Sky sedan

PIPER'S POST-WAR FOUR-SEATER WAS ALMOST PREDESTINED FOR FAILURE

Even before the atomic bombs closed the doors on the second World War, American aeronautical companies were busily designing a wide variety of civilian light aircraft for the post-war market - a market which the companies perceived as dramatic and dynamic. During the war, an unprecedented number of men had been trained as aviators. Reasoning that these men would return to private life after mustering out, it was predicted that the pilots would want to keep on flying - thus there would be a market for tens of thousands of "new generation" private aircraft. In fact, one survey stated that there would be up to 500,000 potential aircraft buyers in the first few post-war years. With the end of the war, the military would be drastically cutting back contracts for new warplanes and the builders were looking to this civilian market as a form of salvation.

Pre-war, there were around 3000 airfields across the United States and many of them were just that - fields. With the foreseen giant increase in private aircraft, new plans were instigated that called for a massive airport construction program, installation of a "Skyways" system that would create highways in the sky for the boom in light plane travel, and numerous other improvements that would link small towns across America by air.

If American aircraft manufacturers had learned just one thing from the war, it was the benefit of mass production - cranking out huge numbers of combat planes much like the way Ford pioneered auto production. The smaller aviation companies like Cessna, Aeronca, Taylorcraft, and Piper had also benefited from wartime orders and were tooling up for light aircraft production well before the final surrender documents had been signed.

Also, there was the new GI Bill passed by Congress which would aid returning servicemen in obtaining higher education - and this included flight training.

These pre-war light aircraft builders had constructed a lot of planes for the military (and made lots of money) so they were rapidly setting their sights on new designs. William T. Piper, Sr. - also anticipating a large post-war market - was faced with a dilemma. Suppliers, used to huge wartime orders, also wanted huge post-war orders. The suppliers knew that with the end of the war their orders from the military, and their profits, would rapidly dwindle so they were more than willing to put the pressure on the light aircraft builders. The Piper factory at Lock Haven was soon stacked to the rafters with everything needed to build new planes - a very risky roll of the dice.

For the calendar year of 1945, the company sold 1802 aircraft and it seemed that the huge demand for aircraft was a reality. Work expanded to six days a week with three shifts. Interestingly, the demand was for J-3 Cubs and in 1946 Piper sold 6432 of the little two-seaters.

Before the war was over, Piper designers realized they needed something more modern than the Cub and in 1944 they began working on design PA-6. This would be a four-seat "high-performance" machine that would feature some "auto-like" features that were popular with designers at the time. The craft featured a low wing with retractable conventional main landing gear and a fixed full-swiveling tail wheel. Power came from a Continental E-165 of 165-hp. The large cabin was entered via a auto-like door on the right side of the fuselage. Construction was a bit dated - all-metal but with partial fabric covering on the wing. Dual control yokes were standard as was a fixed-pitch wooden propeller but a metal adjustable pitch prop was scheduled as an option.

Designers claimed the PA-6 would top out at 160-mph with a 140-mph cruise and a range of 620 statute miles. Rolled out in 1945 with the experimental registration of NX580, the plane was a big, conventional-looking aircraft. Flight testing showed that the craft was fairly benign and it was given the name Sky Sedan - another automotive connection. Piper went all-out on publicity for the new plane and, according to company records, a second Sky Sedan was built with the registration of NC4000M. This prototype had a one-piece windshield and other refinements.

Even though Piper was pushing aircraft out of its factory as fast as possible, all was not well with the company for they were not showing a profit. For example, by September 1946 Piper had sold 7782 aircraft and accumulated over $11,000,000 in sales. However, Piper was listing a net loss of over $26,000. In May 1946, a rising river had flooded the factory causing damage and a loss of materials and airframes. Also, accountants determined that the company was selling its aircraft at a loss! Figuring that aircraft production was going to keep rising, Piper purchased more and more inventory.

Suddenly, in early 1947, the huge demand for light aircraft simply stopped and factories were left with unsold inventory. Flight testing on the Sky Sedan had been quietly progressing but the stop in orders also resulted in the shelving of the PA-6. Howard "Pug" Piper championed the Sky Sedan and insisted if it was put into production, the company's fortunes would change for the better. It was not to be and the fate of the two aircraft is not known but they were probably scrapped.