The 1981 Cheyenne II features a refreshed paint scheme following its purchase and import to the United States seven years ago.
Ron Joyce was in college when his father, who had done some flight training himself previously, asked whether he might be interested in learning to fly. His first lesson near Winston-Salem, North Carolina made it apparent that aviation was worth pursuing.
Joyce continued taking lessons during college, before earning his private pilot certificate in the late 1970s. A 1962 Cessna 150 purchase commemorated that accomplishment shortly thereafter.
“It really needed paint and needed an interior, but it was a low-time airplane, mechanically in good shape. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was a great airplane for building time,” he said, noting that his next airplane was a Piper Cherokee.
He soon wound up needing a more capable plane to more efficiently visit Joyce Farm’s customers and operations across the Southeastern United States. Staying in the Piper family, a choice he would make several more times in the future, his next airplane was a Comanche. He earned both his instrument and commercial ratings in this aircraft.
“People were saying, ‘No, you need to get a Bonanza,” Joyce recalled. “But when I started looking at the operating costs, the speed (which is the most important thing to a pilot), load-carrying capability, everything, the Comanche fit almost perfectly.”
Aviation helped support the premium meat and poultry company’s operations and fuel its growth, which in turn led to the need for an aircraft with longer and faster legs. The next Piper Joyce purchased was a Navajo, his first twin.
“I loved that airplane,” he said. “One of the greatest days of my life, I think, is getting into a Navajo and getting comfortable flying it. I put a thousand plus hours on it.”
A return flight home from a work trip one stormy summer day was an important inflection point for what aircraft would suit the business best. The unpressurized aircraft didn’t have enough oxygen for all four occupants, so they were forced to fly at 11,000 feet while getting pummeled by turbulent air.
“We were just dodging cumulus clouds and just getting beat up all the way back [to Lexington, North Carolina] from Birmingham,” Joyce recalled. “I told my son, I said, you know, I’ve done enough of this. We’re going to use this airplane, use an airplane for business. We’ve got to look at a turboprop.”
His familiarity with Pipers eventually led him towards purchasing a Cheyenne, even as he considered options that are typically considered to be more capable – like King Airs and legacy light jets.
“I ruled out Cheyenne Is because of the difference in performance between the I and the II. The II is better, as it offers more speed – about 40 knots more than the Cheyenne I. And that just seemed to be, again, another airplane that fit our mission perfectly.”
The 1,240 horsepower produced by the PT6A-28’s gives the aircraft a cruise speed of roughly 250 knots, while burning about 68 gallons an hour at FL250. The Cheyenne II has a published two-engine climb rate of 2,710 feet per minute, and Joyce notices this ability in icing, confident in its capabilities when moving through layers of weather.
Finding this particular Piper PA-31T (serial number 31T8120012) was an interesting journey, as Joyce spent almost 18 months looking for the right Cheyenne – searching high to low, coast to coast, before expanding the search internationally.
He found a 1981 model with about 4,700 hours, which was owned by an individual in Vancouver, British
Columbia, who sold mining equipment throughout the Western United States and Canada.
“I’ve always felt like a lower-time airframe is important,” he said. “People say it doesn’t matter. But in my mind [it is important], with an airplane that’s being pressurized and just the wear and tear on the airframe. I was really looking to find the right plane because I really was happy with the Navajo overall and wasn’t anxious to get rid of it, so took my time finding the right Cheyenne,” he said, noting that the first order of business for the new-to-him twin was an exterior refresh.
“It was a nice paint job, don’t get me wrong. It just wasn’t my favorite. One of my friends said that it looked like a Diet Coke can and he was right,” Joyce explained, noting that the aircraft was previously painted with a gold metallic scheme that sported red and black trim.
Now seven years later, he has logged approximately 600 hours in the Cheyenne – flying it 90% of the time for business purposes. Even while flying frequently throughout the year in varying conditions, Joyce is intentional about training and was a more recent convert to including simulator-based work in his regimen.
“One of the things they could do in a simulator is put you in situations that aren’t safe to do in an airplane,” he said, highlighting a memorable training session where he was presented with a 300-foot ceiling and an engine failure caused by a bird strike.
“All the blood, I mean, it was so realistic. I think what the instructor was trying to do was just get me so distracted, you know, to see at what point I would keep flying the airplane or not keep flying the airplane. I got the engine identified and feathered before heading back to the airport and landing just fine.”
Joyce also makes a point of staying current on his own and has developed a routine of practicing different instrument approach types and holds over a few-hour span. One recent exercise took him from Davidson County Airport (KEXX) in North Carolina to Blue Ridge Airport (KMTV) in Virginia for a localizer approach, then to Mount Airy Airport (KMWK) in North Carolina for an RNAV approach, before returning to home base for an ILS.
An important panel upgrade has helped Joyce keep his confidence during approaches, especially ones he hasn’t practiced in a while or are particularly cumbersome. In October of 2025, his aircraft became the first Cheyenne to be equipped with the GFC 600, something Joyce called Garmin about for years after first hearing of the autopilot’s STC for turbine aircraft.
The addition of the new autopilot has been one of the many positive ownership experiences with the
seven-seat aircraft, and the only regret Joyce has currently is not moving into a Cheyenne sooner.
“If your mission justifies it, there should be no looking back. I wish I had made the decision five years earlier,” he said. “I think turboprops are safer and more reliable. We haven’t cancelled a trip, maybe one, in the seven years I’ve had this plane. Obviously, the maintenance requirements are a little more intense, and you are going to spend more on fuel than you are in a light twin, but you also get there a lot faster so it’s not that big of a jump when you look at it.”
Looking to the future, Joyce really can’t see any other airplane filling his hangar. When examining his flight profile, coupled with his comfort flying this plane and its costs, there isn’t anything out there that inspires another transition. Although a Cheyenne III may make sense if he needed the additional cabin space and two more seats.
“When I look at value, and I look at our mission, the Cheyenne II fits it perfectly. I could sell it almost any time, and I get at least one call a month asking if I want to sell it,” Joyce said. “But the problem I have with moving out of the Cheyenne is: what would I move into that would give me more than what I have now?
