Piper Cub (J-3)

The Piper J-3 ‘Cub’ was designed by Walter Jamouneau as a small, light and simple utility aircraft. It is one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time, and its simplicity, affordability, and popularity invoked comparisons to the Ford Model T automobile. Its standard yellow paint job came to be known as “Cub Yellow.”

Background

Its predecessor, the Taylor E-2 Cub, first appeared in 1930. It underwent several changes and became the J-2, released in 1936, when William T. Piper bought out C. Gilbert Taylor. Although sales were initially slow, about 1,200 J-2s were produced before a fire in the Piper factory ended its production in 1938.

After Piper moved his factory, the J-3 replaced the J-2. Powered by a 40 horsepower (30 kW) engine, in 1938 it sold for just over $1,000. Sales were boosted by the pre-World War II Civilian Pilot Training program, and the Cub was later modified to perform various military duties. An icon of the era, the J-3 Cub has long been beloved by pilots and non-pilots alike, with thousands still in use today.

World War II service
 
Piper developed a military variant, used during World War II, which was designated L-4. Used primarily as a trainer and a surveilance plane, an L-4 “Grasshopper” once found itself pursued by a German Messerschmitt Bf-109, outmaneuvered it and caused it to crash, and was credited for a kill.

L-4s were also sometimes equipped with rockets. Mechanically identical to the J-3, the military versions were equipped with large Plexiglas windows extending over the top of the wing and behind the rear-seat passenger, and the side windows were enlarged as well. After the war, most L-4s were destroyed or sold as surplus, but a few saw service in the Korean War. The Grasshoppers sold as surplus in the U.S. were redesignated as J-3s, but often retained their wartime glazing and paint.

Legacy
 
Pictured is a Piper Cub portrayed in a 1997 stamp by the United States Postal Service, part of a series called ‘Classic American Aircraft’.

Piper sold 19,073 J-3s between 1938 and 1947, the majority of them L-4s and other military variants. Postwar, thousands of Grasshoppers were civilian-registered under the designation J-3. Hundreds of Cubs were assembled from parts in Canada, Denmark, and Argentina, and by a licensee in Oklahoma. A 1946 model that sold new for about $2,500 would fetch more than $30,000 today in good condition.

In the late 1940s, the J-3 was replaced by the PA-11 (1,500 were produced), and then the Piper PA-18 Super Cub, which Piper produced until 1981 when it sold the rights to WTA Inc. In all, Piper produced 2,650 Super Cubs. The Super Cub had a 150-horsepower (110 kW) engine which increased its top speed to 130 miles per hour (210 km/h) and its range to 460 miles (740 km).

Modernized and up-engined versions are produced today by Cub Crafters of Washington and by American Legend Aircraft in Texas, as the Cub continues to be sought after by bush pilots for its STOL capabilities.

So popular is the J-3 as a subject for radio controlled model aircraft that manufacturers of R/C covering film produce it in available Cub Yellow.

Specifications (J3C-65 Cub)

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Capacity: 1 passenger
Length: 22 ft 5 in (6.8326 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 3 in (10.7442 m)
Height: 6 ft 8 in (2.032 m)
Wing area: 178.5 ft² (16.58 m²)
Empty weight: 765 lb (345 kg)
Useful load: 455 lb (205 kg)
Maximum gross takeoff weight: 1,220 lb (550 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Continental A-65-8 , 65 hp @ 2350 RPM (48.47 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 76 knots (87 mph, 140 km/h)
Cruise speed: 65 knots (75 mph, 121 km/h)
Range: 191 nm (220 mi, 354 km)
Service ceiling: 11,500 ft (3,505 m)
Maximum rate of climb: 450 ft/min (2.286 m/s)
Wing loading: 6.84 lb/ft² (33.4 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 18.75 lb/hp (11.35 kg/kW)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Uses material from the article Piper J-3.