Jaunt Air

Possibly the most famous of all general aviation airplanes. For years, the term Piper Cub served as a generic reference to any small, private airplane. The J-3 was (and still is!) a wonderful trainer, and its probable that more people have learned to fly in a J-3 than any other airplane model. The J-3 was the basis for many derivative models, one of which - the Super Cub - remained in production for decades. The Cub series was so popular that when Piper decided to no longer produce any version of the Cub, a number of other companies began producing Cub clones. Today, airplanes virtually identical to the J-3 or Super Cub may be purchased from a number of companies.

The Tri-Pacer was first produced in 1951, and it was somewhat of a revolutionary airplane. Up until the introduction of the Tri-Pacer, most small airplanes utilized conventional landing gear, which has two main wheels and a third wheel located at the tail end of the plane. Though there are certain advantages to this type of landing gear, one distinct disadvantage is that conventional gear airplanes (also called taildraggers) are more difficult to control on the ground. The Tri-Pacer utilized a tricycle landing gear, which simplified ground handling, and combined with the good all-around performance of the airplane, made the Tri-Pacer a hit, with more than 8,000 produced. Before the Tri-Pacer, the vast majority of new general aviation airplanes produced were taildraggers. The impact of the Tri-Pacer was such that within a few years after its introduction, most new general aviation airplanes were produced with tricycle gear.

The Apache, introduced in 1954, was Pipers first twin-engine airplane and first all-metal airplane.

The Cherokee was a radical change for Pipers single engine line. Until 1961, when the Cherokee went into production, all of Pipers single engine airplanes had been high-wing, strut-braced, tube and fabric designs. The Cherokee had a more modern look with its all-metal construction and low-wing design. The Cherokee was hugely successful, spawning many derivatives - including a twin-engine model - which were produced for decades, some models of which are still in production.