(Piper) Cub - J-3 - L-4 @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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Piper Cub

The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time. The Cub's simplicity, affordability and popularity invokes comparisons to the Ford Model T automobile. Its standard yellow paint has come to be known as "Cub Yellow" or "Lock Haven Yellow."

Pre-war

The Taylor E-2 Cub first appeared in 1930, built by Taylor Aircraft in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by William T. Piper, a Bradford industrialist who had invested in the company, the E-2 was meant to be an affordable aircraft that would encourage interest in aviation. Later in 1930, the company went bankrupt, with Piper buying the assets but keeping founder C. Gilbert Taylor on as president. In 1936, an earlier Cub was altered by employee Walter Jamouneau to become the J-2 while Taylor was on sick leave. (The coincidence led some to believe that the "J" stood for Jamonoueau, while aviation historian Peter Bowers concluded that the letter simply followed the E, F, G, and H models, with the I omitted because it could be mistaken for the numeral one.). When he saw the redesign, Taylor was so incensed that he fired Jamouneau. Piper, however, had encouraged Jamouneau's changes, and hired him back. Piper then bought Taylor's share in the company, paying him US$250 per month for three years.

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 company from Bradford to Lock Haven, the J-3, which featured further changes by Jamouneau, replaced the J-2. Powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) engine, in 1938, it sold for just over $1,000.

The outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1939, coupled with the growing realization that the United States might soon be drawn into World War II, resulted in the formation of the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). The Piper J-3 Cub would play an integral role in the success of the CPTP, achieving legendary status.

The Piper J-3 Cub became the primary trainer aircraft of the CPTP - 75 percent of all new pilots in the CPTP (from a total of 435,165 graduates) were trained in Cubs. By war's end, 80 percent of all United States military pilots received their initial flight training in Piper Cubs. The need for new pilots created an insatiable appetite for the Cub. In 1940, the year before the United States' entry into the war, 3,016 Cubs were built; soon, wartime demands would increase that production rate to one Piper J-3 Cub being built every 20 minutes.

World War II service

The Piper Cub quickly became a familiar sight. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took a flight in a J-3 Cub, posing for a series of publicity photos to help promote the CPTP. Newsreels and newspapers of the era often featured images of wartime leaders, such as Generals Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and George Marshall, flying around European battlefields in Piper Cubs. Civilian-owned Cubs joined the war effort as part of the newly formed Civil Air Patrol (CAP), patrolling the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast in a constant search for German U-boats and survivors of U-boat attacks.

Piper developed a military variant ("All we had to do," Bill Jr. is quoted as saying, "was paint the Cub olive drab to produce a military airplane"), variously designated as the L-4, O-59 and NE-1. The variety of models were collectively nicknamed "Grasshoppers" and were used extensively in World War II for reconnaissance, transporting supplies and medical evacuation. L-4s were also sometimes equipped with lashed-on infantry bazookas for ground attack. 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.

In Europe, the final dogfight of WWII occurred between an L-4 and a German Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. The pilot and co-pilot of the L-4, Lts. Duane Francis and Bill Martin, opened fire on the Storch with their .45 caliber pistols, forcing the German air crew to land and surrender.

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.

Postwar

An icon of the era, the J-3 Cub has long been loved by pilots and non-pilots alike, with thousands still in use today. 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 (by Cub Aircraft as the Cub Prospector), Denmark and Argentina, and by a licensee in Oklahoma. A 1946 model that sold new for about $2,500, today, in good condition, would fetch more than $30,000.

In the late 1940s, the J-3 was replaced by the PA-11 (1,500 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 hp (110 kW) engine which increased its top speed to 130 mph (210 km/h); its range was 460 miles (740 km).

Modern production

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, as well as by recreational pilots for its nostalgia appeal. The new aircraft are actually modeled on the PA-11, though the Legend company does sell an open-cowl version with the cylinder heads exposed, like the J-3 Cub. An electrical system is standard from both manufacturers.

The J-3 is distinguished from its successors by the exposed cylinder heads. There are very few other examples of "flat" aircraft engines (as opposed to radial engines) in which the cylinder heads are exposed. From the PA-11 on through the present Super Cub models, the cowling surrounds the cylinder heads.

A curiosity of the J-3 is that when it is flown solo, the lone pilot normally occupies the rear seat for proper balance, to balance the fuel tank located at the firewall. Starting with the PA-11, and some L-4s, fuel was carried in wing tanks, allowing the pilot to fly solo from the front seat.

Piper PA-18

The Super Cub was introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the Piper PA-11, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930s. In close to 40 years of production, over 9,000 were built; Super Cubs are commonly found in roles such as bush flying, banner and glider towing, and other situations in which short field performance is required.

Although Piper ended production of the Super Cub in 1981, the aircraft has effectively returned to production as the newly-certified 180 hp (134 kW) Cub Crafters CC18-180 Top Cub. Additionally, other companies recognized the excellent capabilities of the design and produce similar aircraft. The best-known of these is the Aviat Husky and Smith Cubs, although several kitplanes such as Kitfox, Murphy Aircraft, and other manufacturers, resemble the Super Cub in that they are STOL tail-dragger designs. Over the years, several companies have offered various plans and kits (based upon the Super Cub) for home construction. Wag Aero currently offers one such kit of the PA-12, which was a forerunner to the PA-18 (and very similar) as well as the J-3 Cub aircraft.

Design

While based on the design of the earlier Cubs, the addition of an electrical system, flaps, and a vastly more powerful engine, make it a very different flying experience. Although the "standard" Super Cub was fitted with a 150 hp (112 kW) Lycoming engine, it was not uncommon to see them equipped with a 180 hp (134 kW) powerplant. The high-lift wing and powerful engine made the Super Cub a prime candidate for conversion to either floatplane or skiplane. In addition, the PA-18A (an agricultural version) was produced for applying either dry chemical or liquid spray.

A classic aircraft whose simplicity and performance has guaranteed it legendary status, the Super Cub retains the basic "rag and tube" (fabric stretched over a steel tube frame) structure of the earlier J-3 Cub.

The first true "Super" Cubs had flaps, dual fuel tanks, and an O-235 Lycoming engine producing about 108 hp (115 hp for takeoff only). However, a 95 hp Continental without flaps and an optional second wing tank was available. Their empty weight was, on the average, 800-1000 lbs with a gross weight of 1500 lbs. These Cubs would take off in about 400 feet (at gross weight) and land in about 300 feet (thanks to the flaps). The Super cub is renowned for its ability to take off and land in veryshort distanses. With a light wing loading some can take of in 50 feet and land in 30. The O-290 Lycoming powered Cubs (135 hp) followed and would take off in about 200 feet. The landing distance remained the same at about 400 feet, or 300 feet using flaps. With the use of the Lycoming O-320 at 150-160 hp, the Cub's allowable gross weight increased to around 1700 lbs while retaining the capability of a mere 200 feet for takeoff. This statement would become the Super Cub of legendary status: If the Cub could land, it would almost certainly have enough room to take off again, especially if not too heavily loaded.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Piper Cub of Wikipedia ( authors )

Specifications (J3C-65 Cub)

  • Crew : one pilot.
  • Capacity : one passenger.
  • Length : 22 ft 5 in (or 6.83 m).
  • Height : 6 ft 8 in (or 2.03 m).
  • Wingspan : 35 ft 3 in (or 10.74 m).
  • Wing area : 178.5 ft² (or 16.58 m²).
  • Wing loading : 6.8 lb/ft² (or 33.4 kg/m²).
  • Empty weight : 765 lb (or 345 kg).
  • Useful load : 455 lb (or 205 kg).
  • Max takeoff weight : 1,220 lb (or 550 kg).
  • Maximum speed : 76 kn (or 87 mph, 140 km/h).
  • Cruise speed : 65 kn (or 75 mph, 121 km/h).
  • Range : 191 NM (or 220 mi, 354 km).
  • Service ceiling : 11,500 ft (or 3,500 m).
  • Rate of climb : 450 ft/min (or 2.3 m/s).
  • Powerplant : A Continental A-65-8 air-cooled flat four.
  • Power : 65 hp (or 48 kW) at 2350 RPM.
  • Power/mass : 18.75 lb/hp (or 11.35 kg/kW).

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Piper Cub of Wikipedia ( authors )
Piper Cub - J-3 - L-4 : Your comments on this subject
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