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The name "Piper Cub" is nearly synonymous with lightplane. It was designed as a small, simple, tandem two-seat airplane for flight training. The J-3 model first flew in 1937, but its lineage stretches back to the 1930 Taylor E-2 Cub. After William Piper bought out C. G. Taylor's share of the company, Cub development accelerated. Young chief engineer Walter Jamouneau was charged with updating the E-2, and the J-2 model was born. With rounded wings, revised engine cowling, and wider stance, the J-2 established the classic Cub lines.
In 1937, the newly renamed Piper Aircraft Corporation introduced the improved J-3 Cub Sport model. The J-3 introduced many detail refinements over the J-2, and with its factory yellow finish and fuselage lightning streak, it became the iconic Cub model. It was popular in the pre-war years, but World War II thrust the little plane into a new role. The Army purchased 5,677 J-3 Cubs, called L-4s, for observation and liaison. Cubs, along with similar aircraft produced by Aeronca and Taylorcraft, enabled commanders to move quickly among their troops, spot from the air, and help direct artillery fire. After the war, many Cubs returned to civilian life, where they helped to popularize aviation in the post-war period. Although production of the over 14,000 civil J-3 Cubs ended in 1947, its descendants, most notably the Piper PA-18 Super Cub, were manufactured into the 1990s.
The Museum's Piper Cub is a J3C65 model, manufactured in 1946, and powered by a Continental A-65 engine. It had private owners in Maryland and Tennessee and was later owned and operated by the Dover Air Force Base Aero Club in Delaware and the Travis Air Force Base Aero Club in California. The Museum acquired the aircraft from AiRestore of Battle Ground Washington in 1997.
The name "Piper Cub" is nearly synonymous with lightplane. It was designed as a small, simple, tandem two-seat airplane for flight training. The J-3 model first flew in 1937, but its lineage stretches back to the 1930 Taylor E-2 Cub. After William Piper bought out C. G. Taylor's share of the company, Cub development accelerated. Young chief engineer Walter Jamouneau was charged with updating the E-2, and the J-2 model was born. With rounded wings, revised engine cowling, and wider stance, the J-2 established the classic Cub lines.
In 1937, the newly renamed Piper Aircraft Corporation introduced the improved J-3 Cub Sport model. The J-3 introduced many detail refinements over the J-2, and with its factory yellow finish and fuselage lightning streak, it became the iconic Cub model. It was popular in the pre-war years, but World War II thrust the little plane into a new role. The Army purchased 5,677 J-3 Cubs, called L-4s, for observation and liaison. Cubs, along with similar aircraft produced by Aeronca and Taylorcraft, enabled commanders to move quickly among their troops, spot from the air, and help direct artillery fire. After the war, many Cubs returned to civilian life, where they helped to popularize aviation in the post-war period. Although production of the over 14,000 civil J-3 Cubs ended in 1947, its descendants, most notably the Piper PA-18 Super Cub, were manufactured into the 1990s.
The Museum's Piper Cub is a J3C65 model, manufactured in 1946, and powered by a Continental A-65 engine. It had private owners in Maryland and Tennessee and was later owned and operated by the Dover Air Force Base Aero Club in Delaware and the Travis Air Force Base Aero Club in California. The Museum acquired the aircraft from AiRestore of Battle Ground Washington in 1997.
