$995–2,461 when newDeveloped fromVariantsThe Piper J-3 Cub is an American that was built between 1938 and 1947. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Piper Aircraft's, with nearly 20,000 built in the United States. Its simplicity, affordability and popularity invokes comparisons to the.The aircraft is a, with a large-area rectangular wing. It is most often powered by an air-cooled, driving a fixed-pitch propeller.
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Its is a welded steel frame covered in, seating two people in.The Cub was originally intended as a trainer and had great popularity in this role and as a aircraft. Due to its performance, it was well suited for a variety of military uses such as reconnaissance, liaison and ground control. It was produced in large numbers during as the L-4 Grasshopper. Many Cubs are still flying today. Notably, Cubs are highly prized as.The aircraft's standard paint has come to be known as 'Cub Yellow' or 'Lock Haven Yellow'. Piper J-3 Cub painted Cub YellowThe first appeared in 1930, built by in. Sponsored by, a Bradford industrialist and investor, the affordable E-2 was meant to encourage greater interest in aviation.
Later in 1930, the company went bankrupt, with Piper buying the assets, but keeping founder on as president. In 1936, an earlier Cub was altered by employee to become the while Taylor was on sick leave. (The coincidence led some to believe that the 'J' stood for Jamouneau, 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 $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, a former silk mill in, ended its production in 1938. After Piper moved his company from Bradford to, PA; the J-3, which featured further changes by Jamouneau, replaced the J-2.
The changes mostly amounted to integrating the vertical fin of the tail into the rear fuselage structure and covering it simultaneously with each of the fuselage's sides, changing the rearmost side window's shape to a smoothly curved half-oval outline and placing a true steerable tailwheel at the rear end of the J-2's leaf spring-style tailskid, linked for its steering function to the lower end of the rudder with springs and lightweight chains to either end of a double-ended rudder control horn. Powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) engine, in 1938, it sold for just over $1,000.A number of different air-cooled engines, most of configuration, were used to power J-3 Cubs, resulting in differing model designations for each type: the J3C models used the, the J3F used the, and the J3L used the. A very few examples, designated J3P, were equipped with Lenape Papoose 3-cylinder.The outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1939, along with the growing realization that the United States might soon be drawn into, resulted in the formation of the (CPTP).
The Piper J-3 Cub became the primary trainer aircraft of the CPTP and played an integral role in its success, achieving legendary status. About 75% of all new pilots in the CPTP (from a total of 435,165 graduates) were trained in Cubs.
By war's end, 80% of all United States military pilots had 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 had been built; wartime demands soon increased that production rate to one Cub being built every 20 minutes. Flitfire. Flitfire, used in RAF Benevolent Fund and war bond effortsPrior to the United States entering World War II, J-3s were part of a fund-raising program to support the United Kingdom. Billed as a Flitfire, a Piper Cub J3 bearing Royal Air Force insignia was donated by W.
Piper and Franklin Motors to the to be raffled off. Piper distributors nationwide were encouraged to do the same. On April 29, 1941, all 48 Flitfire aircraft, one for each of the 48 states that made up the country at that time, flew into for a dedication and fundraising event which included Royal Navy officers from the battleship, in New York for repairs, as honored guests. At least three of the original Flitfires have been restored to their original silver-doped finish. Operational history World War II service. A Piper Cub of the 1st Marine Division’s improvised air force snags a message from a patrol on New Britain's north coastThe Piper Cub quickly became a familiar sight. First Lady took a flight in a J-3 Cub, posing for a series of publicity photos to help promote the CPTP.
And newspapers of the era often featured images of wartime leaders, such as Generals, and, flying around European battlefields in Piper Cubs.Civilian-owned Cubs joined the war effort as part of the newly formed, patrolling the and in a constant search for German 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 O-59 (1941), L-4 (after April 1942) and NE (U.S. The L-4 Grasshopper was mechanically identical to the J-3 civilian Cub, but was distinguishable by the use of a greenhouse skylight and rear windows for improved visibility, much like the and also in use with the US armed forces. It had accommodations for a single passenger in addition to the pilot.
When carrying only the pilot, the L-4 had a top speed of 85 mph (137 km/h), a cruise speed of 75 mph (121 km/h), a service ceiling of 12,000 ft (3,658 m), a stall speed of 38 mph (61 km/h), an endurance of three hours, and a range of 225 mi (362 km). Some 5,413 L-4s were produced for U.S. Forces, including 250 built for the U.S. Navy under contract as the NE-1 and NE-2.All L-4 models, as well as similar, tandem-cockpit accommodation aircraft from and, were collectively nicknamed ', though the L-4 was almost universally referred to by its civilian designation of Cub. The L-4 was used extensively in World War II for reconnaissance, transporting supplies, artillery spotting duties and medical evacuation of wounded soldiers. During the in June 1944, the L-4's slow cruising speed and low-level maneuverability — alongside examples of the aircraft occasionally used by the and other Commonwealth forces for the same purposes — made it an ideal observation platform for spotting hidden German armor waiting in ambush in the hedgerowed country south of the invasion beaches. For these operations, the pilot generally carried both an observer/radio operator and a 25-pound communications radio, a load that often exceeded the plane's specified weight capacity.
After the Allied breakout in France, L-4s were also sometimes equipped with improvised racks, usually in pairs or quartets, of infantry for ground attack (actually a form of ) against German armored units. The most famous of these L-4 ground attack planes was Rosie the Rocketer, piloted by Maj., whose six bazooka rocket launchers were credited with eliminating six enemy tanks and several armored cars during its wartime service, especially during the.After the war, many L-4s were sold as surplus, but a considerable number were retained in service. L-4s sold as surplus in the U.S.
Were redesignated as J-3s, but often retained their wartime glazing and paint. A 1946-built J3C-65 in 2011An icon of the era and of American in general, the J-3 Cub has long been loved by pilots and nonpilots 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. After the war, thousands of Grasshoppers were civilian-registered under the designation J-3. Hundreds of Cubs were assembled from parts in Canada (by as the Cub Prospector), Denmark and Argentina and by a licensee in Oklahoma.In the late 1940s, the J-3 was replaced by the Cub Special (1,500 produced), the first Piper Cub version to have a fully enclosed cowling for its powerplant and then the, 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).Korean War service The L-4 was used extensively by both U.S. And South Korean Air Forces in the early 1950s. During the Korean War, the L-4 was in service in many of the same roles it had performed during World War II, such as artillery spotting, forward air control and reconnaissance.
Some L-4s were fitted with a high-back canopy to carry a single stretcher for medical evacuation of wounded soldiers. Modern production Modernized and up-engined versions are produced today by of and by in, as the Cub continues to be sought after by pilots for its short takeoff and landing 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. A Piper J3C-65 front view showing 'eyebrow' air scoops on its engine cylindersThe J-3 is distinguished from its successors by having a cowl that exposes its engine's cylinder heads — the exposed cylinders of any J-3's engine were usually fitted with sheet metal 'eyebrow' air scoops to direct air over the cylinder's fins for more effective engine cooling in flight. Very few other examples exist of 'flat' aircraft engine installations (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, as well as some L-4s, fuel was carried in wing tanks, allowing the pilot to fly solo from the front seat. Piper J3P NX20280 with Lenape engine at Oshkosh July 2012 J3P Variant powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) or three-cylinder radial engine J-3R Variant with slotted flaps powered by a 65 hp (48 kW) engine. J-3X 1944 variant with cantilever wing powered by a 65 hp (48 kW) engine.
Cammandre 1 A French conversion of J-3 Cub/L-4 aircraft Poullin J.5A Five L-4 Cubs converted by Jean Poullin for specialist tasks. Poullin J.5B A single L-4 Cub converted by Jean Poullin for specialist tasks Wagner Twin Cub A twin fuselage conversion of the J-3 Military YO-59 Four US Army Air Corps test and evaluation J3C-65 O-59 Production version for the USAAC; 140 built later redesignated L-4 O-59A Improved version, powered by a 65-hp (48-kW) Continental O-170-3 piston engine; 948 built, later redesignated L-4A L-4 Redesignated YO-59 and O-59 L-4A Redesignated O-59A. L-4B As per L-4A, but without radio equipment; 980 built L-4C Eight impressed J3L-65s, first two originally designated UC-83A.
Andrade, John (1979). U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Midland Counties Publications. Bowers, Peter M. McGraw Hill. Peperell, Roger W; Smith, Colin M (1987). Piper Aircraft and their Forerunners.
Tonbridge, Kent, England:. Gaillard, Pierre (1990). Les Avions Francais de 1944 a 1964 (in French).
Paris: Editions EPA.External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. at. history of the J-3. Brief timeline of the history of Piper Aircraft, starting with the Piper Cub. Annual of Piper Cubs held in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.
$995–2,461 when newDeveloped fromVariantsThe Piper J-3 Cub is an American that was built between 1938 and 1947. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Piper Aircraft's, with nearly 20,000 built in the United States.
Its simplicity, affordability and popularity invokes comparisons to the.The aircraft is a, with a large-area rectangular wing. It is most often powered by an air-cooled, driving a fixed-pitch propeller. Its is a welded steel frame covered in, seating two people in.The Cub was originally intended as a trainer and had great popularity in this role and as a aircraft. Due to its performance, it was well suited for a variety of military uses such as reconnaissance, liaison and ground control. It was produced in large numbers during as the L-4 Grasshopper. Many Cubs are still flying today. Notably, Cubs are highly prized as.The aircraft's standard paint has come to be known as 'Cub Yellow' or 'Lock Haven Yellow'.
Piper J-3 Cub painted Cub YellowThe first appeared in 1930, built by in. Sponsored by, a Bradford industrialist and investor, the affordable E-2 was meant to encourage greater interest in aviation. Later in 1930, the company went bankrupt, with Piper buying the assets, but keeping founder on as president. In 1936, an earlier Cub was altered by employee to become the while Taylor was on sick leave. (The coincidence led some to believe that the 'J' stood for Jamouneau, 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 $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, a former silk mill in, ended its production in 1938. After Piper moved his company from Bradford to, PA; the J-3, which featured further changes by Jamouneau, replaced the J-2.
The changes mostly amounted to integrating the vertical fin of the tail into the rear fuselage structure and covering it simultaneously with each of the fuselage's sides, changing the rearmost side window's shape to a smoothly curved half-oval outline and placing a true steerable tailwheel at the rear end of the J-2's leaf spring-style tailskid, linked for its steering function to the lower end of the rudder with springs and lightweight chains to either end of a double-ended rudder control horn. Powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) engine, in 1938, it sold for just over $1,000.A number of different air-cooled engines, most of configuration, were used to power J-3 Cubs, resulting in differing model designations for each type: the J3C models used the, the J3F used the, and the J3L used the. A very few examples, designated J3P, were equipped with Lenape Papoose 3-cylinder.The outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1939, along with the growing realization that the United States might soon be drawn into, resulted in the formation of the (CPTP). The Piper J-3 Cub became the primary trainer aircraft of the CPTP and played an integral role in its success, achieving legendary status. About 75% of all new pilots in the CPTP (from a total of 435,165 graduates) were trained in Cubs.
By war's end, 80% of all United States military pilots had 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 had been built; wartime demands soon increased that production rate to one Cub being built every 20 minutes. Flitfire. Flitfire, used in RAF Benevolent Fund and war bond effortsPrior to the United States entering World War II, J-3s were part of a fund-raising program to support the United Kingdom. Billed as a Flitfire, a Piper Cub J3 bearing Royal Air Force insignia was donated by W.
Piper and Franklin Motors to the to be raffled off. Piper distributors nationwide were encouraged to do the same. On April 29, 1941, all 48 Flitfire aircraft, one for each of the 48 states that made up the country at that time, flew into for a dedication and fundraising event which included Royal Navy officers from the battleship, in New York for repairs, as honored guests. At least three of the original Flitfires have been restored to their original silver-doped finish. Operational history World War II service.
A Piper Cub of the 1st Marine Division’s improvised air force snags a message from a patrol on New Britain's north coastThe Piper Cub quickly became a familiar sight. First Lady took a flight in a J-3 Cub, posing for a series of publicity photos to help promote the CPTP.
And newspapers of the era often featured images of wartime leaders, such as Generals, and, flying around European battlefields in Piper Cubs.Civilian-owned Cubs joined the war effort as part of the newly formed, patrolling the and in a constant search for German 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 O-59 (1941), L-4 (after April 1942) and NE (U.S. The L-4 Grasshopper was mechanically identical to the J-3 civilian Cub, but was distinguishable by the use of a greenhouse skylight and rear windows for improved visibility, much like the and also in use with the US armed forces. It had accommodations for a single passenger in addition to the pilot. When carrying only the pilot, the L-4 had a top speed of 85 mph (137 km/h), a cruise speed of 75 mph (121 km/h), a service ceiling of 12,000 ft (3,658 m), a stall speed of 38 mph (61 km/h), an endurance of three hours, and a range of 225 mi (362 km).
Some 5,413 L-4s were produced for U.S. Forces, including 250 built for the U.S.
Navy under contract as the NE-1 and NE-2.All L-4 models, as well as similar, tandem-cockpit accommodation aircraft from and, were collectively nicknamed ', though the L-4 was almost universally referred to by its civilian designation of Cub. The L-4 was used extensively in World War II for reconnaissance, transporting supplies, artillery spotting duties and medical evacuation of wounded soldiers. During the in June 1944, the L-4's slow cruising speed and low-level maneuverability — alongside examples of the aircraft occasionally used by the and other Commonwealth forces for the same purposes — made it an ideal observation platform for spotting hidden German armor waiting in ambush in the hedgerowed country south of the invasion beaches. For these operations, the pilot generally carried both an observer/radio operator and a 25-pound communications radio, a load that often exceeded the plane's specified weight capacity. After the Allied breakout in France, L-4s were also sometimes equipped with improvised racks, usually in pairs or quartets, of infantry for ground attack (actually a form of ) against German armored units.
The most famous of these L-4 ground attack planes was Rosie the Rocketer, piloted by Maj., whose six bazooka rocket launchers were credited with eliminating six enemy tanks and several armored cars during its wartime service, especially during the.After the war, many L-4s were sold as surplus, but a considerable number were retained in service. L-4s sold as surplus in the U.S. Were redesignated as J-3s, but often retained their wartime glazing and paint. A 1946-built J3C-65 in 2011An icon of the era and of American in general, the J-3 Cub has long been loved by pilots and nonpilots 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.
After the war, thousands of Grasshoppers were civilian-registered under the designation J-3. Hundreds of Cubs were assembled from parts in Canada (by as the Cub Prospector), Denmark and Argentina and by a licensee in Oklahoma.In the late 1940s, the J-3 was replaced by the Cub Special (1,500 produced), the first Piper Cub version to have a fully enclosed cowling for its powerplant and then the, 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).Korean War service The L-4 was used extensively by both U.S.
And South Korean Air Forces in the early 1950s. During the Korean War, the L-4 was in service in many of the same roles it had performed during World War II, such as artillery spotting, forward air control and reconnaissance. Some L-4s were fitted with a high-back canopy to carry a single stretcher for medical evacuation of wounded soldiers. Modern production Modernized and up-engined versions are produced today by of and by in, as the Cub continues to be sought after by pilots for its short takeoff and landing 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. A Piper J3C-65 front view showing 'eyebrow' air scoops on its engine cylindersThe J-3 is distinguished from its successors by having a cowl that exposes its engine's cylinder heads — the exposed cylinders of any J-3's engine were usually fitted with sheet metal 'eyebrow' air scoops to direct air over the cylinder's fins for more effective engine cooling in flight.
Very few other examples exist of 'flat' aircraft engine installations (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, as well as some L-4s, fuel was carried in wing tanks, allowing the pilot to fly solo from the front seat. Piper J3P NX20280 with Lenape engine at Oshkosh July 2012 J3P Variant powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) or three-cylinder radial engine J-3R Variant with slotted flaps powered by a 65 hp (48 kW) engine. J-3X 1944 variant with cantilever wing powered by a 65 hp (48 kW) engine. Cammandre 1 A French conversion of J-3 Cub/L-4 aircraft Poullin J.5A Five L-4 Cubs converted by Jean Poullin for specialist tasks.
Poullin J.5B A single L-4 Cub converted by Jean Poullin for specialist tasks Wagner Twin Cub A twin fuselage conversion of the J-3 Military YO-59 Four US Army Air Corps test and evaluation J3C-65 O-59 Production version for the USAAC; 140 built later redesignated L-4 O-59A Improved version, powered by a 65-hp (48-kW) Continental O-170-3 piston engine; 948 built, later redesignated L-4A L-4 Redesignated YO-59 and O-59 L-4A Redesignated O-59A. L-4B As per L-4A, but without radio equipment; 980 built L-4C Eight impressed J3L-65s, first two originally designated UC-83A. Andrade, John (1979).
U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Midland Counties Publications. Bowers, Peter M. McGraw Hill. Peperell, Roger W; Smith, Colin M (1987).
Piper Aircraft and their Forerunners. Tonbridge, Kent, England:. Gaillard, Pierre (1990). Les Avions Francais de 1944 a 1964 (in French).
Paris: Editions EPA.External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. at. history of the J-3. Brief timeline of the history of Piper Aircraft, starting with the Piper Cub. Annual of Piper Cubs held in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.