1.
Piston
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A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder, in some engines, the piston also acts as a valve by covering and uncovering ports in the cylinder wall. An internal combustion engine is acted upon by the pressure of the combustion gases in the combustion chamber space at the top of the cylinder. This force then acts downwards through the rod and onto the crankshaft. The connecting rod is attached to the piston by a swivelling gudgeon pin and this pin is mounted within the piston, unlike the steam engine, there is no piston rod or crosshead. The pin itself is of hardened steel and is fixed in the piston, a few designs use a fully floating design that is loose in both components. All pins must be prevented from moving sideways and the ends of the pin digging into the cylinder wall, gas sealing is achieved by the use of piston rings. These are a number of iron rings, fitted loosely into grooves in the piston. The rings are split at a point in the rim, allowing them to press against the cylinder with a light spring pressure. Two types of ring are used, the rings have solid faces and provide gas sealing, lower rings have narrow edges. There are many proprietary and detail design features associated with piston rings, pistons are cast from aluminium alloys. For better strength and fatigue life, some racing pistons may be forged instead, early pistons were of cast iron, but there were obvious benefits for engine balancing if a lighter alloy could be used. To produce pistons that could survive engine combustion temperatures, it was necessary to develop new alloys such as Y alloy and Hiduminium, a few early gas engines had double-acting cylinders, but otherwise effectively all internal combustion engine pistons are single-acting. During World War II, the US submarine Pompano was fitted with a prototype of the infamously unreliable H. O. R, although compact, for use in a cramped submarine, this design of engine was not repeated. Media related to Internal combustion engine pistons at Wikimedia Commons Trunk pistons are long relative to their diameter and they act both as a piston and cylindrical crosshead. As the connecting rod is angled for much of its rotation, a longer piston helps to support this
2.
Aircraft engine
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An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines, in commercial aviation, the major players in the manufacturing of turbofan engines are Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and CFM International. In general aviation, the dominant manufacturer of engines has been Pratt & Whitney. General Electric announced in 2015 entrance into the market,1848, John Stringfellow made a steam engine for a 10-foot wingspan model aircraft which achieved the first powered flight, albeit with negligible payload. 1903, Charlie Taylor built an inline aeroengine for the Wright Flyer,1903, Manly-Balzer engine sets standards for later radial engines. 1906, Léon Levavasseur produces a successful water-cooled V8 engine for aircraft use,1908, René Lorin patents a design for the ramjet engine. 1908, Louis Seguin designed the Gnome Omega, the worlds first rotary engine to be produced in quantity. In 1909 a Gnome powered Farman III aircraft won the prize for the greatest non-stop distance flown at the Reims Grande Semaine dAviation setting a record for endurance of 180 kilometres. 1910, Coandă-1910, a ducted fan aircraft exhibited at Paris Aero Salon. The aircraft never flew, but a patent was filed for routing exhaust gases into the duct to augment thrust,1930, Frank Whittle submitted his first patent for turbojet engine. June 1939, Heinkel He 176 is the first successful aircraft to fly powered solely by a rocket engine. August 1939, Heinkel HeS3 turbojet propels the pioneering German Heinkel He 178 aircraft,1940, Jendrassik Cs-1, the worlds first run of a turboprop engine. It is not put into service,1943 Daimler-Benz DB670, first turbofan runs 1944, Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet, the worlds first rocket-propelled combat aircraft deployed. 1945, First turboprop powered aircraft flies, a Gloster Meteor with two Rolls-Royce Trent engines,1947, Bell X-1 rocket propelled aircraft exceeds the speed of sound. 1948,100 shp 782, the first turboshaft engine to be applied to aircraft use,1949, Leduc 010, the worlds first ramjet-powered aircraft flight. 1950, Rolls-Royce Conway, the worlds first production turbofan, enters service,1968, General Electric TF39 high bypass turbofan enters service delivering greater thrust and much better efficiency. 2002, HyShot scramjet flew in dive,2004, NASA X-43, the first scramjet to maintain altitude. This is typically to differentiate them from radial engines, a straight engine typically has an even number of cylinders, but there are instances of three- and five-cylinder engines
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Cessna 140
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The Cessna 120,140, and 140A, are single-engine, two-seat, conventional landing gear, light general aviation aircraft that were first produced in 1946, immediately following the end of World War II. Production ended in 1951, and was succeeded in 1959 by the Cessna 150, combined production of both aircraft was 7,664 units in five years. The Cessna 140 was originally equipped with a Continental C-85-12 or C-85-12F horizontally opposed, air-cooled, the Continental C-90-12F or C-90-14F of 90 hp was optional, as was the 108 hp Lycoming O-235-C1 engine, an aftermarket installation authorized in the type certificate. This model had a fuselage and fabric wings with metal control surfaces. The larger Cessna 170 was a four-seat 140 with a powerful engine. The Cessna 120 was a version of the 140 produced at the same time. It had the engine as the 140, but lacked wing flaps. The rear-cabin D side windows and electrical system were optional, a 120 outfitted with every factory option would be nearly equivalent to a 140, but the International Cessna 120/140 Association believes that no 120s were originally built this way. Despite this, many decades worth of owner-added options have rendered many 120s almost indistinguishable from a 140 aside from the absence of wing flaps, the 120 was dropped from production upon introduction of the 140A in 1949. In 1949, Cessna introduced the 140A, a new variant with aluminum-covered wings and single wing struts instead of the wing covering, dual V struts. Standard engines were the Continental C-90-12F or C-90-14F of 90 hp, with the 85 hp Continental C-85-12, C-85-12F, despite these improvements, sales of the 140 lineup faltered, and the 140A comprised only seven percent of overall 120/140 production. Common modifications to the Cessna 120 and 140 include, Metalized wings, the installation of landing gear extenders to reduce the tendency of the aircraft to nose over on application of heavy braking. Installation of rear-cabin D side windows on 120s that were not originally so equipped, installation of electrical systems on 120s that were not originally so equipped, allowing owners to install an electric starter, more sophisticated avionics and/or lights for night flying. Installation of a powerful engine. A popular conversion today is to replace the original C-85 or C-90 with a 100 hp Continental O-200, a kit is available to install a Lycoming O-320 but this conversion is less prevalent due to a roughly 100 lb weight penalty and a sharp increase in fuel consumption. Data from The Complete Guide to the Single-Engine Cessnas, AOPA Pilot, general characteristics Crew, one Capacity, one passenger Length,21 ft 6 in Wingspan,33 ft 4 in Height,6 ft 3 in Wing area,159
5.
Cessna 150
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The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use. The Cessna 150 is the fifth most produced civilian plane ever, the Cessna 150 was offered for sale in the 150 basic model, Commuter, Commuter II, Patroller and the aerobatic Aerobat models. Development of the Model 150 began in the mid-1950s with the decision by Cessna Aircraft to produce a successor to the popular Cessna 140 which finished production in 1951. In addition, the narrow, hinged wing flaps of the 140 were replaced by larger, the Cessna 150 prototype first flew on September 12,1957, with production commencing in September 1958 at Cessnas Wichita, Kansas plant. 216 aircraft were produced by Reims Aviation under license in France. These French manufactured 150s were designated Reims F-150, the F indicating they were built in France, all Cessna 150s have very effective flaps that extend 40 degrees. The best-performing airplanes in the 150 and 152 fleet are the 1962 Cessna 150B, thanks to their light 1,500 lb gross weight and more aerodynamic rear fuselage, they climb the fastest, have the highest ceilings, and require the shortest runways. They have a 109-knot cruise speed, faster than any other year of either the 150 or 152. All models from 1966 onwards have larger doors and increased baggage space, with the 1967 Model 150G the doors were bowed outwards 1.5 inches on each side to provide more cabin elbow room. A total of 22,138 Cessna 150s were built in the United States, Reims Aviation completed 1,764 F-150s, of which 1,428 were Commuters and 336 were Aerobats. A Reims affiliate in Argentina also assembled 47 F-150s, including 38 Commuters and 9 Aerobats, of all the Cessna 150-152 models, the 1966 model year was the most plentiful with 3,0671966 Cessna 150s produced. This was the first year the featured a swept tail fin, increased baggage area. The 150 was succeeded in the summer of 1977 by the closely related Cessna 152, the 152 is more economical to operate due to the increased TBO of the Lycoming O-235 engine. Production of the 152 ended in 1985 when manufacturing of all Cessna piston singles was suspended, in 2007 Cessna announced the two-seat successor to the Model 150 and 152, the Model 162 Skycatcher. 150 The first model year of the Cessna 150 carried no suffix letter and it was available as the 150 or the upgraded Commuter. The engine was a 100 horsepower Continental O-200, the weight was 1,500 lb. Production commenced late in 1958 as the 1959 model year, the cost was US$6,995 for the Standard Model 150, $7,940 for the Trainer and $8,545 for the Commuter. The 1960 model introduced a 35-ampere generator on the Commuter, the patroller was also introduced in 1960
6.
Cessna 162 Skycatcher
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It is the most recently introduced aircraft in the companys general aviation product line and the most recently canceled, its intended market was flight training and personal use. The Skycatcher received its ASTM LSA approval in July 2009, at one time 1200 of the aircraft had been ordered. In October 2013 Cessna CEO Scott Ernest stated that the Skycatcher had no future, on 11 February 2014, Cessna removed all marketing for the Skycatcher from their official website. A total of 192 aircraft were sold and the remaining 80 unsold aircraft were used for parts until December 2016 when the balance were scrapped, Cessna had announced its intentions to study the feasibility of developing and producing an LSA on 6 June 2006. The conforming prototype had its first flight on 8 March 2008, in July 2009 Cessna announced that the 162 had completed flight testing to ASTM standards. On 9 August 2007 Cessna Aircraft announced that they had orders for 720 Skycatchers totaling US$75M, by 24 November 2007 Cessna had 850 firm orders and by the end of 2008 the company had confirmed over 1,000 orders. In July 2009, orders were still reported at over 1,000, Cessna vice president of propeller aircraft sales John Doman said sales activity had been slow because customers did not want to wait approximately four years for a delivery slot. In December 2009 the company delivered the first production Skycatcher to its customer, Cessna CEO Jack Peltons wife. The company intended that the 2010 production rate would be 300 to 400 a year, by late 2013 droves of position holders had canceled their orders due to price increases and failure of the design to meet expectations. In October 2013 at the National Business Aviation Association convention Cessna CEO Scott Ernest stated that the Cessna 162 had no future, Cessna Vice President, Piston Aircraft, Jodi Noah, indicated that the aircraft had not met expectations. In February 2014 sales were halted, in December 2016 the remaining 80 unsold 162s were scrapped. These had been used to provide parts to keep the fleet going. He stated, the Skycatcher can’t keep up because it wasn’t really designed as an LSA, it’s a scaled-down Cessna 152, which is a scaled-down Cessna 172, which is a scaled-down 747. I hope I’m not bursting anyone’s bubble by pointing out that Cessna is not exactly a modern innovator in design of light aircraft and he concluded, is this all the proof we need that LSAs make for bad airplanes. Well, maybe it’s just proof that the Skycatcher was a bad airplane, Cessna President and CEO Jack Pelton had originally indicated that Cessna was aiming for a price of under US$100,000 for the aircraft, which Pelton indicated would be a challenge to achieve. At that price point Pelton predicted that Cessna would be able to sell 600 of the aircraft per year, the 22 July 2007 announcement indicated that these price goals were not met. The first 1000 aircraft ordered were sold for US$109,500, the price was increased to US$111,500 in 2008 and US$112,250 in 2010. In November 2011 the company indicated that the price was being increased to US$149,000, part of the price increase was due to the incorporation of optional features as standard, including the multi-function display, intercom and sun visors
7.
ERCO Ercoupe
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The ERCO Ercoupe is a low-wing monoplane aircraft that was designed and built in the United States. It was first manufactured by the Engineering and Research Corporation shortly before World War II, the final model, the Mooney M-10, first flew in 1968 and the last model year was 1970. It was designed to be the safest fixed-wing aircraft that aerospace engineering could provide at the time, in 1931, aeronautical engineer Fred Weick was assistant chief of the aeronautics division of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. In 1934 he asked permission to build an aircraft based on the 1931 Stout Skycar, using instead of aluminum covering. Weick and a group of co-workers designed and assembled the aircraft with a group of his colleagues who worked on the project in their spare time. The resulting aircraft, known as the W-1, featured tricycle landing gear, a wing. A glide-control flap Two-control operation using controls for pitch and roll, in 1934 the Bureau of Air Commerce approached Weicks team looking for standards for a competition for a safe and practical $700 aircraft. In 1936 the winner of the competition was the Stearman-Hammond Y-1, two other winners were the Waterman Aeroplane and a roadable autogyro, the Autogiro Company of America AC-35. The W-1 was not intended for production to qualify as a competitor, after the prototype W-1 underwent a forced landing, an updated W-1A was built by Fairchild, incorporating leading edge cuffs. Weick left NACA in 1936 and joined ERCOs fledgling aircraft team as chief designer, focusing his efforts on a number of design issues, primarily simplicity and safety, Weick strove to create a reasonably priced aircraft that would not stall or spin. The ERCO310, which included a fully cowled engine, made its first flight in October 1937 at College Park Airport and was renamed the Ercoupe. The easy-to-fly design included design features, including a large glazed canopy for improved visibility. The prototype 310 featured an ERCO-made inverted four-cylinder engine, the ERCO I-L116, lacking rudder pedals, the Ercoupe was flown using only the control wheel. A two-control system linked the rudder and aileron systems, which controlled yaw and roll, the control wheel controlled the pitch and the steering of the aircraft, both on the ground and in the air, simplifying control and coordinated turning and eliminating the need for rudder pedals. A completely new category of pilots license was created by the CAA for Ercoupe pilots who had never used a rudder pedal, the Ercoupe was the first aircraft certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration as characteristically incapable of spinning. The high-winged General Skyfarer obtained the certification by licensing the ERCO technology. The first production Ercoupe, serial no,1, NC15692 built in 1939 was donated to the National Air and Space Museum. In 1941 that aircraft, designated YO-55, was used in US Army Air Force testing, the two-seat ERCO Ercoupe 415 went on sale in 1940
8.
General aviation
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General aviation is the term for all civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non-scheduled air transport operations for remuneration or hire. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to corporate business jet flights, the majority of the worlds air traffic falls into this category, and most of the worlds airports serve general aviation exclusively. General aviation covers a range of activities, both commercial and non-commercial, including flying clubs, flight training, agricultural aviation, light aircraft manufacturing. Of the 21,000 civil aircraft registered in the UK,96 per cent are engaged in GA operations, there are 28,000 Private Pilot Licence holders, and 10,000 certified glider pilots. Some of the 19,000 pilots who hold professional licences are also engaged in GA activities, GA operates from more than 1,800 airports and landing sites or aerodromes, ranging in size from large regional airports to farm strips. GA is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, although regulatory powers are being transferred to the European Aviation Safety Agency. The main focus is on standards of airworthiness and pilot licensing, general aviation is particularly popular in North America, with over 6,300 airports available for public use by pilots of general aviation aircraft. In comparison, scheduled flights operate from around 560 airports in the U. S, aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, general aviation provides more than one percent of the United States GDP, accounting for 1.3 million jobs in professional services and manufacturing. Most countries have authorities that oversee all civil aviation, including general aviation, Aviation accident rate statistics are necessarily estimates. In Canada, recreational flying accounted for 0.7 fatal accidents for every 1000 aircraft, while air taxi accounted for 1.1 fatal accidents for every 100,000 hours
9.
Flat-four engine
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A flat-four or horizontally opposed-four is a type of four-cylinder engine, a flat engine with four cylinders arranged horizontally in two banks of two cylinders on each side of a central crankcase. The design is seen with shared crank throws, so flat-four and boxer-four are usually used synonymously. The configuration results in inherently good balance of the parts, a low centre of gravity. The layout also lends itself to efficient air cooling with excellent thermal balance, the low centre of gravity of the engine is an advantage. The shape of the engine suits it better for mid engine or rear engine designs, with a rear engine layout, it allows a low-tail body while in front engine designs the width of the engine often interferes with the maximum front wheel steering angle. Boxer engines tend to be better balanced than other four-cylinder configurations and this problem becomes worse with increased piston speed and weight, effectively limiting the capacity of these engines. Inline-fours larger than 2.0 L usually have balance shafts whilst engines over 3.0 L are seldom used in passenger cars. In contrast, the flat-four has much less secondary imbalance at the expense of larger rocking vibrations and this is because the cylinders cannot be directly opposed, but must be offset so the connecting rods can be on separate crank pins, which results in the forces being slightly off-centre. The rocking vibration is not serious enough to require balance shafts. As the firing order on an ordinary flat-four boxer engine on Left, by counting two characters to the right of each L or R, the cylinders that fire with 360 degree crankshaft rotational angle offset are shown to be located on opposite banks. As a result, most Subaru flat-four engines no longer have the flat-four burble, the Impreza WRX and WRX STI still have unequal length exhaust pipes to feed the turbo sitting in the corner of the engine bay, and still have the characteristic burble. This was changed for the 2015 WRX which feeds a centrally mounted turbo and they are, however, a somewhat popular aftermarket modification. In addition, four-stroke cycle flat-fours have a common to all four-cylinder engines. This results in gaps between strokes and a pulsating delivery of torque to the flywheel, causing a rotational vibration on the entire engine along the crankshaft axis. By contrast, in engines with more cylinders the power strokes overlap, the piston starts its power stroke before the previous one has finished. Luxury performance car manufacturers prefer to use the inline-six, flat-six, or V8 configurations because these designs are much smoother than the flat-four, in 1897 Karl Benz developed the boxer engine. This drive system, in two horizontally opposed cylinders turned a single crankshaft, was given the name “contra engine”. The unit was used from 1899 onwards, principally in passenger, the final evolutionary stage of the Benz racing car equipped with a contra engine was the 20-hp Benz vehicle introduced in 1900
10.
Piper PA-18 Super Cub
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The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the Piper PA-11, in close to 40 years of production, over 9,000 were built. Super Cubs are commonly found in such as bush flying. While based on the design of the earlier Cubs, the addition of a system, flaps. The high-lift wing and powerful engine made the Super Cub a prime candidate for conversion to either floatplane or skiplane, in addition, the PA-18A was produced for applying either dry chemical or liquid spray. The Super Cub retained the basic rag and tube structure of the earlier J-3 Cub, the first true Super Cubs had flaps, dual fuel tanks, and an O-235 Lycoming engine producing about 108 hp. However, a 90 hp Continental variant without flaps and a second wing tank was available. Their empty weight was, on the average, 800–1000 pounds with a weight of 1,500 lb. These Cubs would take off in about 400 feet and land in about 300 feet, the Super Cub is renowned for its ability to take off and land in very short distances. The O-290 Lycoming powered Cubs followed and would take off in about 200 feet, the landing distance remained the same at about 400 feet, or 300 feet using flaps. With the use of the Lycoming O-320 at 150–160 hp, the Cubs allowable gross weight increased to 1,750 lb while retaining the capability of a mere 200 feet required for takeoff. Modifications include extended baggage compartments, external luggage pods, fuel pods, PA-18 Super Cub Prototype and production variant powered by a 95 hp Continental C-90-8F piston engine, sometimes known as the PA-18-95. PA-18-105 Super Cub Production variant fitted with a 105 hp Lycoming O-235-C1 piston engine, pA-18-105 Special Special variant built in 1952 and 1953 for the Civil Air Patrol as a trainer with horn-balanced elevators and provision for seat parachutes. PA-18-125 Super Cub Variant to replace the PA-18-95 with flaps and horn-balanced elevators, pA-18-135 Super Cub Variant with a 135 hp Lycoming O-290-D piston engine and fitted with two wing tanks as standard. PA-18-150 Super Cub 1954 variant with a 150 hp Lycoming O-320, pA-18-180 Super Cub Experimental variant with a 180 hp Lycoming O-360 engine, one built in 1980 by Piper. Other aircraft have been re-engined under a Supplemental Type Certificate, pA-18S Designation for production aircraft fitted with floats. PA-18AS Designation of a number of agricultural aircraft fitted with floats. PA-19 Super Cub Original designation of the variant of the PA-18
11.
Piper J-3 Cub
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The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low speed handling properties, the Cub is one of the best known light aircraft of all time. The Cubs simplicity, affordability and popularity — as well as its production numbers. The Cub was originally intended as a trainer, and saw popularity in this role. Large numbers of Cubs are still flying today, notably Cubs are highly prized as bush aircraft. The Cub is a high-wing strut-braced monoplane with a large area rectangular wing and it is powered by an air-cooled piston engine driving a fixed pitch propeller. Its fuselage is a steel frame covered in fabric, seating two people in tandem. The aircrafts standard chrome yellow paint has come to be known as Cub Yellow or Lock Haven Yellow, the Taylor E-2 Cub first appeared in 1930, built by Taylor Aircraft in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by William T. Piper, a Bradford industrialist and investor, later in 1930, the company went bankrupt, with Piper buying the assets but keeping founder C. Gilbert Taylor on as president. In 1936, an earlier Cub was altered by employee Walter Jamouneau to become the J-2 while Taylor was on sick leave, when he saw the redesign, Taylor was so incensed that he fired Jamouneau. Piper, however, had encouraged Jamouneaus changes, and hired him back, Piper then bought Taylors share in the company, paying him US$250 per month for three years. Although sales were slow, about 1,200 J-2s were produced before a fire in the Piper factory ended its production in 1938. After Piper moved his company from Bradford to Lock Haven, the J-3, powered by a 40 hp engine, in 1938, it sold for just over $1,000. A very few examples, designated J3P, were equipped with Lenape Papoose 3-cylinder radial engines, the Piper J-3 Cub became the primary trainer aircraft of the CPTP and played an integral role in its success, achieving legendary status. 75 percent of all new pilots in the CPTP were trained in Cubs, by wars end,80 percent of all United States military pilots had received their initial flight training in Piper Cubs. The need for new pilots created an appetite for the Cub. In 1940, the year before the United States entry into the war,3,016 Cubs had been built, prior to the United States entering World War II, J-3s were part of a fund-raising program to support the United Kingdom. Billed as a Flitfire, a Piper Cub J3 bearing Royal Air Force insignia was donated by W. T. Piper, Piper distributors nationwide were encouraged to do the same
12.
Luscombe 8
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The Luscombe 8 is a series of high-wing, side-by-side-seating monoplanes with conventional landing gear, designed in 1937 and built by Luscombe Aircraft. The Luscombe Aircraft Corporation was re-formed as a New Jersey company in 1937, the Luscombe 50 was to become the companys most famous product. The Model 8 used the new horizontally opposed small engines that had just been developed by the engine manufacturers, for simplicity, the aircraft was designed with a round firewall to minimize frontal area and simplify construction. Although it was alleged this might allow the installation of a radial engine if the flat four did not work. The Model 8 followed in the Luscombe tradition of using no wood in the construction, for a cheap, light aircraft, this was a revolutionary construction technique. Its competitors were built of fabric-covered steel tubing, with wooden spars, Luscombes construction techniques allowed him to build his aircraft quickly and cheaply, without sacrificing strength. His aircraft were more efficient than his competitors, cruising 10–20 mph faster on the same power. The new Luscombe sold well, and soon the factory was making changes to the design, Continental had upgraded the A-50 engine to the A-65 engine of 65 horsepower. Luscombe quickly certified this engine on the Model 8, and began producing it as the Model 8A, in 1938 and 1939, though, personality conflicts arose within the company, and Don Luscombe was forced out of the company in a proxy battle. Many Luscombe employees left at this time, also, march of 1940 saw the introduction of another version of the Model 8, the 8B. This aircraft was powered by a Lycoming O-145-B3 engine of 65 horsepower, a month later, the company developed the deluxe model 8C, powered by a Continental C-75-8J engine. The interior was finished off with maroon cloth and tan leather upholstery, the deluxe model was named the Silvaire, and was sold with full-color advertising. With war raging in Europe, stocks of aluminum began to be rationed, since the Model 8 was widely used in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, Luscombe was able to maintain production and get a reasonable allotment of the lightweight metal. To ensure future allotments and increase its share of the CPTP market, the instrument panel was changed so that it could be equipped with the necessary instruments for instrument flight and training, and so that radios could be installed easily. The 8D used the same 75 hp Continental engine as the 8C, the man who had forced Don Luscombe out of the company was an Austrian named Leopold Klotz. The government considered him to be an alien, which led to the company being taken over by the government during World War II. Luscombe Aircraft spent the war years doing subcontract work for other manufacturers, in 1944, the Vested Claims Committee ruled that Klotz was a resident neutral rather than an enemy alien, and his Luscombe holdings were restored to him. During the war, Luscombe Aircraft moved from Trenton, New Jersey, due to several factors, including a fire at one plant that destroyed most of their stock of cushions and upholstery, production in the latter part of 1945 was quite limited
