For those few who haven’t heard, the years following WWII were tough ones for general aviation manufacturers. New aircraft companies came and went faster than the eye could follow, and the majors barely held on by their fingernails.

It was the wrong time to be building little airplanes, despite the optimism that followed the conclusion of fighting in Europe and the Pacific. The massive American war machine was spinning down and so was the flying interest of thousands of military pilots who lost much of their fascination with the sky the first time they were shot at.

Piper Aircraft hadn’t exactly been idle during the war, building thousands of L-4 Grasshoppers among other things, so the company wasn’t about to be buffaloed by the comparative lack of interest when hostilities ended. The folks in Lock Haven correctly diagnosed the malaise as temporary and went on producing and selling airplanes as if the bubble of aeronautical enthusiasm generated in the 1930s had never burst.

One of the best of Piper’s post-war airplanes was the PA-12 Super Cruiser, a distant but related three- place variant of the Cub. The trim little taildragger was introduced in 1946 with a 100 hp Lycoming O-235C out front, later pumped up to 115 hp by a carburetor change in 1947. (Interestingly, 33 years later, a much updated version of the same engine would power the Piper Tomahawk, Cessna 152 and Beech Skipper.)

This was Piper’s initial post-war offering (along with the super-simple, everyman’s J-3), and because of its greater seating capacity and horsepower, it was considered a definite improvement over the original.

It was priced accordingly. In those days, about $2100 bought a basic J-3, while a Super Cruiser demanded around $3500. In 1946/1947, Piper turned out nearly 4000 of the PA12s before switching to the PA14 and PA16 designs in 1948-1949.

To see a well-preserved example of a Super Cruiser is to love it, and one of the best of the breed still flying used to belong to Col. Tom Watson of Corona, California. With all due respect to the Commemorative Air Force, Watson is a 26-year veteran of the real USAF with time in everything from B-52s down to fighters.

How could an experienced jet pilot find happiness in a diminutive general aviation puddle jumper? Simple. Tom is one of those pilots who philosophize that every airplane has its mission, and he believed the Super Cruiser was a nearly ideal, economical, personal transportation machine. The aircraft is now back in the hands of it refurbosher, James Ball.

Jim’s airplane reflects his meticulous attention to detail, so much so that his airplane has won awards all over America. Resplendent in a simple white paint scheme with blue trim, N78547 hardly looks a half-century old. The owner has reconditioned everything. He is one of those refreshing classic airplane nuts who’ll settle for nothing less than perfection, and his airplane reflects his preferences.

Jim’s PA12 is a 1947 model powered by the 115 hp Lycoming engine. Like the Cub, the Super Cruiser features a stick for aileron and elevator control. Considering its designation as a three-place machine, you might wonder where the third person sits until you notice the slightly wider rear seat. Watson confirmed that it really will support two adults in back, but they’d best be medium small of stature and willing to rub more than shoulders. To encapsulate two in back, you also must remove the rear stick.

Perhaps surprisingly, Jim’s PA12 is legal to fly with three 170-pounders aboard plus full fuel. That’s more than you can say for many modern four-place retractables. Max gross is 1750 pounds, and empty weight is only 970 pounds, leaving 780 pounds for people and fuel. Subtract 38 gallons worth of usable fuel, and you’re left with 552 pounds for pilot and passengers.

About that 38 gallon fuel capacity; it may not seem like an especially impressive quantity, but the Super Cruiser makes good use of it. Watson flew his airplane to the annual Antique Aircraft Fly-In at Blakesburg, Iowa several times plus to several other events closer to home, and he kept accurate records on fuel consumption. It works out to 5.2 gph at a constant 75 percent power. That means the Super Cruiser can trip thru the sky for six hours at a time and still maintain about an hour’s reserve. Watson didn’t even worry about economy cruise as he joked that even at 75 percent, the airplane had more endurance than he did.

The Super Cruiser’s noise level would definitely be a factor in endurance. Though Jim’s airplane has beautiful upholstery with plenty of extra padding and a metal-covered door that’s supposedly quieter than the fabric door, the four-cylinder Lyc produces a memorable din. Earplugs are a necessity for long trips unless you don’t mind a lingering ringing in your ears for several hours after landing.

To put that six-hour flight time in proper perspective, you must consider cruise speed. The day I flew the airplane, our airspeed worked out to 100 knots at a density altitude of 7500 feet. On that basis, it could have flown 600 nm between pit stops, not bad for a supposed puddle jumper. In this case, your puddle could be the Gulf of Mexico between Houston, Texas and Tampa, Florida.

More likely destinations for Super Cruisers are the hinterlands of the world. The airplane makes an excellent bush bird in stock trim, but an even better boondock machine with a few mods.

One of the most common is to mount the Super Cub’s 150 hp O-320 Lycoming on the nose. The conversion is relatively simple, and you wind up with a super-wide Super Cub capable of leaping into, and back out of, most of the same non-airports the Cub takes for granted but in greater comfort while hauling bulkier cargo.

Another common performance improvement often made to Super Cruisers is the addition of flaps. This lowers the stall speed from 43 to 37 knots and improves short field performance to just this side of amazing. Liftoff in 250 feet isn’t unusual, and landing to a full stop in 400 feet is normal.

In an unmodified Super Cruiser such as Jim’s, the numbers aren’t quite so spectacular, but they’re certainly respectable. I verified that his airplane will easily pop off the runway in 500 feet and land in nearly the same distance.

Climb is a fairly casual affair in stock configuration. With throttle to the stop and the aircraft loaded near gross, I timed an ascent through 3000 feet at about 600 fpm. At lighter operating weights, that number is more like 750 fpm.

The PA12’s big, 35 foot wing span makes it a fairly efficient glider, however, and I’d bet it would be great fun to shut down the engine and ridge soar in a Super Cruiser. Watson was a little more sane than that, but we did try to simulate zero thrust to check sink rate and found the airplane has about a fourteen to one glide ratio, not quite in the sailplane class but better than most other machines designed primarily for powered flight.

Besides being good gliders, Super Cruisers make fun sport machines. The airplane is certified under the old CAR 4A that doesn’t specify categories such as normal, utility and aerobatic. In those days, any airplane approved by the manufacturer for acro was legal for it.

Accordingly, Piper listed entry speeds for several semi-aerobatic maneuvers, including spins, chandelles and lazy eights. Watson didn’t do acro in the airplane, but it was not because he was concerned about structural integrity. A well maintained PA12 such as Jim’s should be capable of handling the stresses of limited aerobatic flight. I’d be a little leery about trying anything vertical or inverted in a less well-kept Super Cruiser, though, or any other 60 year old airplane, for that matter.

Even limited to normal bank and pitch angles, a Super Cruiser is a kick to fling around the sky. Chandelles and Lazy 8s are great fun once you accept the fact that early Piper taildraggers were rudder airplanes that demanded proper footwork. You led turns with rudder and coordinated with ailerons rather than vice versa. Fail to stab the left rudder pedal for a left turn, and the PA12’s nose would swing right in a classic demonstration of adverse yaw.

After you accept the vagaries of a tailwheel, landing a Super Cruiser is about as uncomplicated as landing any conventional-geared airplane. Most pilots of Piper taildraggers prefer to three-point the airplanes in a full-stall attitude rather than wheel them on. Either way, approaches in a Super Cub may be flown as slow as 50 knots, assuring a short rollout, especially if there’s even a semblance of wind present. The stall is so easily predictable and gentle that it’s no trick at all to spot a PA12 on the numbers after a little practice.

If you’re inspired to run right out and buy a Super Cruiser, plan to spend at least $25,000 for a typical example with airplanes such as Jim Ball’s demanding more like $30,000-$35,000.

Perhaps it’s only fair that Piper’s multi-talented Super Cruiser demands top dollar. When it was new, it was top-of-the-line, and it’s still one of the outstanding machines at what it does best—fun.