Description

1936 Taylor J-2 Cub

The origins of the Cub are found in Rochester, New York in the 1920s when brothers C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordan Taylor designed the A-2 Chummy. In 1928, after Gordan Taylor died in a crash, Pennsylvania oilman William T. Piper convinced Gilbert to move to Bradford, PA to redesign the nearly $4,000 Chummy into a low cost airplane that became the Cub. By 1930, the company was bankrupt, and Piper bought the whole company for $761. However, he kept Taylor as president. In 1935, Piper brought in another designer, Walter Jamoueau, to improve the Cub based on owner comments. This angered Taylor and he left the company to found the Taylorcraft Aircraft Company in Ohio.

In 1937, the Taylor Cub became the Piper Cub. Despite the name change, they were the same airplane: a stable, slow, easy-to-fly airplane. Over 20,000 Cubs were built from 1936 - 1947 for civilian and military use. George Brinkerhoff, manager of College Park Airport for many years, used Cubs for flight instruction and in his Flying Service operation. Many pilots used the Cub for air shows, including landing the plane on modified trucks!





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