Art Whitaker, Verl Buroker and the Whitaker Tandem Landing Gear 

     As World War II ended and the predicted boom in civilian aviation got underway, Art Whitaker of Portland, Ore., was in the enviable position of being an established presence in the airplane business in an area where the utility of light aircraft offered almost limitless possibilities. Whitaker was a Piper distributor of long standing, having been associated with the Cub line since the days of C.G. Taylor’s E-2. His dealer network encompassed Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and western Montana. The lumber, ranching, farming and mining activities in the Northwest could all turn the airplane into a useful, even indispensable tool. It would take salesmanship – and Art Whitaker was a promoter and a master salesman! In the waning days of the great depression he had sold around a hundred Cubs a year using novel promotional ideas to make the public "airplane conscious." He once had a Cub hanging from the ceiling of the sixth floor of a prominent Portland department store. Movie houses showing a movie about flying welcomed the chance to have one of Whitaker’s new Cubs parked out front or even perched on top of the marquee. Auto shows were a great opportunity to put a Cub on display alongside the newest cars. On occasion, a Cub riding on a trailer would show up in a street parade. Art himself admitted to having a vivid imagination when it came to advertising airplanes.
     By 1948 the Piper line had expanded to include the PA-11 Cub Special, the PA-12 Super Cruiser, and the PA-14 Family Cruiser. The first of the "short wing" Pipers, the PA-15 Vagabond and the PA-16 Clipper followed. . .
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