Piper, William T.

▪ American manufacturer

in full  William Thomas Piper  

born Jan. 8, 1881, Knapps Creek, N.Y., U.S.

died Jan. 15, 1970, Lock Haven, Pa.

      American manufacturer of small aircraft, best known for the Piper Cub, a two-seater that became the most popular family aircraft. He earned the sobriquet “the Henry Ford of Aviation” for his efforts to popularize air travel.

      Piper graduated from Harvard University in 1903 and worked as a construction superintendent until 1914 and as an oil producer from that year. The Piper Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1929. Piper served as its president until his death. He learned to fly in 1931.

      In World War II, Piper delivered more than 5,600 Piper Cubs, long popular as a training plane, to the U.S. government for use as special personnel planes, for photoreconnaissance, and as artillery spotters. Because of their low landing speed (20 miles per hour [32 km per hour]) and high maneuverability, the Pipers easily eluded enemy fighters.

      In addition to the Piper Cub, the company manufactured light to medium-sized aircraft for use as business planes.

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