The New Piper Aircraft
The New Piper Aircraft, Inc., is a manufacturer of
general aviation aircraft, located in
Vero Beach, Florida.
Originally founded as the
Taylor Brothers Aircraft Manufacturing Company in September of
1927 by
Clarence Gilbert Taylor and
Gordon A. Taylor in
Rochester, New York. The company was renamed to
Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation in April of 1928, shortly before Gordon Taylor died in a plane crash on
April 24,
1928. The company was enticed to move to
Bradford, Pennsylvania with the promise of larger facility and investment capital from local businessmen, including and initial investment of $400 from local oilman
William T. Piper. The move was completed in September,
1929.
In late
1930 the company filed for
bankruptcy and William Piper purchased the assets of the company for $761. Reorganized as the
Taylor Aircraft Company, Piper effectively took control of the firm when he assumed the position of corporate
secretary-
treasurer, although he retained C. G. Taylor in the role of
president. Piper, often called the "
Henry Ford of
Aviation", firmly believed that a simple-to-operate low-cost private airplane would flourish, even in the darkest depths of the
Great Depression.
In December of
1935, after a series of clashes, William Piper bought out C. G. Taylor, who left the company and went on to form the
Taylorcraft Aircraft Company. On
March 16,
1937 a fire destroyed the Bradford factory and Piper relocated to an abandoned silk mill in
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. By November, 1937, all traces of Taylors' involvement with the company was erased when it was renamed to
Piper Aircraft Corporation.
As of July
2003,
American Capital Strategies, Ltd. owns 94% of Piper's voting equity.
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Piper Super Cub. |
Piper produced the
Piper J-3 Cub, a two seat, 65
horsepower (48 kW) high-wing, single-engine aircraft. The Cub was the first inexpensive training aircraft produced in large numbers. Many former military examples were sold to civilian owners over the 1950-1995 period and seem certain to see many more years in recreational use. The slightly more powerful
Piper PA-18 Super Cub is popular for use as a
glider tug. Many North Americans still think of all light aircraft as "Piper Cubs."
The
PA-28 Cherokee has been one of the company's most successful products with variants being manufactured almost every other year. Both this design and the twin-engined
PA-34 Seneca are used for pilot training around the world. The
PA-23 Apache was one of the first aircraft associated with the term "air taxi" although it has largely been superseded in that role by faster and more spacious designs from the competitive
Beechcraft Corporation.
Beginning production in
1965, the
Piper PA-32 Series raised the bar for versatility in 6 or 7 seat single-engine airplanes. Variously named the "
Cherokee Six", "
Lance", and "
Saratoga", with both fixed and retractable gear models, and with normally aspirated, injected, and turbo-charged engines, the
PA-32s are very capable and successful airplanes. They have been widely deployed in a variety of missions (small air-taxies, heavy load-haulers, personal business, etc.) all over the United States. The
Saratoga-II HPs and
Saratoga TCs are still manufactured and sold today.
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Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II. |
With the streamlined and powerful single-engined
PA-46 Malibu, the Piper company maintains a presence in the lighter-end of the corporate aircraft market.
List of Piper Aircraft
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PA-6 Sky Sedan (1947)
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PA-7 Sky Coupe (1945)
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PA-8 Sky Cycle (1947)
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PA-15 Vagabond (1947)
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PA-17 Vagabond (1948)
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PA-16 Clipper (1949)
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PA-20 Pacer (1950)
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PA-22 Tri-Pacer, Colt 108 (1951, 1960)
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PA-23 Apache, Aztec (1952, 1959)
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PA-24 Comanche (1956)
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PA-25 Pawnee (1957?)
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PA-28 Cherokee, Arrow, Warrior (1960)
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PA-30 Twin Comanche (1963)
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PA-31 Navajo, Mojave (1964)
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PA-31T Cheyenne (1974)
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PA-32 Cherokee Six (1963)
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PA-32R Lance and Saratoga (1977)
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PA-34 Seneca (1972)
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PA-36 Pawnee Brave (1972)
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PA-38-112 Tomahawk (1977)
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PA-39 Twin Comanche C/R (1970)
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PA-40 Arapaho (1972)
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PA-42 Cheyenne III (1980)
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PA-44-180 Seminole (1978)
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PA-46 Malibu, Malibu Mirage, Mirage (1983)
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PA-46TP Meridian (2000)
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PA-48 Enforcer (Experimental) (1983)
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Piper Seneca PA-34 |
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The New Piper Aircraft: Soaring High*
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum,
Reading, Pennsylvania::1936 Taylor (Piper) J2 Cub::1941 Piper NE-1 Cub::1950 PA-22 Tripacer::1953 L-21B Grasshopper::1961 PA-22-150 Caribbean::1972 PA-34-200 Seneca::1972 PA-23-250 Aztec::1978 PA-38-112 Tomahawk
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New Piper website*
Piper Aviation Museum*
Aircraft-Info.net - PiperPiper's primary general aviation manufacturing "rivals":
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Cessna*
Beechcraft
