Piper's Dream

Nine years ago in Bradford, Pa., an engineer named C. G. ("Center of Gravity") Taylor gave up the corporate ghost trying to manufacture and sell a light, cheap airplane, the Taylor Cub. On the auction block went his two-year-old Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corp. For $522.50 a native Bradford boy, husky, genial William Thomas Piper, ex-oilman, engineer and Harvard hammer thrower, whose flying experience consisted of one short ride, bought the defunct firm. With an additional $2,877.50 he formed Taylor Aircraft Co., took Taylor in as partner.

For five years the two worked at cross purposes, Piper plugging for cheap mass production, Taylor for experimental engineering techniques. By 1936 they had turned out 333 planes, made no money. Weary of quarreling, losing his money, Planeman Piper bought out his partner for $5,000. With his three Harvard sons.

William T. Jr., Thomas and Howard ("Bill," "Tony" & "Peg"), he stepped production up to 541 planes in 1936, turned in the company's first net profit--$9,706. Then catastrophe struck.

While Planeman Piper was attending the Los Angeles aircraft show on March 16, 1937, his plant burned to the ground. Only 15 planes, some wings, fuselages, spare parts were saved. When he got back, he found his mechanics out on the field putting together a plane with one silver wing, one red one. Pocketing his $75,000 loss (virtually no insurance), he bought a fireproof brick building from Susquehanna Silk Mills in Lock Haven, Pa., 80 miles away, renamed his company Piper Aircraft Corp., and started over. His loss for the year was only $39,555, and in 1938 profits were $14,031. Last year he added a fireproof repair shop, 15 hangars, a shipping room, and profits zoomed to $94,213 on $1,768,652 worth of sales.

Today 60% of U. S. light planes sold are Piper Cubs. The three-place, 75-h.p.cruiser (price: $1,798) and the two-place, 65-h.p. Coupe (price: $1,995) have top speeds of 100 m.p.h., cruise at 87, have a range of 320 to 380 miles. The slower trainers sell for as little as $995. Last year Piper's total production was 1,753 planes of all types, of which some 75% were bought on the installment plan (many of them for training amateurs at U. S. airports).

With comparatively few of his Cubs in the hands of private owners, Planeman Piper is doing everything possible to stimulate private flying. His sales policy includes a free training course with each plane sold. Last week he was pleased as punch to deliver twelve Cub Coupes (equipped with two-way radios and blind-flying instruments) to the Civil Aeronautics Authority, which is making many potential Piper customers by training 10,000 new pilots this year. To get ready for them, the No. 1 U. S. light plane maker last week offered 33,290 shares of stock (price: $8.75 a share) to the public. Investors snapped it up, oversubscribed the issue in the first hour.

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