The Piper J-3 Cub: How A Yellow Taildragger Trained A Generation Of Pilots

It is estimated that of the more than 400,000 American pilots who flew in WWII, four out of five had their first flight in a Piper J-3 Cub. Historical analysis also claims that 75% completed their training in that very same spruce-and-fabric taildragger. The little yellow plane became an icon for the droves of new aviators that learned stick-and-rudder skills for the first time from its cockpit. While the WWII fires made the Cub a legend, its story began long before the war.