Learning Center Our Enshrinees

William Thomas Piper Sr.

• Served as a captain in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War I.
• Invested in the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation in 1929 and then bought its assets in 1930 reorganizing it into the Taylor Aircraft Corporation.
• Invested in designing and building low-cost airplanes during the Great Depression. The most popular, the Piper Cub, cost only $1,325 with free flying lessons.
• Established the Piper Aircraft Corporation in 1937 and, by 1940, Piper represented a third of all civilian aircraft in the United States.
• In World War II the first Piper L-4 went into combat during the invasion of North Africa.
• Throughout World War II, more than 5,000 Cubs were used in training, observation, artillery-spotting, patrol, and ambulance roles and served in every campaign on every front.
• Added various lines of the Cub to the military, corporate and general aviation fields after World War II.