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747-237 · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:35 am Post subject: JRD Tata's Piper Cub flies again

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=MMIR&showST=true&login=default&pub=MM&Enter=true&Skin=MIRRORNEW

Mumbai’s Pride Piper flies again

Piper J-4 Cub Coupe, a vintage plane once flown by JRD Tata and used to train pilots in British India, takes off from Juhu aerodrome after Rs 40 lakh restoration

December 1, 2012

A Piper J-4 Cub Coupe of the Bombay FlyingClub (BFC) - once flown by the legendary JRD Tata - was brought back into service at the Juhu aerodrome yesterday. The plane, the only one of its kind in India, it took off for the first time since 2008, following an expensive restoration.

A two-seater with a canvas body and wooden propellers, the Piper J-4 was bought by the BFC in the 1940s, when JRD Tata was on its committee, and was initially used to train Royal Air Force pilots in British India.

BFC president Mihir Bhagvati and Manoj Choudhary, its chief flying instructor, took off from Juhu yesterday evening. "It was amazing. We were very confident about the flight. We flew to Murud (120 km south of Mumbai) and back," Bhagvati said.

He added, "This plane was taken out of service in 2008, but since many people were sentimental about it,we didn’t want to scrap it. At the same time, we never thought it would be used again. So it has been a great challenge to make the plane fly."

Since the BFC has an aircraft maintenance unit, labour and expertise came free. But the components – now rare to find – had to be imported from the US at a cost of Rs 40 lakh.

The plane had been ready to fly again for some time but the BFC was awaiting permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to do so. The BFC initially wanted the flight to take place on Thursday, to mark the death anniversary of JRD Tata, but could not do so as the DGCA's permission was pending. "The plane will be used sparingly to train private pilots. It won't be used very often, however, because the father of Indian aviation used this plane," said Bhagvati.

The club now plans to invite JRD’s heir Ratan Tata for a sortie.

PIPER J-4
The Piper J-4 Cub Coupe is a two-seater sideby-side version of the Piper J-3 that was built between 1938 and 1942 by Piper Aircraft in Florida. It was Piper's first model with side-byside seating; combined with docile low-speed handling, this made it a good trainer.

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