OE-FDS

OE-FDS is a Piper Cheyenne 2, a twin-engine piston aircraft. SkyMeter has tracked 40 flights totalling 56 hours of airtime via ADS-B. The most frequent segment is LHPR to LOAN. Service window in our records spans 416 days. The Piper Cheyenne 2 has a 43 ft wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of 9,474 lb.

About the Piper Cheyenne 2

The Piper PA-42 Cheyenne III represents the pinnacle of Piper's pressurized turboprop twin line, introduced in 1979 as a step-up from the earlier Cheyenne II. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-41 engines producing 720 shaft horsepower each, the Cheyenne III offered owner-pilots and small charter operators a genuine cabin-class experience with stand-up headroom, club seating for six to eight passengers, and a private aft lavatory, capabilities previously reserved for much larger aircraft. The IIIA variant, which appeared in 1983, added a distinctive T-tail and stretched fuselage, improving stability and cabin volume while maintaining the type's reputation for solid high-altitude performance with a service ceiling of 29,000 feet and cruise speeds around 300 knots.

What distinguished the Cheyenne III in its era was its positioning as a serious business tool that could be flown single-pilot under Part 91, yet offered near-turbofan comfort and range (roughly 1,400 nautical miles with reserves). The aircraft found favor with corporate flight departments, air ambulance operators, and cargo feeders who needed pressurization, known-icing capability, and the ability to operate from shorter runways than competing jets. Production ended in 1993 after approximately 180 Cheyenne IIIs and IIIAs were built, but the type remains active in charter, medevac, and owner-flown roles across the Americas and beyond.

SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.