The Piper PA-11 Cub Special is a later-production variant of the J-3 Cub manufactured by Piper Aircraft.
The PA-11 is a high-wing braced cabin monoplane with a tail-wheel landing gear. The enclosed cabin has two tandem seats. Early PA-11s had a Continental A65-8 engine, while the later ones had the option of a Continental C90-8.
The PA-11 was based on the earlier J-3, but with the engine cowling fully enclosed (as on the earlier J-5), the windshield sloped at a shallower angle, and the fuel tank placed in the port wing root.[1] Both seats were slightly moved back, and solo flying was usually from the front seat.
The prototype and two subsequent pre-production models were built using a modified J-3 fuselage and wings. The prototype first flew in August 1946 followed by the two pre-production aircraft later in 1946.[1]
The first production aircraft was completed at Lock Haven in March 1947 and production continued at Lock Haven until September 1949. A second production line was established at Ponca City between September 1947 and January 1948.[1] On the early PA-11s, the fuselage was painted with a metallic blue on the lower half the rest being Lock Haven Yellow. The later PA-11s were all yellow with a simple brown stripe.
The PA-11 also formed the basis for the next evolution in the Cub series, the PA-18 Super Cub, which shares many features.
A small number of PA-11s have been modified to use a Tricycle landing gear.
The PA-11 was one of the first aircraft to be used by Piper for experiments with the nose wheel (also known as tricycle gear) configuration. Although its original design is intended to be a tail-dragger, a modification was created to mount a nose wheel.
The nose wheel is attached to the two rear engine mounts by y-shaped steel tubes attached to a steel tube with a shaft that slides freely with the wheel. Cables run underneath the belly directly from fixtures on the rudder pedals to the nose wheel shaft. This gave the ability to steer by pivoting the nose wheel shaft with the rudder pedals. The shock system consisted of six circular bungee cords, sometimes four for softer landings, located on either side of the nose wheel shaft to ears on the top tube and the bottom shaft connected to the wheel.
For the aircraft to balance properly with the nose wheel, the main gear was flipped around so that the center of balance would move forward. The pilot would sit in the front seat for added stability.
A number of Cub Specials have been converted for flight operation using floats.