Piper J3C
4 for sale, 2 with a US-dollar asking price. Asking prices, not sales.
What does a Piper J3C ask?
Not published
4 for sale now. Asking prices, not sales.
How far does a Piper J3C fly?
Across its 3 catalog variants, book ranges run 160–320 nm; the J3C-65 flies furthest, about 2 h 43 min at 118 kt.
Still air, no reserves; catalog confidence low.
What does a Piper J3C cost to keep?
It depends on how you fly it and where you keep it, so Sprinkle doesn’t give one figure. Work it out on your own numbers.
Go to the cost calculator →Too few US-dollar asking prices to chart this model by year.
Recently listed
View all 4 for sale →
Range by variant
Book ranges from the catalog: still air, full fuel, no reserves, at the confidence shown. Plan with your own numbers.
- J3C-65320 nm · 118 kt cruise · low confidence
- J3C-50160 nm · 71 kt cruise · high confidence
- J3C-65S160 nm · 71 kt cruise · medium confidence
The Piper J3C in brief
4 Piper J3C listings are for sale across the sites Sprinkle reads as of Nov 12, 2026, built 1939–1946.
How the Piper J3C performs
By the catalog, the fastest variant cruises at 118 knots.
The longest book range across its variants is 320 nautical miles: still air, no reserves.
It seats up to 5 passengers.
Buying a Piper J3C
Too few US-dollar asking prices to give a range yet.
Before an offer, check
- A pre-buy inspection by a mechanic who knows the type, chosen by you, not the seller.
- Complete logbooks for the airframe, engines and propellers, with any gaps explained.
- Damage history and any repairs, against the logbooks and the registry record.
- Engine time against the overhaul interval, and the shop that did the last overhaul.
- Airworthiness directives and service bulletins: which apply, and how each was closed.
Figures from the listings Sprinkle reads, read Nov 12, 2026. A market read from asking prices, not an appraisal.
About the Piper J3C
- Manufacturer
- Piper, United States
- Category
- Piston airplane
- Variants in the catalog
- 5: J3C-40, J3C-50, J3C-50S, J3C-65, J3C-65S
- Passengers, at most
- 5
- The farthest the maker says the aircraft can fly on full fuel, in still air with standard reserves. Real trips with passengers and wind come up shorter.
- 320 nm
- Cruise speed, fastest
- 118 kt
- The highest altitude at which the aircraft can still climb at 100 feet per minute. Most trips cruise well below it.
- 17,000 ft
- The heaviest the aircraft is certified to weigh at takeoff, with people, bags and fuel on board.
- 1,400 kg (3,086 lb)
- The aviation authority’s approval of an aircraft design, such as the FAA’s or EASA’s. Each model flies under one.
- FAA
From Sprinkle's aircraft catalog. Figures are the highest across the model's variants.
The Piper J3C fleet
- Registered fleet
- 3,941
- Median age
- 80 years
- Registration changes, past 12 months
- 96
- Most built in the
- 1940s
From the national aircraft registers Sprinkle reads. Read Nov 12, 2026.
Piper J3C type certificates
- J3C-50 FAA A-691
- approved Jul 14, 1938 · Type Certificate No. 691 (CAR 4a) · MTOW 499 kg · Continental A-50-1 (See Item 311B for optional engines) · Type certificate data sheet (opens in a new tab)
- J3C-50S FAA A-691
- approved Jul 14, 1938 · Type Certificate No. 691 (CAR 4a) · MTOW 526 kg · Continental A-50-1 (See Item 311B) · Type certificate data sheet (opens in a new tab)
- J3C-40 FAA A-691
- approved Jul 14, 1938 · Type Certificate No. 691 (CAR 4a) · MTOW 465 kg · Continental A-40-4 · Type certificate data sheet (opens in a new tab)
- J3C-65S FAA A-691
- approved May 27, 1940 · Type Certificate No. 691 (CAR 4a) · MTOW 590 kg · Continental A-65-1 (See Item 311 C for optional engines) · Type certificate data sheet (opens in a new tab)
From the regulators' type-certificate data sheets. Figures shown only where the reading is high-confidence.
Piper J3C manuals and documents
- J-3 Cub 10cc Instruction Manual (PDF, opens in a new tab)Pilot’s Operating Handbook · 2024 · 33 pages
- Pilot's Operating Handbook (PDF, opens in a new tab)Pilot’s Operating Handbook · 20 pages
- Pilot's Operating Handbook for the Piper J-3 Cub (PDF, opens in a new tab)Pilot’s Operating Handbook · 29 pages
- Piper J3 Cub Checklist (PDF, opens in a new tab)Pilot’s Operating Handbook · 2 pages
- 1400mm J-3 V4 (PDF, opens in a new tab)Airplane Flight Manual · 14 pages
- NORMAL PROCEDURES Piper Cub J-3/L-4 – HB-OEN (PDF, opens in a new tab)Checklist · 2021 · 4 pages
- Ultra-Micro J-3 Cub RTF & BNF Instruction Manual (PDF, opens in a new tab)Checklist · 2010 · 20 pages
- Piper Cub (PDF, opens in a new tab)Checklist
- PIPER CUB Checklist (PDF, opens in a new tab)Checklist · 9 pages
- Piper Cub J3-65 N68952 (PDF, opens in a new tab)Checklist · 13 pages
- Piper J-3 Cub User Guide (PDF, opens in a new tab)Weight and balance · 2022 · 23 pages
- Weight & Balance Work Sheet (PDF, opens in a new tab)Weight and balance · 1 pages
- Piper J3 Cub - 1937- 47 (PDF, opens in a new tab)Specifications · 2004 · 1 pages
- Horsepower vs. Weight Graphing Activity (PDF, opens in a new tab)Specifications · 4 pages
- J-3 Cub BL Instruction Manual (PDF, opens in a new tab)Maintenance · 2007 · 10 pages
- J3 Gross Weight Increase Part 1 (PDF, opens in a new tab)Maintenance · 2006
The 16 most useful of 28 documents in Sprinkle’s library for this model. PDFs open from Sprinkle’s own files.
What one would cost to fly
Put in your own figures; the totals update as you type.
- A month
- $1,967
- A flight hour, all in
- $236
- Flying (fuel and reserve)
- $10,300
- Fixed
- $13,300
- Loan
- $0
Fields marked Typical hold a rule-of-thumb figure for a piston airplane: an assumption, not Sprinkle's data. Replace them with your own.
Not a quote: Sprinkle doesn't hold insurance, hangar or maintenance costs. Asking prices, not sales.
From the listings Sprinkle reads for this model. Read Nov 12, 2026.