2-839-714 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Single engine high wing monoplane; yellow and black; 40 hp continental A4C engine. William Piper and the Piper Aircraft Corporation board of directors anointed this Cub, completed on November 2, 1937, as the first official Piper J-2 and flew it as the company plane until April 1939.The tandem two-place J-2 is the transition model of stable and economical Cub light aircraft that made flying easy to learn and afford. The J-2 cost $1,470 or could be rented for $10 an hour. A total of 1,207 Taylor and Piper J-2 Cubs were built from 1935 to 1938. This Cub had a succession of owners. It was restored by Hal Goff of Aero Enterprises of Pittsburgh in 1976, then flown to Lock Haven where former Piper Cub engineer Walter Jamoneau piloted it. Lefferts Mabie Jr. of Pensacola, Florida, acquired it from yet another owner in 1981 and donated it to the Museum in 1984.