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Cub production, 1931-2008

More than 40,000 Cubs have been built over the past 77 years, beginning with the Taylor Aircraft E-2 and continuing today with the Legend Cub and Cub Sport. For more about the planes included here, see What's a Piper Cub?. If you have information on any of these production runs, please send email.

designation popular name price range years built how many

the original line

Taylor Aircraft (Bradford & Lock Haven, Pennsylvania)
E-2, F-2, H-2 Cub $1,325-1,475 1931-1936 348
J-2 New Cub $1,270-1,470 1936-1938 1,132

Piper Aircraft (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania)
J-2 New Cub?
?
1937-1938 50
J-3, O-59,
L-4, TG-8 		Cub, Sport,
Grasshopper 		$995-2,461 1938-1947 19,073
J-4 Cub Coupe $1,848-2,575 1938-1942 1,251
J-5, L-14,
HE-1 		Cub Cruiser $1,798-2,150 1940-1945 1,506
PA-11, L-18 Cub Special $2,195-2,395 1947-1950 1,316
PA-12 Super Cruiser $3,295-3,495 1946-1948 3,759
PA-14 Family Cruiser $3,825-3,925 1948-1949 238
PA-18,
L-18/21 		Super Cub
$3,595-47,000 1949-1982 10,224

Piper Aircraft (Vero Beach, Florida)
PA-18 Super Cub $42,595-$80,000 1988-1994 102

subsidiary & license-built

Aircraft Associates (Long Beach, California)
J-2 Western Cub
?
1936-1938 22

Cub Aircraft (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
J-2 Cub? ? 1936-1937 34
J-3 Cub Prospector
?
1946-1947; 1952 187

Cub Aircraft Co. Ltd (Lundtofe Airfield, Denmark)
J-2, -3, -4 Cub
?
1938-39, 1945 34?

Piper Aircraft (Ponca, Oklahoma)
J-3 Cub
?
1946-1947 1,086
PA-11 Cub Special
?
1947-1948225

WTA (Lubbock, Texas)
PA-18 Super Cub
?
1980s 15*

Argentina licensees
J-3 Cub?
?
1940s 16
PA-A-18 Super Cub?
?
1990s 11

wannabes

Turbine Cubs of Wyoming (Douglas, Wyoming) (formerly Smith Aviation)
Replica PA-18 Super Cub
kit: $39,600+
1999-present 102
Replica PA-12 Super Cruiser
kit: $41,120+
2007-present -
---
Mackey SQ-2
kit: ?
2008- 1

Cub Crafters (Yakima, Washington)
CC-18-180 Top Cub
$159,500
1999-present 75
CC-11-120 Cub Sport
$119,500
2006-present ?

American Legend Aircraft (Sulphur Springs, Texas)
AL-3C-120
(open cowl);
AL-11C-120
(closed cowl) 		Legend Cub, FloatCub, Combat
$103,895+
2005-present 130
---
Texas Sport
kit: $36,800+
2007-present 3

Zlin Aviation (Czech Republic)
S-LSA Savage
$54,000 80hp
$56,000 100hp
1997-present 150**

notes

Figures up to 1995 are taken from Roger Peperell, Piper Aircraft. Additional material from Peter Bowers, Piper Cubs; Emil Hauge in Cub Clues, Nov-Dec 2000; emails from Cub Crafters, Smith Aviation, Turbine Cubs of Wyoming, and American Legend Aircraft; AOPA Pilot, May 2006; and Bob West at North American Sport Aviation.

* WTA in Lubbock bought the marketing rights and 15 Super Cubs, which are included in sales figures for Piper or New Piper (none were built in Texas). Some license-built Cubs were assembled from kits and may also be counted in the Pennsylvania-built numbers. Peperell says 48 Cubs were shipped to Denmark; Haugue says 47, with 32 planes assembled before WWII, 13 destroyed by fire during the war, and 2 assembled postwar.

** A large but unknown number of Cub replicas have been home-built; Wag-Aero alone has sold some 2,000 kits and plans. The figure for the Savage also includes kit versions. Kit prices don't incude the engine, ranging from $10,000 used to $24,000 new. Turbine Cubs of Wyoming gives a range of $61,365 to $99,073 for a completed PA-18 replica.