subject: The J-3 Piper Cub And Its Real-Life Story [print this page] The J-3 Piper Cub And Its Real-Life Story
The Piper Cub J-3 was a lightweight airplane built between 1930 to 1950 by Piper Aircraft in the United States. The Piper Cub's first flight took place in 1938 and it was powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) engine. At such time, it sold for just over $1,000 back in the 30's. It was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and well-known lightweight aircrafts of all time.When World War II started in Europe, the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was created in the United States to prepare American pilots for the war. The Piper Cub became the trainer aircraft of choice by the CPTP. In 1940, when the United States entered the war, a Piper Cub J-3 was built every 20 minutes. By the end of the war almost 80% of military pilots where trained in a Piper Cub J-3.The original J-3 Piper Cub had two seats, the front seat for the passenger and the back seat for the pilot. It was 22 ft 5 in (6.83 m) in length with a height of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m). It had a wing area of 178.5 ft (16.58 m) and a wingspan of 35 ft 3 in (10.74 m). It could reach a maximum speed of 76 kn (87 mph, 140 km/h) with a maximum range of 191 NM (220 mi, 354 km. The J-3 Cub's standard yellow paint was so popular that it became known as "Cub Yellow". Piper had different models made especially for war. Some of these variants became known as the "Grasshoppers", painted military green with tandem cockpit and used for reconnaissance, transporting supplies and medical transportation. Another version, the L-4, was equipped with bazookas for ground attack.The Piper Cub was widely seen on newspapers and newsreels during the war since it was used to promote the CTPT. VIP guests such as the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Generals Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and George Marshall were seen and photographed flying around in Piper Cubs. The J-3 Piper Cub was built up until 1947 with only a little over 20,000 in total ever made. Today, the J-3 Piper Cub is no longer produced except in a smaller model format. Oddly enough, the price of these models can be close to the price for the actual real-life version made in the 30's and 40's. The J-3 Piper Cub made its historic footprint and due to its fame is often sought after in a model format. So should you ever see one, either in a museum or in a smaller model format in someone's home or office, at least now you'll know the real-life and exciting story behind it.
