CUB HOME > PRODUCTION
Cub production, 1931-2019
Nearly 50,000 Cubs have been built over the past 88 years, beginning with the Taylor Aircraft E-2 and continuing today with the Legend Cub, Cub Sport, and various kits and plans. For more about the planes included here, see What's a Piper Cub?. If you have information on any of these production runs, please send email.The original line
| model | name | cost | when | quantity |
|
Taylor Aircraft (Bradford PA, Lock Haven PA) |
| E-, F-, H-2 | Cub | $1,325-1,475 | 1931-36 | 348 |
| J-2 | New Cub | $1,270-1,470 | 1936-38 | 1,132 |
|
Piper Aircraft (Lock Haven PA) |
| J-2 | New Cub? | | 1937-38 | 50
| J-3* | Cub, Sport | $995-2,461 | 1938-47 | 19,073
| J-4 | Cub Coupe | $1,848-2,575 | 1938-42 | 1,251
| J-5* | Cub Cruiser | $1,798-2,150 | 1940-45 | 1,506
| PA-11* | Cub Special | $2,195-2,395 | 1947-50 | 1,316
| PA-12 | Super Cruiser | $3,295-3,495 | 1946-48 | 3,759
| PA-14 | Family Cruiser | $3,825-3,925 | 1948-49 | 238
| PA-18* | Super Cub | $3,595-47,000 | 1949-82 | 10,224
|
|
|
Piper Aircraft Associates (Long Beach CA) |
| J-2 | Western Cub | 1936-38 | 22
|
|
|
Piper aircraft assembled in Canada |
| J-2 | Cub? | n/a
| 1936-37 | 34
| J-3 | Prospector
| 1946-47, 1952 | 187
|
|
|
Piper aircraft assembled in Denmark |
| J-2, -3, -4 | Cub | 1938-39, 1945 | 34?
|
|
|
Pipe aircraft assembled in Argentina |
| J-3 | Cub? | | 1940s | 16
| PA-18 | Super Cub? | 1990s | 11
|
|
|
Piper Aircraft (Ponca OK) |
| J-3 | Cub | | 1946-47 | 1,086
| PA-11 | Cub Special | 1947-48 | 225
|
|
|
Piper Aircraft (Vero Beach FL) |
| PA-18 | Super Cub | $42,595-80,000 | 1988-94 | 102 |
|
WTA (Lubbock TX) |
| PA-18 | Super Cub | | 1980s | 15*
|
|
The 21st century look-alikes
| American Legend Aircraft (Sulphur Springs TX) |
| AL3 | Classic Cub | | 2005-
| n/a
| AL18 | Super Legend
| 2005-
| n/a
| -- | kit w/engine |
| 2007-
| n/a
|
|
Backcountry Super Cubs (Douglas WY) |
| -- | Super Cub Revision 2 |
| n/a
| n/a
| -- | Backcountry Boss |
| n/a | n/a
|
|
|
Zlin Aviation (Czech Republic) |
| S-LSA | Savage | | 1997-
| n/a
|
|
|
Johnston Aviation (New Cumberland WV) |
| -- | Tiger Cub UL | | 1996-
| n/a
|
|
| -- | Tiger Cub Sport II | | n/a
| n/a
|
|
Notes
n/a - information not available.J-3* - Production figures for the J-3, J-5, PA-11, and PA-18 include military variants manufactured during the Second World War.
Figures up to 1995 are taken from Roger Peperell, Piper Aircraft. Additional material from Peter Bowers, Piper Cubs; Emil Hauge in Cub Clues, Nov-Dec 2000; emails from Cub Crafters, Smith Aviation, Turbine Cubs of Wyoming, and American Legend Aircraft; AOPA Pilot, May 2006; and Bob West at North American Sport Aviation.
WTA in Lubbock bought the marketing rights and 15 Super Cubs, which are included in sales figures for Piper or New Piper (none were built in Texas). Some Cubs were assembled from kits and may also be counted in the Pennsylvania numbers.
Peperell says 48 Cubs were shipped to Denmark; Haugue says 47, with 32 planes actually assembled by 1940. About 15 were seized by the Luftwaffe, 13 were destroyed by fire during the war, and 2 were assembled postwar.
The Tiger Cub and Savage aircraft are generally powered by a Rotax engine. The Tiger Cub is single-seat; the kit is airframe only, without engine, prop, instruments, and paint. The Sport II carries two passengers.
Savage aircraft are RTF -- ready to fly. Price is for the Savage Bobber.
A large but unknown number of Cub replicas have been home-built; Wag-Aero alone had sold some 2,000 kits and plans by 2008.
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