The Piper J3 "Cub" first flew in 1937 and was built until 1947. Piper produced a total of 22 000 examples. Revolutionary at the time with it's all me tal welded fuselage and wing spars in wood ( until 1943 ). The first J3's were equipped with a motor of 40 hp, though this soon evolved towards 45, 50, 55, 60 and finally 65 hp as early as 1940. The success that the aircraft found was favoured by the CPTP ( Civilian Pilot Training Programme ) in 1939, with a view to "making" pilots, because of rumours of war.

The uses that the US Army put the J3 to, were : - observation, liaison, artillery spotting, VIP transport. The success of this little aeroplane is undeniable. \par On D-Day, 6 June 1944, 1000 J3's flew across the Channel into Normandy.

The conception of the aircraft was for use into unprepared fields, and the J3 ( L4 in the military designation ) followed the advance of the allied army, it was thus that at the liberation of Paris, a J3 landed on the Champs Elysées ! At wars end, the American surplus made this aircraft an excellent trainer for thousands of pilots in our aero clubs.

The Piper J3 F-BFYM of the Museum.

It is a model L4, made in 1944 at Lock Haven in Pennsylvania, c/n 1266, and under the military number, 44-79870. It arrived in Europe via Italy, where the 12 th Air Force sent it to an artillery unit to act as spotter. When the war was over, many of these aircraft were simply abandoned, some i n very good condition, others as wrecks. With the return of peace, many of them found a new career as training aircraft in the reopening aero clubs. Many amateur constructors used parts of abandoned aircraft for their own design, and did not use the name Piper.

Our J3 was bought from Belgium in 1951, by the Aeroclub de la Côte d'Amour-(France).

The Aircraft.

Two place tandem, high wing and tail-wheel undercarriage. The access to the cockpit is not easy, more difficult for the front seat than for the rear seat. Th e door is made of two parts which open, one upwards to be clipped parallel to the under surface of the starboard wing, the other downwards to hang parallel to the starboard fuselage side. The aircraft is normally piloted from the rear seat - always when f l own solo - to maintain centre of gravity- but can be flown from the front when a passenger is carried. The rear seat is much more comfortable for long-legged pilots. From the rear seat forward visibility is non-existent, whereas it is excellent in every o t her direction. The narrow cockpit is glassed all around. From the rear seat the pilot needs to sway from side to side to read the instruments hidden by the passenger's head, and to front and back to reach the carburettor re-heat. The aircraft is equipped w ith a Continental of 65 hp. The fuselage is welded steel tube construction, fabric covered. The wings are connected inside the fuselage, joining the two longerons together. If the longeron is in wood, then the wing ribs are in aluminium. To add rigidity t o the wing assembly, the leading edge is in pre-formed sheet aluminium. Wings and ailerons are fabric covered. There are no flaps. For each wing, struts go from the underside of the wing to the undercarriage fixing point. The horizontal tail surface is in l ight alloy and is also fabric covered. The undercarriage suspension is simple consisting of steel tubes and bungee cord. The main undercarriage is equipped with "balloon" tyres for landing on unprepared strips. The tail wheel is conjugated with the rudder bar.

Flight Test : The pre-flight check.

The pre-flight is simple and rapid, however, a few points need careful attention. Thus particular care must be taken to ensure that the aileron cables run correctly in the groove of their pulleys, that the oil filler cap is cor rectly closed - after having checked the oil level - because if poorly closed, then the engine vibration could undo it, resulting in a complete loss of engine oil through the filler, that the fuel level is correct. The fuel tank, behind the engine and abo v e the knees of the front passenger, has a fuel gauge of rustic simplicity, a thin rod of wire goes through the filler cap, to the bottom of the wire is fixed a piece of cork, as the cork floats up in the fuel, so more of the wire is visible to the pilot. W hile the system works perfectly in flight, it does not give an accurate reading on the ground - the aircraft is not in it's horizontal flying attitude - solution ? remove the filler cap and observe the quantity of fuel in the tank. This has the added adva ntage of allowing you to check the state of the cork float and to ensure that the filler cap is correctly locked. Chocks in place, there is no parking brake and the brakes are not sufficiently strong to ensure security at start up.

Starting.

Two condition s necessary for a correct start, chocks in front of the main wheels, and someone who knows how to start an engine by swinging the prop. The engine does not have a starter, the engine is started by swinging the prop. The pilot cannot do this alone, it is c onsidered too dangerous. Thus the pilot is installed ( normally ) in the rear seat, the prop swinger in front of the aircraft. It is the swinger who is in charge of the operation. "Switches off, fuel on, three injections" ( this is the primer pump ) . Th e swinger turns the prop "Sucking in" The pilot holds the brakes on and the stick fully back, the swinger calls "Contact", the pilot moves the magneto switch to "both" calls "Contact" in return, the swinger gives a more vigorous turn to the prop, and the engine fires. A few minutes to warm up the oil, the chocks can be removed and the aircraft can start to taxi.

Taxying

To repeat : - visibility to the front is non existent, therefore taxying is in zigzag, or the pilot can leave the door open, lean out and get a slightly better view. Whatever method is used it is not easy for a beginner or with a strong crosswind, to taxy a J3, because the brakes - in reality little more than "slower-downers" - do not give the pilot much help. Taxying is ideal at the speed which gives control via the tail plane.

Take off

Lined up, open the throttle progressively to 2200 rpm. There is very little torque effect from the engine, what little there is can easily be controlled with the rudder. The J3 accelerates slowly but clear ly, the controls firm up rapidly, the tail comes up and at 50 mph the aircraft becomes airborne. Reduce to 2000 rpm to conserve the engine. The aircraft is noisy in flight, shouting is needed to ensure communication. The rudder is sensitive, the ailerons f irm but slow. Inverse yaw is pronounced. Large and heavy stick movements are to be avoided - you will spend your time chasing the ball. Horizontal flight is at 70 mph at 1950 rpm. At 2000 rpm you can gain 5 mph, but there is little point in stressing the engine for 5 mph more !! The tail plane is heavy but the trim very precise, it is easy to set the aircraft to fly hands off.

Landing

Carburettor re-heat on, the speed is reduced to 50 mph and the trim set to "nose-up" the stick must "push" against the ha nd, descend maintaining the speed. If the aircraft is too high on approach, no problem for the J3 will side-slip very easily. Cut the throttle and round out at 40 mph, the J3 lands "3 point". There is no ground effect, any round out too high and the bunge e s will give back almost all the energy they have absorbed - the bounce is inevitable. Never put the stick forward - always catch the aircraft with the throttle. A J3 has an excellent short field performance, and a cross wind will not pose much problem, th e high wing allows the aircraft to lean well over.

Switching off

There is no mixture control, so switching off is just that, switching off the magnetos. Fuel tap closed and chocks in place. During WWII, the L4s were often parked with their tail in the air to protect the engine cowling and the propeller.