Piper PA-16 Clipper

PA-16 Clipper
Piper PA-16 Clipper at the Short Wing Piper Convention in Kingston, Ontario on 6 July 2006
Role	PA-16 Clipper
Manufacturer	Piper Aircraft
First flight	1947
Introduction	1949
Produced	only in 1949
Number built	736
Unit cost	USD$2995 (in 1949)
Variants	Piper PA-20 Pacer

The Piper PA-16 Clipper is an extended fuselage model of the PA-15 Vagabond. Both models were designed in 1947 for the same reason - Piper Aircraft found itself in dire financial straits and needed to create new, competitive models using existing parts and tooling. The result was the Vagabond, essentially a side-by-side version of the tandem J-3 Cub credited with saving the company.

The PA-16 Clipper is a stretched and refined version of the Vagabond intended to seat four people (or "two-and-a-half to three" as often told by Clipper pilots). It is equipped with an extra wing tank, added doors to accommodate the new seating, and a Lycoming O-235, the same engine that would later power the Cessna 152. The PA-16 Clipper retained the control sticks that had up to that point been common in aircraft derived from the "Cub" family.

In 1949, the Clipper sold for $2995. The average four-place airplane on the market at that time cost over $5000. Only 736 Clippers were built in the one year of production before Piper changed to the Piper PA-20 Pacer.

Pan Am Airlines, who traditionally called its famous luxury airliners "Clippers", took offense at Piper using the name for their light aircraft. As a result of this pressure Piper further refined the model, adding wing flaps, further fuel tanks and replaced the control sticks with yokes. A more powerful Lycoming O-290 125 hp engine was installed and this model became the Piper PA-20 Pacer.

Data from Plane and Pilot: 1978 Aircraft Directory & Fonden Danmarks Flymuseum

General characteristics

Performance

Avionics
Originally none were fitted. Many now have VHF Nav-com radios, GPS and transponders installed.

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