, is a manufacturer of
General Aviation Aircraft , located in
Vero Beach, Florida .
, with the
Piper Cub logo superimposed at the top.]]
Originally founded as the 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 an 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 T. Piper purchased the assets of the company for $761. Reorganized as the , 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 were erased when it was renamed to .
Manufacture ceased in the mid 1980's when, together with other sellers of light aircraft in the USA, increasing insurance premiums made continued operation financially impossible. Upon limitation of liability provided by new legislation in the early 90's, manufacturing re-commenced in
1995 . The firm was re-branded at that time.
As of July
2003 ,
American Capital Strategies, Ltd. owns 94% of Piper's voting equity.
In August
2006 the firm dropped the "New" from its name, reverting to . Also in that month a partnership with
Honda was announced to market the new
HondaJet .
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 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-32 s 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 HP s and
Saratoga TC s are still manufactured and sold today.
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.
- PA-6 Sky Sedan (1947)
- PA-7 Sky Coupe (1945)
- PA-8 Sky Cycle (1947)
- PA-14 Family Cruiser (1947)
- PA-15 Vagabond (1947)
- PA-17 Vagabond (1948)
- PA-16 Clipper (1949)
- PA-20 Pacer (1950)
- PA-22 Tri-Pacer, Colt 108 (1951, 1960)
- PA-23 Apache, Aztec (1952, 1959)
- PA-24 Comanche (1956)
- PA-25 Pawnee (1957?)
- PA-28 Cherokee, Arrow, Warrior, Archer, Dakota (1960)
- PA-30 Twin Comanche (1963)
- PA-31 Navajo, Mojave, Chieftain (1964)
- PA-31T Cheyenne (1974)
- PA-32 Cherokee Six (1963)
- PA-32R Lance and Saratoga (1977)
- PA-34 Seneca (1972)
- PA-36 Pawnee Brave (1972)
- PA-38-112 Tomahawk (1977)
- PA-39 Twin Comanche C/R (1970)
- PA-40 Arapaho (1972)
- PA-42 Cheyenne III (1980)
- PA-44-180 Seminole (1978)
- PA-46 Malibu, Malibu Mirage, Mirage (1983)
- PA-46TP Meridian (2000)
- PA-48 Enforcer (Experimental) (1983)
- In October 2006, Piper Aircraft announced that they would be developing a single-engined Very Light Jet (VLJ), known as the , to compete with the twin-engined Eclipse 500 and Cessna Citation Mustang . The aircraft will carry 6 passengers, have a single tail mounted turbofan, and be capable of cruising at 360knots, at a maximum altitude of 35000ft. Maximum range will be 1300nm, with a full-fuel payload of 800lb. A selling price of 2.199m (in 2006 USD) is quoted. An Entry-into-Service date of early 2010 is anticipated.
::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
Piper's primary general aviation manufacturing "rivals":
