Piper J3 Cub Plans

[ryanjames170]

who has the best set of plans one could build a piper J3 Cub from?

 

[Victor Bravo]

Wag-Aero Sport Trainer, also known as Cuby, Cubby. They are as close to a genuine J-3 as you can get. Wag Aero also sells parts, kits, components, etc. for this aircraft.

When you are finished, the ONLY discernable difference between your Sport Trainer / Cuby and a real antique J-3 will be the paperwork, and several very small details:

A modern replica would likely use 4130 steel tube instead of the 1020 steel tube they used before WW2
Modern fuel tanks are welded aluminum instead of soldered Terne-Plate (tin coated sheet steel)
Nico-press cable splices are used today instead of five-tuck manual woven splices (you can still find people who do woven splices for antique restorations)
Dacron (polyester) fabric instead of cotton (you can still use cotton if you really really want to)
Better and more fire-resistant fabric coatings instead of Nitrate and Butyrate "dope"
The Wag Aero version uses a different elevator trim but you can build it with the original style J-3 "jackscrew" mechanism if you wish.

But the vast majority of real antique J-3 Cubs are restored and refurbished with these upgrades today, so unless you are building a museum replica you are far better off with these upgrades,a nd these upgrades do not change the visual characteristics of the Cub at all. A 2018 Wag Aero Sport Trainer built per the plans will 100% still have the same heart and soul of a 1939 or 1946 Cub.

And Wag Aero is near you in Lyons Wisconsin

https://www.wagaero.com/wag-aero-kit-airplanes/sport-trainer.html

 

[Deuelly]

The best plans are the ones piper made. I don't no if anyone offers plans for a replica.

 

[BJC]

I’m curious; why build an exact, but experimentl, J-3?

An authentic J-3 has value because it is a J-3. An experimental gets value from the improvements over the TC’ed version.


BJC

 

[TFF]

I would build the Wag. There are Piper plans out there. They are copies of blueprints and are busy and fuzzy. A friend is using some on a restoration. I would also build a clipped wing L4 or E2 if I was building one.

 

[Deuelly]

The blueprints I've worked with from the Smithsonian are very clear and cost under $150.

 

[ryanjames170]

It's a future project I am thinking about, after the legal eagle project.
As to why a replica J3.. mostly because I like the J3, wouldnt mind a PA-11 though.

 

[BJC]

If you aren’t committed to a J-3, consider some of the mods, such as a wider fuselage, that make any PA-11 or P-28 clone more comfortable.


BJC

 

[Sprucemoose]

And Wag Aero is near you in Lyons Wisconsin

https://www.wagaero.com/wag-aero-kit-airplanes/sport-trainer.html

I agree with you on the Wag plans, but only a Californian would consider Hayward to be "near" Lyons! They're about as far apart as you can be and still be in Wisconsin.

To the OP- the Wag plans are very good but a lot of the old timers at the company have left so there is not as much factory support as there once was. I still recommend them. I built wings from their plans and there are several flying examples locally. Of course, I really am "near" Lyons!