More than Piper's roots

The city of Lock Haven takes its name from the local waterways because they allowed easy access to transportation, lumbering, and recreation. However, the river that brought commerce to the central Pennsylvania area would also be the downfall of the Piper manufacturing plant. A flood in 1972 destroyed the plant.

The city was the home of Piper Aircraft from 1937 to 1984. In all, about 77,000 aircraft—including 20,000 Piper J–3 Cubs—were manufactured and assembled in Pennsylvania. By Piper’s count, about 75 percent of all Civilian Pilot Training Program pilots before the end of World War II had trained in a Piper Cub.

The 1940s ushered in the backcountry-ready PA–18 Super Cub while the 1950s saw the growth of the four-seat PA–20 Pacer and PA–22 Tri-Pacer and the introduction of the all-metal, retractable PA–24 Comanche. The PA–28 Cherokee line was born here in 1960 and soon became a training fleet workhorse. The all-metal, low-wing four-seater was introduced with wide and forgiving landing gear and a thick, constant-chord “Hershey-bar” wing that enabled docile handling. The aircraft, outfitted with a 160-horsepower Lycoming four-cylinder engine, posted speeds of 125 mph with a 725-mile range and sold for less than $10,000.

Piper developed and manufactured the twin-engine Comanche, Aztec, and Navajo lines in Pennsylvania before production ceased in 1972 after the Lock Haven area was submerged under 10-feet of water from Hurricane Agnes when it overflowed the surrounding levee. Parts of Piper manufacturing had already ventured to Vero Beach, Florida, in 1959 and that’s where production continues today.

Visitors to the Piper Aviation Museum located in the old engineering building can view an L–4 Grasshopper; the 1947 earthrounding City of the Angels PA–12 Super Cruiser; a 720-cubic-inch, eight-cylinder, 400-horsepower Comanche; an experimental, honeycomb-wing, two-seat Papoose trainer; the innovative Skycycle formed from a jettisonable Vought F4U Corsair fighter fuel tank; and other significant Piper models hanging from ceiling rafters or displayed on two floors of the old building. News clippings, sales brochures, and aviation promotions provide additional insight into the innovations, ideas, and dreams of William T. Piper Sr. and his heirs.

Adjacent to the parallel 3,799-foot paved and 2,179-foot grass runways are vintage aircraft specialists Air Parts of Lock Haven and Keystone Instruments. Keystone’s Ken Stover, a second-generation instrument repair specialist with thousands of schematics supporting more than 75 years of aircraft instrumentation, keeps a door open to the ramp and a refrigerator of snacks and drinks for roving pilots making a pit stop. Stover also serves up free hot dogs during June’s annual Sentimental Journey Fly-In which celebrates Piper’s tube-and-fabric models.

Farther afield, the Hangar 9 Lounge, established in 2004, provides a welcome respite with tasty chicken wings, wraps, burgers, and a handful of dinner entrees. Pittsburgh Steelers logos, aircraft parts, Philadelphia Phillies posters, and other memorabilia dot the walls in the cool, but comfortable, lounge and restaurant. It’s a good bet that you’ll run into other overnighting aviation enthusiasts taking advantage of the historic town and airport adjacent to the snaking river tucked away between the foothills of the Allegheny mountains.

[email protected]

piper.com/blog/piper-history/