The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser is an American three-seat, high wing, single-engine conventional landing gear-equipped light aircraft that was produced by Piper Aircraft between 1946-48. The PA-12 was an upgraded and redesignated Piper J-5.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 59. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977.

Development

When Piper dropped the J- designation system in exchange for the PA- system, the J-5C became the PA-12 "Super Cruiser". The earlier J-5s had been powered by either a

Lycoming O-235 The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-23 ...

or a

Lycoming O-145 The Lycoming O-145 is a family of small, low-horsepower, four-cylinder, air-cooled engines. It was Lycoming Engines' first horizontally opposed aircraft engine and was produced from 1938 until the late 1940s. The family includes the reduction-ge ...

. The newer PA-12 model was initially powered by a Lycoming O-235-C engine, was fully cowled, and had a metal spar wing with two 19 gallon fuel tanks. A Lycoming O-235-C1 engine rated at for takeoff was optional. The prototype ''NX41561'' was converted from a J-5C and first flew from

Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

, Pennsylvania, on 29 October 1945. The first production model followed on 22 February 1946 and quantity production continued until the last example of 3760 built was completed on 18 March 1948. The PA-12 is approved for wheels, skis, floats and also for

crop spraying Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampric ...

. Cockpit accommodation is provided for the pilot in the front seat and two passengers in the rear seat, side-by-side. Unlike the J-3 Cub the PA-12 is flown solo from the front seat.

Operational use

Many PA-12s have been modified with larger engines. Wing flaps and a metal-skin fuselage can be added as modifications. In 1947, two PA-12s, named ''City of Washington'' and ''City of the Angels'', flew around the world. The worst mechanical failure they suffered was a cracked tailwheel. The ''City of Washington'' currently resides at the Boeing Aviation Hangar, part of the

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...

Chantilly, Virginia Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the ...

. The ''City of the Angels'' is on display at the Piper Aviation Museum in

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

. PA-12s have been exported to a number of countries including Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Many PA-12s are still flown by private pilot owners and the type is commonly seen in North America. In November 2009 there were still 1688 registered in the US and 229 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Variants

;PA-12 :Original model

type certified A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

24 March 1947, with a gross weight of in the Normal Category and in the Utility Category ;PA-12S :Second model type certified 11 August 1948, with gross weight, Normal Category only The PA-12S Seaplane variant was fitted with the

Lycoming O-290-D2 Lycoming may refer to the following, most of which are at least partly in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States: Geography * Lycoming, New York, a hamlet * Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * Ly ...

engine to improve take-off performance.

Notable accidents

* 31 July 2020 - A PA-12 piloted by

Alaska State Representative The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

Gary Knopp Gary Allan Knopp (July 14, 1957 – July 31, 2020) was an American politician who served in the Alaska House of Representatives from the 30th district as a member of the Republican Party. Early life Knopp was born on July 14, 1957 in Whitefish, ...

was involved in a mid-air collision with a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver near

Soldotna Airport Soldotna Airport is a city-owned, public use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) southeast of the central business district of Soldotna, Alaska. Facilities The airport is located along the south bank of the Kenai River in the so ...

in the Kenai Peninsula, killing Knopp and all six persons aboard the DHC-2.

Specifications (PA-12)

References

Bibliography

* * Peperell, Roger W. and Smith Colin R., ''Piper Aircraft and their forerunners'', 1987, Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, Tonbridge, Kent, .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piper Pa-12 PA-12 Single-engined tractor aircraft 1940s United States civil utility aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1945