Piper Cub recognized at Employee Homecoming Event

LOCK HAVEN — Designation of the Piper J-3 Cub as Pennsylvania’s official aircraft was recognized Sunday by the Piper Aviation Museum. Museum officials held what they called a “homecoming” for former local Piper employees; the program included Rep. Mike Hanna who presented the museum with a plaque containing the pen used in June by Gov. Tom Corbett to sign Hanna’s bill on the state designation for the Cub. Museum president John Bryerton, left, and Beth Piper, right, widow of late Piper Aircraft Corporation head William Piper Jr. were part of the ceremony. The Piper J-3 Cub was built in Lock Haven between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft and became an industry standard for its safety, ease of operation and stability. A favorite of private fliers, it was also vital to the country’s military preparedness and participation in World War II. Record photo – Jeannine Lipez