Piper PA-18

Super Cub is a redirect to this article. For the Japanese motorcycle, see Honda Super Cub .

Piper PA-18 Super Cub
PA-18-150 “Super Cub” in front of Bathurst Inlet
Type:	Trainer aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Piper Aircraft Corporation
First flight:	November 23, 1949
Commissioning:	1949
Production time:	1949 to 1983 1988 to 1994
Number of pieces:	10,326

The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is an originally military training and reconnaissance aircraft from the US aircraft manufacturer Piper Aircraft Corporation , which was produced in series from 1949. It is the successor to the Piper J-3 , is like this a tail-wheel aircraft and looks quite similar to it, although the design differs greatly from its predecessor. The first flight took place on November 23, 1949.

It was originally developed for a tender by the US Army as the Piper PA-19 from the PA-11 "Cub Special" . It completed its first flight at the end of January 1949. Three of the PA-19s were built before it was renamed the PA-18 for the subsequent series production - as an identical construction.

After the Lock Haven plant was closed in 1984, the PA-18 was built again in Vero Beach from 1987 . In order to avoid the labor-intensive assembly, the PA-18 was finally only manufactured as a kit.

With over 40,000 aircraft built, the Piper Cub models are the most built in their class in the world.

construction

The wings, including the ribs, are made of aluminum profiles . The fuselage has been reinforced compared to the J-3 and thus adapted to the higher loads.

The two-seater aircraft was delivered with different engines, originally with the Continental C-90 as "PA-18-95 Cub". Variants with Lycoming engines from 77 to 110 kW (105–150 hp) were also created later . The models with over 92 kW (125 PS) had landing flaps and an enlarged tail unit.

Piper PA-18 "Super Cub"

A Piper PA-18 tows a Schleicher K 8

A Piper PA-18 with an aircraft tow on approach for landing

The hull of a Piper PA-18 during a major overhaul without covering.

The original PA-18 did not have its own power supply. The electricity required for the radio could only be obtained from a small generator driven by a propeller on the landing gear. Generators and batteries were often retrofitted later, so that the PA-18 could be started with an electric starter.

use

In the US Army, the “Super Cub” was designated L-18 and L-21 in the system valid from 1942 to 1962 . The differences between L-18 and L-21:

• The L-21 had landing flaps
• Engines: the L-18 was powered by a Continental C-90, the L-21 by a Lycoming O-290
• the L-18 had a tank in the left wing, the L-21 one on each side.

However, mixed forms emerged later when z. B. Wings of an L-21 were mounted on an L-18 and this thus had flaps and two tanks.

The aircraft enjoyed great popularity with the European military; it was an inexpensive aircraft for pilot training. Numerous planes were shipped to Europe, mainly Benelux and Germany. The Bundeswehr's PA-18 training aircraft were equipped with clutches for towing gliders. The L-18C (PA-18) were used by the Bundeswehr from 1956 to 1978 / March 1980. The Air Force received 39 aircraft and a damaged one from USAF stocks.

The PA-18 is still very popular today. So you can find Cubs and Super Cubs at many smaller airports in Europe. The variants PA-18-95 and PA-18-150 (150 HP) are widespread here. The PA-18 also became famous in Germany through the aircraft of the Burda squadron in the 1960s.

Since February 2011, the attachment of electro-hydraulic skis to the Super Cub has been approved by the Federal Aviation Office. With the skis in, she still has sufficient ground clearance to operate from grass fields.

Military users

• 

  PA-18/150
   Belgium
•  Germany
•  Iran
•  Israel
•  Italy
•  Netherlands
•  Nicaragua
•  Japan
•  Norway
•  Austria
•  Portugal
•  Sweden
•  Switzerland : 6
•  Turkey
•  Uganda
•  United States

Military production

The Super-Cub was also delivered to allied countries as part of the Mutual Defense Aid Program (MDAP).

Approval of the PA-18 by the USAF and the US Army:

version	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	TOTAL
PA-18							1		1
L18-B Turkey	105								105
L-18C MDAP		68	176	370	168	56			838
YL-21			2						2
L-21A			120						120
L-21B					62				62
L-21B MDAP				16	73	298	66	67	520
TOTAL	105	68	298	386	303	354	67	67	1,647

Technical specifications

Three-sided view

	PA-18-95	PA-18-125	PA-18-150
Manufacturer:	Piper Aircraft Corporation Lock Haven USA
Type:	Shoulder wing Piper PA-18 "Super Cub"
Engine:	Continental C-90 with 90 hp	Lycoming O-290 with 125 hp	Lycoming O-320-A2A with 152 hp
Max. Altitude:	4572 m / 15000 ft	5944 m / 19500 ft	5791 m / 19,000 ft
Empty weight:	381 kg	383 kg
Takeoff weight:	590 kg	680 kg
Cruising speed:	161 km / h (87 kt)	176 km / h (95 kt)	185 km / h (100 kt)
Control:	Joystick

See also

• List of aircraft types
• List of Bundeswehr aircraft

literature

• Roger Peperell: Piper Aircraft , Air-Britain, Tonbridge 2006, ISBN 0-85130-378-1 .
• Volker K. Thomalla : Piper Cub, Super Cub. The history of the classic Piper aircraft. Aviatic-Verlag, Planegg 1991, ISBN 3-925505-17-2 , pp. 53-95.

Web links

Commons : Piper PA-18 Super Cub  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Information about the PA-18
• German Piper Pilots
• Cub Club

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peperell 2006, p. 185
2. ↑ Peperell 2006, p. 170
3. ↑ Peperell 2006, p. 170, pp. 180-190
4. ↑ Air-Britain Aviation World , December 2014, p. 198 ( English )
5. ↑ The development of the aircraft fleet of the Swiss Air Force ( Memento from May 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.2 MB)
6. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1949, p. 164 f .; 1951, p. 158; 1952, p. 158; 1953, p. 185 f .; 1954, pp. 70 f .; 1955, p. 80 f.