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by Chuck Cravens
Work on the fuselage, empennage, installation of control cables, and windows were the focus of recent restoration efforts on the L-4H.
Once parts are inspected or restored and are fit for use, those that require painting are removed and sent to the paint shop.
The “alighting gear” or main landing gear has been fitted to the fuselage along with the wooden floor, front seat, fire extinguisher, and fuel tank.
The bracing wires and the fairing for the vertical fin/fuselage intersection have been installed.
Control cable linkages to the rudder and elevator, throttle controls, and fuel valve linkages were part of the recent restoration progress.
The L-4 is, of course, a Piper J-3 Cub slightly modified for the military. There is an interesting story about how the Cub name came about. According to several sources(1), the first aircraft to be named Cub was a progenitor of the J-3, the Taylorcraft E-2. William Piper had purchased the assets of the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation which had been under voluntary liquidation and closed for about 3 months. Piper used these assets to form the Taylor Aircraft Company with C.G. Taylor as his chief engineer.
Piper saw a market for a low-cost, low-powered trainer that could be used to provide affordable flying lessons. C.G. Taylor set to work to design a plane to fit Piper’s concept, and the result was the Taylor E-2. The E-2 was a simple, lightweight, two-seat trainer built with a steel tube fuselage and wood wing structure, covered in fabric. It was a high-wing, open-cockpit design.
1-Devon Francis , Mr. Piper and His Cubs, Iowa State University Press, 1973, p 2; and Roger Peperell, Piper Aircraft, The Development and History of Piper Designs, Air Britain Ltd, 1996, p20
The first completed E-2 sat at the factory for about a month as Piper and Taylor searched for an engine that was both suitable and available. They had hoped to use a new 40 hp Continental design but it wasn’t ready yet. Another possibility was a Salmson nine-cylinder radial of 40 hp they’d ordered, but it hadn’t arrived.
An engine called the Brownback Tiger Kitten engine, an inverted two-stroke twin that produced 20 hp, was available and the designers decided to test-fly the E-2 with the Tiger Kitten, despite its low horsepower.(3)
2–Photo from Roger Peperall, Piper Aircraft, the Development and History of Piper Designs, Air Britain Ltd, 1996,pg. 21
3–Roger Peperall, Piper Aircraft, the Development and History of Piper Designs, Air Britain Ltd, 1996,p 20
On September 12, 1930, the Taylor E-2 was lined up at the end of the 1700-foot runway at the Bradford, PA airport for its first flight. The little trainer struggled into the air, but by the time test pilot George Kirkendall reached an altitude of 5 feet he was running out of runway and not gaining altitude very rapidly, so he closed the throttle and set the E-2 back down on the grass.
The test run proved that the E-2 handled well, but needed more power. Although the flight was only a limited success, it did engender the Cub name when Gilbert Hadrel, the company accountant, remarked “The engine is the Tiger Kitten, why not call the plane the Cub?”
Later that year, a 40 hp Salmson AD-9 Radial was installed and the Taylor E-2 flew very successfully. By the winter of 1934-35, C.G. Taylor had left the company and Walter Jamouneau became chief engineer. Subsequent Taylor (and after the company was renamed Piper) Cubs carried the J from Walter’s last name in the model designation.
4–Photo from https://aeroenginesaz.com/en/brand_brownback
