What airfoil did Taylorcraft use that has less drag than the Piper Cub?
The Taylorcraft uses the NACA 23012 airfoil, it is a semi-symmetrical airfoil. The Taylor Cub wing had a flat bottom surface, which continued to be used by Piper for the J-3. The University of Michigan Engineering Library has an extensive collection of NACA and NASA information on airfoils, and stall/spin research on microfilm. An example of this information is that a particular J3 that had its motor mount angled downward a few degrees to change the thrust line and it’s elevator up travel limited. You could still do a 3-point landing, but stalls were no longer possible. No matter what the test pilot did, he could not force that particular J3 into a spin nor could he even get it to stall. No stall – no spin.
