What's Your Piper Story?

Our Piper Story is a love story. My husband owns a 1969 Twin Comanche. When we first started dating, I lived in Annapolis, Maryland, and he lived in Duncansville, Pennsylvania. My husband would fly the Twin to visit me. I would sit at the Stevensville Airport (W29) and listen for the sound of the plane as it flew over the Chesapeake Bay. The Twin allowed us to make a long-distance relationship a short one. Since then, we have married, and our Twin has taken us to 18 states, including flying into EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2017. We plan to fly to 49 states in our Twin. She has brought us together, and we love her!

Owning a Piper has given us the freedom to experience events and activities in a day that would normally tie up an entire weekend: from baseball games to swimming with manatees, our airplane brings joy and saves us time, the most valuable resource. We are passionate about giving back and sharing aviation, and we volunteer for puppy rescue flights and the Young Eagles program. We have even given several discovery flights and inspired friends to pursue flight training!

As a single mother, I prioritize providing memorable experiences for my son and cherish the lessons and friendships airplane ownership has brought us through our little Cherokee. Any time we level off and my son is shadowing me on the controls, and I look over to see the instruments reflecting in his eyes and the smile beaming on his face, I know it’s all more than worth it.

I own a 1946 Piper J3 Cub. It was originally my grandfather’s aircraft, and we all flew together on our private grass strip in Long Sault, Ontario, Canada. We enjoyed buzzing the river, landing in neighbors’ fields to visit, and touching down at different strips across southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States. My grandfather sold the Cub after his medical certificate expired, and it was out of the family for over a decade. He sold it to a family friend, who then sold it to a lady in Manitoba.

When I decided to pursue my pilot’s license in 2020, I searched for a time builder on an aircraft classified website. On page 2, I found my grandfather’s Cub for sale. It didn’t take long for a friend and me to drive from Alberta to Manitoba to inspect and purchase the aircraft.

While researching the import and history of the aircraft, I discovered its original registration: N6569H. After countless hours of online research, I found a photo on a website operated by a man in Virginia. In that photo was the exact Cub I now own, alongside its original owner, Darrel Kellam, and a few of his colleagues, returning from what appears to be a very successful fishing trip. Darrel ran a flight school in Weirwood, Virginia, called Eastern Shore Flying Service and trained hundreds of pilots in this very Cub.

According to maintenance records, the Cub has had a few nose-overs during training, but thankfully, they’ve been repaired. It is still airworthy and flying to this day. Thank you, Piper, for creating such an iconic, memorable aircraft. Here’s to many more years!

I’ve owned 3 Pipers over the last 12 years; a Warrior, a Cherokee 180, and presently a Lance. Ever since my first flight in a Piper Archer out of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY (KFRG) back in 2003, I’ve always had a soft spot for Pipers. I got my Commercial Multi-Engine Airplane and Multi-Engine Instructor add-ons in a Seneca. I got my ATP in a Seminole. I’ve taught dozens of people how to fly in Piper products. Pipers are the only aircraft I’ve owned, and I have flown all over the United States in them and taken dozens of friends and family in them. They’ve also helped save many animals via Pilots’ N Paws and assisted those needing medical care via numerous Angel Flights. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything in the world, and Piper will forever remain in my heart for helping me garner those moments.

In 1991, I owned a Piper Cherokee Six. I met a beautiful lady at Sun ‘N’ Fun who lived in Atlanta. That could have presented a problem since I lived in Pittsburgh! However, having the airplane allowed me to date her almost every weekend, and we were married in March 1992, just about a year to the day we met! I am an airline pilot now, but we are still huge fans of General Aviation and continue to visit Sun ‘N’ Fun and Oshkosh most years. I still have a soft spot in my heart for that airplane, and I could definitely see myself owning another in the future!

I’d been begging my wife for a plane for a very long time, and she had almost given in. But our world was rocked in October 2018 when our 4-year-old son was diagnosed with a very rare aggressive form of cancer, Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. He went through 18 months of chemotherapy and radiation at St. Jude in Memphis, TN.

As we approached the end of his treatment, we discussed how we would travel from Nebraska to Memphis for his follow-up scans and appointments. Much to my surprise, my wife gave me the okay to get an airplane! We got a 1980 Piper Saratoga (“Sara” as my boys have lovingly named her) in January 2020, just as his treatment was ending. The timing was perfect because before we could attend our first post-treatment appointment, COVID-19 struck. Without ‘Sara,’ we wouldn’t have been able to go for his scans.

Since acquiring Sara, the plane has flown 176 hours to and from Memphis and now Baltimore, where he is being treated for a complication from the harsh chemotherapy. I’ve made it my mission to help others when able and have flown 60 hours for Angel Flights, including several trips taking my son’s Battle Buddies to St. Jude. Despite being adamantly against owning a plane in the beginning, my wife now admits that Sara was our best purchase. We couldn’t have made it through the last few years without it!

I’ve owned 3 Pipers over the last 12 years; a Warrior, a Cherokee 180, and presently a Lance. Ever since my first flight in a Piper Archer out of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY (KFRG) back in 2003, I’ve always had a soft spot for Pipers. I got my Commercial Multi-Engine Airplane and Multi-Engine Instructor add-ons in a Seneca. I got my ATP in a Seminole. I’ve taught dozens of people how to fly in Piper products. Pipers are the only aircraft I’ve owned, and I have flown all over the United States in them and taken dozens of friends and family in them. They’ve also helped save many animals via Pilots’ N Paws and assisted those needing medical care via numerous Angel Flights. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything in the world, and Piper will forever remain in my heart for helping me garner those moments.

During my first year with the company, Mr. Piper stopped in Vero Beach, and I escorted him and his guests on a plant tour. Several times, Mr. Piper strayed away from our small group to watch a worker up close and ask him a question. At one point, he stopped where two workers were bucking rivets in a Cherokee tail section. As we were leaving that area, one of them remarked, “Who is that old guy? You’d think he owns this place.” Mr. Piper turned around, smiling, and quietly answered, “I do.”

The year I was based in Lock Haven, I had the opportunity to fly with Bill, Jr. and Pug. Bill and his wife Pud had a home in Boca Raton and would go there in the winter whenever possible. One winter night, Bob Yoder and I were assigned to fly the Pipers and another couple to Florida in the company Navajo. They arrived on time with minimum luggage and their big bulldog. The Navajo was unpressurized, and shortly after leveling at 9000 feet, Bob and I got the first unmistakable whiff of “breaking wind.”. When I turned around and looked into the dark cabin, Pud Piper exclaimed, “It’s the dog! It’s the dog!” Bob, who flew the Pipers often, was laughing and over the ICS, told me that the darn dog did that every trip on climb out.

On a return trip to Lock Haven from Florida, the dog made its presence known in another way. Bill Brigance was flying, and I placed the approach plates and charts on the floor between the pilot seats. Lock Haven had no instrument approach, and it was common to make the IFR approach to Williamsport until breaking out in visual conditions and then continuing down the Susquehanna River to the Lock Haven airport. That procedure was necessary on this trip, but when I reached down to get the charts, they were soaked. That area is just forward of the main wing spar box, and the dog was comfortably resting its head on the spar and drooling all over our charts.

Pug always flew himself everywhere. However, I did fly with him to New York when he was catching a flight to Geneva. I also had a memorable flight with Pug’s wife, Helen, to New York. She and three others were going to JFK to catch a flight to Europe. It was an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful day with unlimited visibility, and we were in a Cherokee Six, which is really good for sightseeing. At Helen’s request, we flew low up the Hudson River and around the Statue of Liberty before landing at JFK. Helen was a lovely woman and always friendly to everyone.

Mr. Piper was a familiar figure who would shuffle jog between the headquarters building (blue building) and airport operations. He would sit on a bench outside the airport office, timing his pulse and resting. I greeted him one early morning when I arrived to leave for a business trip. By the time I completed the pre-flight on the Aztec and began to taxi, Mr. Piper was on his way back to the blue building, right in the middle of the taxiway. Not wanting to be remembered as the pilot who ran over Mr. Piper, I held well back as the old gentleman shuffled along. By then, he was very hard of hearing but must have sensed my presence. He stopped, looked around and waved me by as he went to the side of the taxiway. He waved as I passed, and I felt that I truly was a part of a wonderful general aviation company.