Piper PA-18 — Airworthiness Directives & records checklist
468 Piper PA-18s are on the U.S. registry. Here’s what a records review covers for one — the Airworthiness Directives that apply, the known trouble spots, and the checklist a buyer or owner should hold every logbook against.
Airworthiness Directives that apply to the Piper PA-18
- one-timeAD 78-10-03 — Airworthiness Directives; Piper Models J-3, J-4, J-5, PA-11, PA-12, PA-14, PA-16, PA-18, PA-20 and PA-22 Aircraft · 1978-01-01
- one-timeAD 68-05-01 — Airworthiness Directives; Piper Models J3, J4, J5, PA-11, PA-12, PA-14, PA-15, PA-16, PA-17, PA-18, PA-19, PA-20, PA-22, and PA-24 Type Airplanes · 1968-01-01
- one-timeAD 60-10-08 — Airworthiness Directives; Piper Models All PA- 22, PA-20, and PA-18 Airplanes · 1960-01-01
- one-timeAD 53-04-01 — Airworthiness Directives; Piper All Model PA-18 Aircraft · 1953-01-01
This is the applicability list. Which of these are complied with, their computed next-due dates, and the 15 serial/mod-conditional ADs that actually apply to your aircraft come from its digitized logbooks — that’s the verified report.
Known trouble spots on the PA-18
Many Hartzell and McCauley constant-speed props carry blade-shank or hub ADs plus a calendar/hours overhaul interval; blade corrosion and hub grease leaks are common findings. Confirm the prop AD status and last overhaul against the interval.
NTSB history on the type
1 recorded event on the Piper PA-18 type — 0 fatal, 0 destroyed, 1 substantial damage. A per-tail report checks whether this aircraft has an accident or damage record.
The records checklist for a Piper PA-18
Enter a tail number and Tailplate reads its logbooks against this list — every AD matched to compliance evidence, next-due dates computed, damage history pulled, and a records-adjusted value.
Look up a tail number →or see the free AD listApplicability is derived from the FAA directive corpus and the aircraft’s type certificate; it is advisory and not a legal airworthiness determination. Compliance is established only from an aircraft’s actual records.