The New Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Jump to photos)
Originally founded as the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Manufacturing Company in September of 1927 by Clarence Gilbert Taylor and Gordon A. Taylor in Rochester, New York. The company was renamed to Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation in April of 1928, shortly before Gordon Taylor died in a plane crash on April 24, 1928. The company was enticed to move to Bradford, Pennsylvania with the promise of larger facility and investment capital from local businessmen, including and initial investment of $400 from local oilman William T. Piper. The move was completed in September, 1929.
In late 1930 the company filed for bankruptcy and William Piper purchased the assets of the company for $761. Reorganized as the Taylor Aircraft Company, Piper effectively took control of the firm when he assumed the position of corporate secretary-treasurer, although he retained C. G. Taylor in the role of president. Piper, often called the "Henry Ford of Aviation", firmly believed that a simple-to-operate low-cost private airplane would flourish, even in the darkest depths of the Great Depression.
In December of 1935, after a series of clashes, William Piper bought out C. G. Taylor, who left the company and went on to form the Taylorcraft Aircraft Company. On March 16, 1937 a fire destroyed the Bradford factory and Piper relocated to an abandoned silk mill in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. By November, 1937, all traces of Taylors\' involvement with the company was erased when it was renamed to Piper Aircraft Corporation.
As of July 2003, American Capital Strategies, Ltd. owns 94% of Piper\'s voting equity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Piper_Aircraft
