The short answer
TTAF (Total Time Airframe) is the total number of flight hours accumulated by the airframe since it left the factory. Unlike engine times, TTAF never resets — it is the aircraft's lifetime odometer.
How TTAF is used
TTAF anchors an aircraft's value and history: a 1975 airframe with 3,000 total hours has led a very different life from the same model with 14,000. Listings usually quote TTAF alongside engine SMOH — "4,800 TT, 900 SMOH" — because the two clocks move independently once an engine is overhauled or exchanged.
Some airframe components and inspections key off total time or cycles, and certain airframes carry published life limits or spar inspections triggered by TTAF. Accurate, continuous logbook records are what make a quoted TTAF trustworthy; gaps in the record are a common finding in pre-purchase research.
Related terms and reading
Keep every hour and inspection straight
Maggneto tracks engine times, inspections, and ADs from your actual logbooks — so terms like these become numbers you can act on. Browse the full maintenance glossary.