Taylorcraft

C. Gilbert Taylor started the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation in 1929. Production began with the Taylor E-2 Cub, with production ceasing in 1936 after a production run of about 350. In 1935, improvements to the E-2 led to the J-2 Cub, the forerunner to the Piper J-3 Cub developed in 1937. During the early 1930's Taylor's bankers brought in William T. Piper, a Pennsylvania oilman, to be the treasurer of the Company. Changes in management and control led to the company becoming the Piper Aircraft Company. By 1936 or so, Taylor had been forced out of the Piper Aircraft Company, and set about designing a new design. Taylor moved his company to Alliance, Ohio to produce his new Taylorcraft airplanes, but the company struggled financially for a number of years with many management changes, Taylor again being forced out of the company until the aviation boom went bust in 1947.

On March 4, 1947 the company's assets went on the auction block. Since that time, the Taylorcraft has been produced by a number of different owners attempting to keep alive a basic tube and fabric design, with some more modern updating. In 1939 and 1940, Taylorcraft built the BL-65, BC-65 and the BF-60.All three models were the same airframe with a Continental, Lycoming, or Franklin engine.  The number in the model designation indicated the engine horsepower.


Taylorcraft can land almost anywhere

Seating was side-by-side.  Slightly over 2,400 of these models were produced. As World War II broke out, all production of civilian airplanes ceased at the Taylorcraft Corporation.  Taylorcraft submitted a tandem seat design for the U.S. Army Air Corps evaluation and the airplane was excepted and designated the L-2 liaison aircraft. Some 2,200 were produced throughout the war. After the war, the BC-12 was updated and became the popular BC-12D, Taylorcraft's most-produced model with almost 4,200 being made. The BC-12D retained the popular Continental A-65-8A engine. It had side-by-side seating and an enclosed engine cowling.

Although the Taylorcraft never gained the popularity that the J-3 Cub has, the Taylorcraft is just as much fun to fly and is about 20 mph faster than a J-3 Cub and can be bought for much less than a J-3.The Taylorcraft was available as a land or seaplane, this side-by-side two-place sport-plane was one of the "Big Three" in sales in it's day.
The Taylorcraft pictured on this page use to be a BL-65 and had a cowling that exposed the engine cylinders, but was converted from a Lycoming engine to a continental and had the enclosed cowling installed.

Taylorcraft production includes 100 prewar Model As, 1800 military L-2s, more than 2800 post-war BC-12Ds, and more than 120 F-19 Sportsmans.