1939 Airplane Will It Run After 10+ Years? 

Brings back a lot of memories. I learned to fly in a J-3 Cub in 1977. I purchased N3732C for $4,500 cash out of Enid Oklahoma before I knew how to fly. I had the airplane flown to me, delivered to Scott Field in Tallulah Louisiana. An instructor named Benny May was the new FBO there. Benny was a great flight instructor. Benny agreed to give me flight instruction for $10.00 per hour in my Cub. Aviation gas was $.78¢ per gallon in those days. After I soloed I flew my Cub all over the North Louisiana Delta plus to Vicksburg and Delhi. What great fun I had. I traded my cub for an experimental project that I soon sold. I went on to buy four more J-3 Cubs over the years, plus two Belanca Citabria's, one Luscombe 90hp 8F and three homebuilt airplanes including two Corben Baby Aces and a low wing Spezio Tuholer. This film was great fun because I have hand propped J-3 Cubs hundreds of times, almost always from behind. Even though today's cub was out of annual and needed a thorough service, I would have had to fly it around that field. With the amount of hours I logged flying my Cubs I am certain I could have handled any unexpected situation (I survived three forced landings, two of which were in J-3s without damaging either airplane). Regards, Guy in Columbia Mississippi

That is one pretty 1939 J3. If the engine checks out, got a mighty fine fun flying machine. I'm lucky in that I've had two. One back in the 80's for 9 years and after I retired, got me another one I've had for 12 years and counting. They are just so much fun to fly, I just try to find every excuse I can to go to the airport late afternoon for an hour or so flight, just going nowhere, with no purpose aside from just looking at the hum drum of a large city beneath me, then head out a few miles to the country. I feel honored that I have one of these still flying Cub's. There is nothing like it! Treat it nice!

I soloed in one of these in 1958 at the age of 17. I had 4 hours total time before the solo. I later got my Private Pilot certificate and flew single engine airplanes up through the Cessna 210. You are a bit crazy, but that is probably why I enjoy your You Tube videos. I now love "hanger flying", telling stories of the crazy things that happened while I was flying. I'm confinced that I survived because I had 2 angels working 12 hour shifts, seven days per week.

I remember the first time I went up in an airplane was in a 1946 J3 cub totally restored with an 85 hp engine. I was 14 yrs old. He was a pilot for delta who had moved it my area. He landed that cub on Lenora church rd. because his grass strip wasn't ready yet, taxied down a dirt road to his house. Me and a friend of mine ran into him at the local gas station, he was going to put a different engine in his VW bug. We told him we would install the engine for a ride in the cub, he said go for it. I had many rides in that Cub after that with him and some of his fellow Delta pilot friends. This was 1969 best I can recall.

Did some work at this mans house and got the full tour of that plane. Beautiful aircraft and well taken care of. Good for you Jimmy for getting this one.

My first plane ride i remember was 1947 with my dad. I was 8 years old. In 1948 he bought a J3 Cub and kept it on the farm and I learned to fly in it at age 10. He died from heart disease when I was 17. I learned to fly legally at 24 . Instructor said I was the quickest student he ever trained. I didn't tell him I had a head start. Lots of memories of that yellow bird, even now at 84.

It's fun to think about how aviation went from the Wright Flyer proving the possibility, to the basic Cub design still in use today in 35 years.

Your 18 yearold never having driven rang a bell with me. My father during WW2 was 21 and had already become an RAF flying instructor based in Rhodesia. His CO said take the Austin and drive into town to collect the mail. Dad said he couldn't do that as he had no driving licence so they went into town together. While CO collected the mail/post the police Sargent gave dad a driving test and issued a licence.

I use to fly a Supercub at Biggs Army airfields flying club. I was out one day, when a high wind blows up over the Franklin mountains too the west. I tried to land, but the cross wind was to hard. Finely the tower called me and had me land on taxi way alpha. I was hovering to the people on the ground. Don't do that if you can avoid it. That was back in 1978. God I am old.

Such a simple but elegant plane. It’s got everything you need.

That stationary engine reminds me of my dad who used to drag rusted old wrecks out of swamps and bramble bushes and restore them. He had a 1.5 horse one and tried to stall it with a fence post under the flywheel, just because. The governor balls swung in, it went “chuff, chuff” and the fence post started to smoke. Huge torque.

This is one of my favorite Jimmy’s world episodes. It was awesome seeing that all playing come back to life.

Now you just need to talk him into getting it flying again and take him up for a ride, just make sure that split prop is changed first.

I just love Americans and their back country airfields, their love for old aircraft and flying... Thank you.

I don't usually feel sad when a video ends but this one was an interesting one. Always awesome to see a vintage engine and Aircraft come to life almost like they have a heart and soul. Good video Jimmy. ✈️

After the washing that he it looked almost new. When the engine started with no smoke and the sound of it was awesome. Jimmy this one of the best will it start episodes I have seen. I love the backstory and the information about the j3 history of training WW ll pilots.

Cubs ,Luscombe ,Aeronca and Stearman ruled the day when I was your son's age great memories at my local sod runway two miles from my house, I really like the instrument gauge set was that a original 39 gauge cluster it's beautiful

Very cool to see this aircraft out of the hangar. I hope this motivates him to get it airworthy or sell it to the next caretaker so it can be flown and proudly displayed.

What an awesome J3 Cub that is. She sure is a beauty. Thanks for running it and showing it in this video.

I know of a Super Cub that hasn't been out of its hanger, in a hay field, on a ranch since 1982. Last time I went by the hanger (June) it looked like it was on its last legs. Maybe I should contact the owners and ask about the plane.

One of the greatest privileges of my life was to be able to fly in a J-3. Thanks for Sharing!

love the hanger talk. over 50 years ago I was in the Air Force Stationed at Homestead AFB. I was an electronics tech in Electronic Warfare (countermeasures). F4s and B52s. One of the guys in our shop was taking lessons at Tamiami working on his commercial license. He saw my flight interest and took me to the Homestead Fla city airfield. I got to meet MAC only name I remember who had a Steerman. Mac had been a pilot instructor for WWII pilots. His age? not sure but he was still flying. Another friend owned a DC3 but its entry door was on the right side?? I think it was a airliner plane and configured as a passenger plane. I eventually was a crew member on a C47 used in Vietnam as a computerized recon plane. Back then our group was known as USAF Security Services. We flew the radio detection in C130s full of data gathering equipment for example the russia-Turkey border. So even electronic techs had to go through survival and jump training. I did that at Fairchild AFB in Washington State. The guy that owned the DC2 also owned a T4 Texan. Which really got my attention. There were also two brothers who owned a cabinet business and they had bought plans to make a Pitts special for each of them. One brother had his private license the other was struggling. They owned a cessna 172. one day Mac and the brothers and a girlfriend and me flew the 172 to Curtis Pitt's dirt field. Hes was located between Homestead and Tamiami. I know who Curtis was but I didnt know that one of the reasons for this trip was to introduce me to Curtis. I will never forget that day. See to land at Curtis's strip you had to approach under high tension power lines and to take off you had to do a short field takeoff and clear the tall pines when the strip ended. When we got back to Homestead there were pine needles in the landing gear. Mac let the brother who was still learning make the short field takeoff. The pucker factor was extreme. "Sorry" for the long post. i'm 78 now, a 50% disabled Vietnam vet. Agent orange but no cancer.... I did try to get my private I have several friends with their own planes and I had to quit due to the time I choose to fly was the time when all the costs went sky high . Lots of law suits on manufacturers back then. I think around 1985..

I agree, Jimmy. The one thing I really miss is the camaraderie with fellow pilots. We no longer have a nearby GA airport, so no hangar talk and weekend get togethers

Bruce is just awesome, ...I love it when you guys get a chance to work together.

I agree with you about aviation being a small world. I was attending the Aviation Trade Show at the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup WA one spring. It was lunchtime and I was in the cafeteria looking for a place to sit and have lunch. I saw an elderly gentleman sitting at a table alone having coffee. So I asked if it would be OK to sit there. He said "Sure, Have a seat. I was looking for someone to talk to". So we chatted for a bit. Come to find out when he introduced himself, it was Scott Crossfield. Yes, THAT Scott Crossfield. The pioneer test pilot who flew the X-15. He was the one that was in the seat when it exploded on the test pad at Edwards AFB. So yes, you never know who you might run into.

I think this was one of your best vid's in a while .Just to hear it was something special .

What a fine example of a J3! Love the story with it. Hope you add it to your collection, Jimmy.

Jimmy, I was fortunate to have both my parents work for TWA and Delta, as a kid in the 70’s flying on 707’s, 727’s, 747-200’s I so wanted to be a pilot. But music (drummer) got in the way and I don’t have any regrets. You and your channel give me that thrill to be a pilot, but at 56, that pilot reality has faded. Thank you profusely for letting me live in your world.

The knot you want on the tie down stake is a bowline. Anywhere I fly, I use the bowline on the ground side as it is strong, secure, but fast to untie when it is time to go.

I spent first part of my childhood in a J3 on floats..now I have a champ on floats.

Special little airplane! I think we had one when I was in the CAP in the ‘50’s, but it was probably a J4. I was lucky one day when my squadron had loan on a L5 Birddog and I got a ride, what a rush and difference between it and the Cub.😊

You 2 are so alike, great to see! Love your videos Jimmy 🫶

Hi Jimmy! I just wanna say I love what you do to get old aircraft Flying Again! A lot of those got me to think "Man this wont ever start up" And you proved me wrong! stay Strong buddy!

Like you say some of the WW2 pilots might have flown in that plane. A few upgrades ago :). Looks like a good plane to learn in.

The airfield mention by the gentleman at Plains,GA is that belonging to G. Thomas Peterson and known as Peterson field. He was an Engineer at Mooney and some other aviation manufacturers. He was also Jimmy Carters Pilot. I met him and his delightful wife back in 1990 when visiting Sun & Fun at Lakeland airport, FL. I owned a Fournier RF6 here in the UK and was wearing a hat with RF6 embroidered on it which he recognised and he asked if I had any connection to René Fournier, which I did not. I stayed in touch and looked at the possibility of buying and shipping a complete but disassembled yellow J3 for me to rebuild here in the UK. To this day I regret not going ahead with the project, sadly influenced by someone else’s life limiting input shall we say! Love what you do and can imagine what could have been. Keep up the good work. Warm regards from the uk. Ian

Such an amazing time. Thanks for taking us with you. I love hearing old storys.

I had almost the same feeling yesterday, when I started a chainsaw I hadn't used since 2015.

Thank you Jimmy. This was an awesome adventure.

Wonderful video! Thanks for posting. Maybe I’ll find a Piper J3 Cub someday! Was not aware so many were built. Cool!

Thanks Jimmy for the memories! My experience was in J3 N555. Don't know if it is still registered. Flying out of a grass cow pasture in Seminole ,Fla. called Cunninghams. Gave my future wife of 50 yrs a ride to Clearwater Air Park and back for fuel.

Not first.... LOL... These old Hit and Miss Engines are so cool!! Loved watching the start-up!!!

Jimmy I like watching what y'all get into!! You never stop amazing us, Thank You and God Bless y'all!!

Hi Jimmy. Your son is such a mini version of you 😁 Love your videos

That looks like it is in remarkably good condition for having been sitting for so long with no love. It reminds me of a really loyal golden retriever.

This young man looks just like his dad! Very cool. Same antics too!

First plane I ever hand propped in 1973 was a J3 just like that one! Thanks Jimmy.

JIMMY YOUR BOY IS A ZEROX OF YOU OH MY LORD RSRSRSRSRS

Wonderfull video, brought back memories from my early 20s when my friends had planes which one if them was a J-3 . Always remember the feeling it gave me being it was open air and you could lean over look right down the side of the plane. Kind of eirey but exhilarating at the same time. Thanks for the memories, have fun :]

I had a old friend when I was do my apprenticeship that use to have a lot of stationary engines. I was always so fascinated by them

Great will it start video thanks Jimmy and Bruce

Hey Jimmy, that jewel is Garrett's Carbon Cubs grandfather 😂 same color & all. Ol Cleeter can school you on that unit 😂 i think he ripped out the old Briggs-n-Stratton & LS swapped his 🤣 believe it dynoed 1,000 @ the prop.

You’ll never replace those early models, if that plane could talk? What memories it would have, and the history of the j3 is amazing, thanks jimmy for sharing

You can almost smell that hit and miss motor running and it sounded so sweet.

I really love the sound when aircraft engine started, propeller one specially

Absolutely love seeing and hearing the history on these airplanes! Great video Jimmy!

Love what you do... when I grow up, I want to be like you.... cheers dude

Great Great Grandad always said if you cant tie a knot tie a lot!

Special. Thx for sharing. Watching from Ontario Canada 🎉

I just love and have so much respect for the men that works so hard to make our country what it is please don't forget we need to continue with this love of our nation

My uncle was Tom Flock who built several waco biplanes. he also built a piper j3 along with John Cunningham in Rockville Indiana.

Yellow Lady looks Awesome

This is really fun. Good job jimmyworld and son and everyone

Hello from Minnesota!! Love the sound of a Continental!

Beautiful J3 Cub. When I was growing up, my dad had his in the yard.

im surprised you didnt know much about Hit and miss engines. those were the first engines of our country, the first step in engines as we use them today

I grew up in Canadas north my late father was an airport manager and i grew up at the watson lake yt airport and while we had all the aircraft flying in and out of the airport there was two floatplane bases on the lake next to the airport so we also had all the beavers and single otters and twin otters on floats as well as all the 185's a nd 172's on floats for all the out fitters and gold exploration and oil and but i sure remember all the supercubs coming and going. Back in the 70's and 80's the north along the alaska highway was such a busy place. I miss it alot.

Those old hit- and- miss engines are awesome. Way back when, they powered all of the old factories. I feel that, should things break down in this country, we will depend on them again. If maintained, they are very dependable.

Buddy of mine had one of these, I think the same model. He was working on it one day and went out to lunch. When he returned the whole thing had burnt up. They think that a halogen work light had popped and sent burning hot shards of glass onto a wing where the doped fabric caught fire and slowly consumed the whole plane. Because it burnt over the course of a couple hours there wasn't enough smoke to alert anyone. Someone bought the frame and was going to restore it.

Fly that thing!

Thank you for sharing this awesome video, Jimmy.

Locked up in a hanger for 10 years? That is really sad. Airplanes should be out flying.

good airplane the cub.took my first plane ride in one. flew from a wheat field.loved it.

Just Love watching you bring life back into these airplanes, And your a Interesting person. Cheers

I love the Piper J3 Cub. I want one. 😊

Nice Stevenson M1078. Buy that one and put a command center box in the back for the ultimate overlander vehicle.

Mr. Spriggs(?), he has a beautiful aircraft and a great story.

This was great and thank you for posting. 🙏

I have mccormick derring and fairbanks motors lots of fun to just listen to them run ..

Flew in 2021 according to Flight Aware. Still an awesome plane

Beautiful J3 cub.

So cool to see her live again!

This is a special video. Thanks Jimmy!

Iam currently working on a deal to purchase 2 long lost beechcraft starships. The aircraft came from the group of 24 starships that evergreen air center ended up with. I was told they sold them for 50,000 a piece and many were purchased by owners for spare parts and others bought them just for the two 1200hp PT6A-67A engines. The engines have been removed from both airplanes and they have been pickled and crated for storage and are included with the sale. Both airframes have been partially disassembled. If the deal works out my goal is to restore the newer and lower time aircraft to airworthiness and to extensively modify the other aircraft and convert it to Experimental Exhibition category. I would like to implement some of the changes originally planned for the series II aircraft.

Great looking cub ...😊😊😊

I honestly thought you were going to buy that cub! Then I realized that it was in full working order and looks pretty, and you never buy airplanes that are in full working order and look pretty. LOL Cheers from Winnipeg.

The stories that plane could tell. Amazing!

Very cool. Little plane

Thank you for the video.

Thank you great video and story.

That kid looks exactly like his dad!

What an amazing father and son Jimmy I think you've got 2.0 Jimmy❤

In Okla we call them Johnny Poppers!!!

They would also use those to run a generator to charge batteries to power in the house. Technically the original off grid lighting system, but they used it to make power to for electric for the house.

Thank you for explaining that engine.

Well thanks Jimmy for leaving us hanging whether you bought the cub not sheesh.

OMG, Your son is a mini you. Wow that is crazy, two peas in a pod.

This is wonderful

My first flight was when I was 12yo in a J3. Hope you get it. That's a lovely specimen.

I believe those planes sold for about $1,500 originally and came with two or three free flying lessons and the slogan was easy to buy easy to fly

Magic of aviation.,.