Piper J-3 Cub: Difference between revisions
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File:USAFM ey22.jpg|Piper J-3 Cub. Photo: | File:USAFM ey22.jpg|Piper J-3 Cub. Photo: see the file page on Commons, Public domain | ||
File:Piper J-3C-65 Cubimg 0505.jpg|Piper J-3C-65 Cub. Photo: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr | File:Piper J-3C-65 Cubimg 0505.jpg|Piper J-3C-65 Cub. Photo: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr | ||
File:CAP Piper J-3 NC42050 3.jpg|This Piper J-3 represents the contributions of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) to the U.S. Photo: U.S. Air Force Museum, Public domain | File:CAP Piper J-3 NC42050 3.jpg|This Piper J-3 represents the contributions of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) to the U.S. Photo: U.S. Air Force Museum, Public domain | ||
File:Piperj3c.jpg|A Piper J3-C. Photo: omoo, CC BY 2.5 | File:Piperj3c.jpg|A Piper J3-C. Photo: omoo, CC BY 2.5 | ||
File:O'brien's flyingcircus aerobaticsteam cotswoldairshow 2010 arp.jpg|Piper J-3 Cub. Photo: Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in June 2010 and released to the | File:O'brien's flyingcircus aerobaticsteam cotswoldairshow 2010 arp.jpg|Piper J-3 Cub. Photo: Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in June 2010 and released to the publ, Public domain | ||
File:PiperCub-75th.jpg|Piper Cub 75th anniversary. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 | File:PiperCub-75th.jpg|Piper Cub 75th anniversary. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 | ||
File:PiperJ3P.jpg|Piper J-3P. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 | File:PiperJ3P.jpg|Piper J-3P. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 | ||
Revision as of 12:55, 1 November 2026
 Piper J-3 Cub. Photo: Huhu Uet, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| |
| Make | Piper |
|---|---|
| Model | Piper J-3 Cub |
| Type | Trainer/light aircraft |
| Country |  United States
|
| First flight | 1938 |
| Built | 1938–1947 |
| Number built | 19,888 (US built), 150 (Canadian-built), 253 TG-8 gliders |
| Registered in the US | 3,764 (FAA register, October 30, 2026) |
| Seats | one pilot, one passenger **Useful load: 455 lb (205 kg) |
| Engine | Continental A-65-8, 65 hp |
| Cruise speed | 65 kn (J3C-65 Cub) |
| Range | 191 nmi (J3C-65 Cub) |
| Service ceiling | 11,500 ft (J3C-65 Cub) |
| Max weight | 1,220 lb (J3C-65 Cub) |
| Developed from | Taylor Cub, Taylor J-2 |
| More aircraft · For sale | |
The Piper J-3 Cub is a light, two-seat airplane built by Piper Aircraft from 1938 to 1947. It is simple and light, which gives it gentle low-speed handling and short-field performance, and more than 20,000 were built in the United States. Its simplicity, low price and popularity have drawn comparisons to the Ford Model T.[1] In the U.S. there are still 3,764 J-3 family Cubs with a valid registration.[2]
The Cub is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane with a large rectangular wing, usually powered by an air-cooled four-cylinder engine with a fixed-pitch propeller. The fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric, and the two seats sit one behind the other. Its standard chrome yellow paint became known as "Cub Yellow" or "Lock Haven Yellow".[1]
History
The family began with the Taylor E-2 Cub of 1930, built by Taylor Aircraft in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and backed by Bradford businessman William T. Piper. When the company went bankrupt later in 1930, Piper bought its assets and kept founder C. Gilbert Taylor as president. In 1936 employee Walter Jamouneau reworked a Cub into the J-2 while Taylor was on sick leave; Taylor fired him, Piper hired him back, and Piper later bought out Taylor.[1]
The Cub was designed as a trainer and was a great success in that role and as a personal airplane. Its performance also suited military reconnaissance, liaison and ground-control work, and it was built in large numbers in World War II as the L-4 Grasshopper.[1]
A Cub at Pearl Harbor
Minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, student pilot Marcus F. Poston was flying a J-3 Cub solo over Oahu. Japanese planes shot him down; he bailed out and parachuted to safety. The Cub was the first American plane shot down in World War II.[1]
Many Cubs still fly today, and they are highly prized as bush airplanes.[1]
Registered in the United States
The FAA register lists 3,764 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.[2]
| FAA model name | Registered |
|---|---|
| J3C-65 | 3,151 |
| J3L-65 | 176 |
| J3F-65 | 125 |
| J-3 | 105 |
| J-3C | 56 |
| J3C-85 | 33 |
| J3C-65S | 27 |
| J3F-50 | 21 |
| J3L | 15 |
| J3C-50 | 13 |
| J3F-60 | 13 |
| J3C-75 | 7 |
| J3C-90 | 6 |
| J3P | 3 |
| J3C65 | 2 |
| J3 | 2 |
| J-3C-65/L-4 | 1 |
| J-3 CUBY | 1 |
| J-3C-65 | 1 |
| J3L-65S | 1 |
| 5 other model names | 5 |
Specifications (J3C-65 Cub)
| Item | J3C-65 Cub |
|---|---|
| Crew | one pilot |
| Passengers / capacity | one passenger **Useful load: 455 lb (205 kg) |
| Length | 22 ft 5 in |
| Wingspan | 35 ft 3 in |
| Height | 6 ft 8 in |
| Wing area | 178.5 sq ft |
| Empty weight | 765 lb |
| Maximum takeoff weight | 1,220 lb |
| Engine | Continental A-65-8, 65 hp (air-cooled horizontally opposed four cylinder) |
| Maximum speed | 76 kn |
| Cruise speed | 65 kn |
| Stall speed | 33 kn |
| Range | 191 nmi |
| Service ceiling | 11,500 ft |
| Rate of climb | 450 ft/min |
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.[1]
Photos
-
Piper J-3 Cub. Photo: see the file page on Commons, Public domain -
Piper J-3C-65 Cub. Photo: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr -
This Piper J-3 represents the contributions of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) to the U.S. Photo: U.S. Air Force Museum, Public domain -
A Piper J3-C. Photo: omoo, CC BY 2.5 -
Piper J-3 Cub. Photo: Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in June 2010 and released to the publ, Public domain -
Piper Cub 75th anniversary. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Piper J-3P. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Piper NE-1. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Buying a Piper J-3 Cub
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Wikipedia, "Piper J-3 Cub", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Aviation Administration, Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.