d | 2 | $189,500 |
| PA12 Throttle Panel | — | 89 d | – | see ad |
Cross-shop
What else does a PA-12 buyer look at?
Other Piper types with a page here, then the same class at a similar asking price.
Geography and method
Where are the PA-12s, and how are they counted?
Where they are
How we count
Barnstormers piston categories are read once a day. A listing is "delisted" after it is missing on two consecutive mornings. Days listed starts the morning we first saw the ad, so listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 are excluded from time-on-market figures. Prices are asking prices as typed by the seller. Nothing here is an appraisal. Full methodology.