Book Synopsis
"Piper
Cub Tales" is a firsthand account of flying low and slow, across much of
America's most magnificent countryside in a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub. In the fall of 1969,
with the ink on the Author's Private Pilot's Certificate hardly dry, he and his
brother embarked on a cross-country trip from Madison, Wisconsin to Denver
Colorado in his newly restored Cub. This flight, captured in this book,
introduces you to the vagaries of the weather and the difficulty of navigating
at low level using only a map, a compass, and airspeed. It also reveals the
capabilities of this lightweight, low powered airplane. Even though the Cub's
12-gallon fuel tank restricts its range to around 100 miles per flight leg you
will see how long distance flights are accomplished. As you follow the Cub's
progress across the countryside, it will become apparent that staying on course
depends upon recognizing: contours of the land, creeks, radio towers, roads,
and railroad tracks. This is classical "seat of the pants " flying.
The many facets of this flight provides you with the basic framework underlying
the many cross-country flights flown over the past nearly four decades that are
presented in this aviation book.
In this book, you can fly cross-country with Frank and the Cub. With Madison as the starting point, the flight paths of these trips have taken the Cub across the Appalachian and Great Smokey Mountains of the east. Over the prairies of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado where the Cub seems to flow in unison with the undulating landscape. He and his daughter flew the Cub over the seemingly endless deserts of Arizona and then east across the Rocky Mountains at Denver. He and his pal, the late Bernie Neuman flew the Cub to Seattle, Washington going over four mountain passes and on the return trip went through the Columbia Gorge at low altitude. On these flights many adventures (some routine, some harrowing) were had, these include: flying in atrocious weather, landing in farmer's fields, fighting high winds, and coping with density altitude in 100 degree temperatures. None the less the Cub came through all of these with ease.
Flying a Piper Cub cross-country the way the author, and many others like him do, represents a type of flying that is slowly disappearing from the aviation scene. Through this book, you, the reader, will be able to sense the uniqueness of flying cross-country in a Piper Cub and feel that you were a participant in the adventures.
In this book, you can fly cross-country with Frank and the Cub. With Madison as the starting point, the flight paths of these trips have taken the Cub across the Appalachian and Great Smokey Mountains of the east. Over the prairies of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado where the Cub seems to flow in unison with the undulating landscape. He and his daughter flew the Cub over the seemingly endless deserts of Arizona and then east across the Rocky Mountains at Denver. He and his pal, the late Bernie Neuman flew the Cub to Seattle, Washington going over four mountain passes and on the return trip went through the Columbia Gorge at low altitude. On these flights many adventures (some routine, some harrowing) were had, these include: flying in atrocious weather, landing in farmer's fields, fighting high winds, and coping with density altitude in 100 degree temperatures. None the less the Cub came through all of these with ease.
Flying a Piper Cub cross-country the way the author, and many others like him do, represents a type of flying that is slowly disappearing from the aviation scene. Through this book, you, the reader, will be able to sense the uniqueness of flying cross-country in a Piper Cub and feel that you were a participant in the adventures.
Book Reviews
“The coincidence that I read Frank's book while planning a long
cross-country flight still amazes me. Just reading his book has so much better
prepared me for the trip with real life experiences. I also learned of the
Cub's capabilities.”
Bern, VintageFlying.com
Bern, VintageFlying.com
“It is fantastic, really. Frank put a whole new face on "low
and slow". I am almost ready to trade in the Skyhawk for a J-3.”
Gary, Cessna 172 Pilot
Gary, Cessna 172 Pilot
“The writing made me feel as if I was with the author in the Cub.
On an airline flight to Seattle, I looked down at Rollins Pass on the
Continental Divide near Denver and thought "never in a Cub".”
Ed, Airline Pilot
Ed, Airline Pilot
“When Frank talks about flying low, believe it. I have flown with
him.”
Bill, Aviation Writer
Bill, Aviation Writer
"For over 35 years, Cub Club
member, Frank Baker, has been flying his stock 65 hp Cub all over the U.S. with
a single 12 gallon fuselage tank. Frank has had many unique and interesting
experiences. A good read for all Cub lovers."
Cub-Club.com
Cub-Club.com
"This
book is an amazing story about a man in love with flying and the J3 Cub. A must
read for anyone that is interested in this wonderful plane."
Chris, 5-star review on Amazon.com
Chris, 5-star review on Amazon.com
About Author
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| Frank B. Baker and his J-3 Piper Cub |
The author grew up during the "Golden Age of Aviation" and WWII and
always has been participant in things aeronautical. He is a well-known designer
of radio control model airplanes. He has published numerous magazine
construction articles for such models, specializing in multi-engine WWII
bombers. In 2015, the national Academy of Model Aeronautics inducted Frank into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
During the Korean War, he was a navigator in B-26's flying day and night
weather reconnaissance as well as night photo missions out of K-14 air base
near Seoul, Korea.
In 1969 he
restored a badly damaged Piper Cub to like new condition. He received his
Private Pilot Certificate in the same year. Since then he has accumulated over
3,000 hours of flying time in this Cub. Much of this time has been acquired on
long cross-country flights to distant parts of the United States, totaling some
71,695 miles. Routes, such as to Denver and Lock Haven, PA, have been flown
many times. He also has considerable experience in mountain flying.
In parallel with being a Piper Cub pilot, the author has been a University
professor and researcher in the field of psychometric theory and has published
a number of books in this area.
He is a long time member of EAA, the Cub Club, and of the Midwest Antique
Airplane Club.
How to Order
| This 8 1⁄2 x 11 inch book has:
208 pages
11 maps
20 photographs
2 logbook facsimiles
Cover photo of Piper Cub tail section was taken at Lodi, Wisconsin.
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