J-5
Role	Multipurpose light civil aircraft
Manufacturer	Piper Aircraft
First flight	July 1939
Produced	1940-1946
Number built	1,507
Unit cost	US$$1,995 (1947)
Variants	Piper J-3 Piper PA-12

The Piper J-5 'Cub Cruiser' was a larger, more powerful version of the basic Piper J-3 Cub. It was designed just two years after the J-3 Cub, and differed by having three seats instead of two, a 75-hp Continental engine and a cruising speed of 85 mph. It was advertised as being a three-seater, but pilots of the Cruiser have said it would be more accurately described as a two-and-a-half-seater, because only a small child would feel comfortable in the third seat. The Cruiser also had a deeper fuselage than the J-3. The Cruiser sold for $1,995 when it was first designed. Only about two hundred remain airworthy today.

[edit] History

Throughout World War II, Piper modified the basic structure of the J-5A. The J-5B had a 75 h.p. Lycoming GO-145-C2 engine. The later J-5C also built as the HE-1 (later AE-1) ambulance for the U.S. Navy with rear hinged fuselage decking, used the fully cowled 100 h.p. Lycoming O-235-C engine with an electrical system, and redesigned landing gear.^[1]

Piper J-5A Cub Cruiser with wing endplates and banner-towing gear at North Perry airport, Florida, in March 1987

After the war, Piper dropped the J- designation system in exchange for the PA- system, and the J-5C became the PA-12 "Super Cruiser". The Super Cruiser was more popular than the basic J-5A, with 3,759 being built.^[2] They sold for $2,995 each. In 1947, two PA-12s flew around the world, and the worst mechanical failure they suffered was a cracked tailwheel. More than a thousand still fly today.

Piper also produced a four-seat variant of the Super Cruiser with a 115-hp engine. It was designated the PA-14 Family Cruiser. It was the least successful of the three Cruiser designs in terms of aircraft sold, with 238 being built in 1948/49,^[2] and only about one hundred remain in existence.

[edit] Specifications (J-5)

Data from Peperell, 1987, p. 43

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 2 passengers
• Payload: 620 lbs ()
• Length: 22 ft 6 in ()
• Wingspan: 35 ft 6 in ()
• Height: 6 ft 10 in ()
• Empty weight: 830 lbs ()
• Loaded weight: 1,450 lbs ()
• Useful load: 620 lbs ()
• Powerplant: × 1 Lycoming G0-145-C2, 75 h.p. () each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 96 mph
• Cruise speed: 86 mph
• Stall speed: 42 mph ()
• Range: 430 miles ()
• Service ceiling: 10,200 ft ()
• Rate of climb: 460 ft/min ()

[edit] References

Notes

Bibliography

[edit] External links

• Extra Information on the Piper PA-12
• More Information of the J-5 at Aviation-history.com

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