1940 Piper Cub J-3

Description

The Ohio State University Airport has a 1940 Piper Cub J-3 on display. It was donated by Donald Peters, a pilot for Trans World Airlines. The plane was based in central Ohio for a long time. Peters wanted people to remember Columbus' role in aviation history. The plane has a fixed pitch two-blade wooden Hartzell propeller. The throttle is on the left side of the plane. It has a flying rat emblem from the World War II Army 308th squadron. The plane has a 65hp Franklin engine that needs to be hand propped to start. The Cub is a light aircraft made from 1937 to 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The cockpit has a tachometer, oil temperature gauge, airspeed indicator, magnetic compass, oil pressure gauge, and altimeter. The Piper Cub was bought in 1940 by Northway Flying Service to train pilots at Norton Field in Columbus, Ohio during World War II. Harley D. Snook, a flight instructor, bought the Cub after WWII. He used it at Snook Field in Reynoldsburg for about 10 years. Snook and Peters restored the plane from 1992-1995. In 2018, Peters donated the plane to The Ohio State University Airport. The plane has a Franklin 4AC-176-B2 65 hp engine and a fixed pitch propeller. It weighs 1750lbs and has a useful load of 767lbs. It has 2 seats, a cruise speed of 65 knots, and a fuel capacity of 12 gallons. It can fly 191 nautical miles and has a ceiling of 11,500 feet. It is 35 feet 3 inches wide and 22 feet 5 inches long. It needs 200 feet to take off and 350 feet to land. It has no electrical system and must be hand propped to start. It is used for daytime flying only, but can have battery powered navigation lights for night flying. It can also use snow skis in the winter.