Plane Facts: Cubs

Manufacturer: Taylor Aircraft

Location of factory: Harri-Emery Field, Bradford, Pennsylvania

Designation of first Cub: Taylor E-2 Cub

First Taylor E-2 engine: Brownbach Tiger Kitten

What young tiger offspring (kittens) are called: Cubs

Animal featured in Cub logo: Bear

Horsepower of Brownbach Tiger Kitten: 20

Length of cinder runway at Harri-Emery Field circa 1929: 2,040 feet

Takeoff roll of Brownbach-powered Cubprototype: Greater than 2,040 feet

Number of Brownbach-powered Cubs produced: 0

First production-worthy Cub engine: Continental A40 (37 hp)

Horsepower of most typical J-3 model: 65

Designer of new J-3 model: Walter Jamouneau(in company president C.G. Taylor's absence)

Reaction by C.G. Taylor: Fired Jamouneau

Subsequent reaction by Bill Piper: Rehired Jamouneau

Improvements to J-2/J-3 models Jamouneau iscredited with: Enclosed cabin, roundedwingtips, wider gear, tailwheel instead of skid

Year Piper purchased company from Taylor: 1935

Amount Piper paid: $780

Year Piper began building Cubs in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania: 1937 (after fire at Bradford plant)

Number of J-3s produced (including L-4military version): approximately 20,000

Number of civil and military variants: 38

Number of different J-3 model/engine combinations: 60-plus

Main fuselage structural material in J-3: Steel tubing

J-3 wing construction: Wood spars(originally), metal ribs, doped fabric covering

Electrical system in J-3 Cub (1937): None

Number of engine-less J-3sproduced: 253 (TG-8 glider version)

Powerplant of J-3P Cub: Lenape Papoose 3-cylinder radial

Number of J-3Ps produced:Probably between 12 and 30 (conflicting data)

Number still flying: 3

Number of J-3 Cubs built in 1937-1938: Approximately 1,200

Cost of J-3 in 1937: $1,095 (base price)

Name of special-edition silver-colored pre-war J-3s: Flitfire

Number of Flitfires Piper donated toRoyal Air Force Benevolent Fund to assist in war effort in 1941: 48 (one for each state)

Year of introduction of side-by-side Cub (J-4): 1938

Number of J-4s built, 1938-1942: 1,250

First U.S. First Lady to fly in a J-3: Eleanor Roosevelt

Most numerous military variant of J-3:L-4 (with additional observation glass)

Number of L-4s (and other militaryvariants) produced: 5,500-plus

Year Piper added J-3 factory in Ponca City, Oklahoma: 1946

Number of Cubs built in Ponca City, Oklahoma: 1,190

Year Ponca City factory closed: 1948

Years Piper produced PA-18 Super Cub: 1949-1983; reintroduced 1988-1994

Original designation of PA-18 Super Cub: PA-19

Model Super Cub is based on: PA-11 Cub Special (variant of J-3)

Total Super Cubs Piper produced: 15,000-plus

Cost of Piper Super Cub in 1949: $5,850

Cost of CubCrafters Top Cub in 2016: $249,990

Number of authentic Cub "paint"colors from Aircraft Spruce: 3

Color considered closest to original: Lock Haven Yellow