Piper J3 & PA18

In the past the Piper kit was subject to many small improvements. The construction was from the beginning light and flexible, but tough enough to withstand the Quadras far from smooth running for some years. If you have owned a Quadra you will readily accept the Pipers ability to take the Titan ZG 62SL.

Why this redesigning? The main reason stemming from the original plans transparencies having reached such a state of deterioration they must be redrawn. I convinced Toni it would be better to use a true Clark Y section, this would have an even better stalling characteristic than his Clark T(oni) section.

So while one is by drawing a new plan an improved wing construction can be made with proper Piper wing tips, flaps and the option of a Clipped wing. Simplified wing struts with even more strength which allows for easier fixing to the fuselage. Scale doors, improved fairing from the fin into the fuselage, installing the elevator servos under the tailplane, attractive wheel spats and a very efficient cooling air exit from the silencer compartment, designed specially for the Piper Hydro Mount System. More cross-sections and a very detailed set of building instructions with reasons given for the aerodynamic set up, so you can understand the ideas behind the construction fully.

Last but not least the new Piper has a tow line release included in the kit, that can operate from any direction of the line.

Image: Ingo´s Piper on finals

More parts of this new Piper kit are now prefabricated: For example the ribs are CNC-milled, the leading edge is spindle moulded, spars, longerons and wing sheeting are ready chamfered for perfect joining. The spar webbing is cut to spar width, the landing gear is silver soldered together. Apart from these items, you will be pleasantly surprised to find many more “small” improvements.

The Piper is truly a multi purpose model. You can fly just like the full-size Piper with our Titan ZG 20 installed. That is if you have no ambition for glider towing, but you are satisfied with loops, rolls and stall turns. But you wish to be able to tow gliders, then the Titan ZG 38SC is a better choice. With the 38 you can fly positive as well as negative figures with power to spare. Knife edge flying is unlimited. You can fly around with an almost fully throttled back engine, the model is then extremely quiet. Use a 20×10 propeller, this is the scale size. Should you wish to tow sailplanes that are more than 7 kg then the 45 is the engine. Fit the Titan ZG 62SL and with a 16 kg sailplane hanging on the line, is in a couple minutes close under the cloud base. But with the 62 you should only use full throttle whilst towing, otherwise the Piper roars around the sky ruining any scale effect.

When fitting the Titan ZG 45SL or Titan ZG 62SL we recommend the Hydro Mount System Piper #6704, the integrated silencer #4640 or #6640, the carburettor intake bend #4587 or #6587 plus the 60 mm prop hub and the Super Silence 21×12″ CF-3- blade propeller #9971. This engine combination gives a fantastic power to weight ratio as well as the minimum sound level. The firewall and cowl of the J3 CUB unfortunately is not big enough for the Hydro Mount.

Image: Ingo Patzelt has fitted the Titan ZG 62SL coupled with the Piper-HMS #6704, stainless steel silencer #6640, cast aluminum intake bend #6587 and Easy Start System #7777 into his PA 18.

The Pipers layout with rectangular and high mounted wings and a very low wing loading makes it a very stable flyer. It is therefore an ideal choice to start with large models. The Piper is our work horse, as previously mentioned, the Piper is ideally suited for glider and banner towing.

Because of the low wing loading and relative high aspect ratio, the Piper does not require very much power so there is plenty in reserve for towing. The Piper has a very dependable low speed performance, this is ideal for towing light weight gliders. With an inexperienced glider pilot on the tow line, a sudden jerk on the line, the Piper, due to it’s mass, can easily keep going, thus avoiding the stationary bit and the subsequent stall. The Piper can pull a fairly large banner, carry a camera or any other load up to 5 kg.

The construction is conventional stripwood and sheeting, making for a very robust model, which is at the same time light in weight. The wings are in two halves. The UC is identical to the full size, being sprung with rubber shock cord which is a great deal better than springs, because the rubber has a very good dampening effect. The fully sprung and steerable tailwheel makes taxiing the model a pleasure. The motor cowl is made of very tough epoxy/ glass and not a rather brittle plastic like ABS. With the Piper PA-18 the fuselage sides are parallel right to the firewall this is due to the wider cowl. Apart from the cowl the two fuselages are identical from behind the second former.

Image: The uncovered Piper. A perfect static, at the same time esthetic construction from balsa, aircraft spruce and birch plywood. Very different from a mass of cheap poplar plywood as is often the case to admire by “modern” designs.