13 Comments

  1. P 48 Enforcer, built by the Piper company in Lakeland!

    1. I remember that now. I worked at Piper in Lakeland just before it closed and I remember this project. The Piper plant location is right next to where Top Gun is held. Very cool.

  2. That was the PA-48 Enforcer. It was initially developed around the same time as the A-10 to do close air support and ground attack roles. 4 were built and 2 were at Davis-Monthan AFB in storage at AMARC.

  3. It is a Piper P-48 Enforcer.

  4. It’s a Piper Enforcer. The only one left is at the Museum of the USAirForce.

    1. You’re correct! πŸ™‚

  5. ITS A MUSTANG Cavalier a private plane conversion to try to go to the private sector built in Sarasoto Florid.good looking plane

  6. Aircrfat is a Piper Enforcer, builkt by Piper Aircraft of Vero Beach, Fl.

  7. PA-48 Enforcer N481PE

  8. It’s a Cavalier Mustang. πŸ™‚

  9. Cavalier Turbo Mustang 111

  10. I vote for the PA-48 Enforcer.

  11. This is a PA48 Enforcer. Originally a Cavalier design from Sarasota. When the USAF but up for bid a ground attack aircraft, the A10 and Cavalier were submitted. The USAF rejected the Cavalier design illegally. Cavalier filed suit in Federal Court against the USAF. By the time the court ruled, the A10 was already in production and in the USAF inventory. The court ruled that the USAF had indeed illegally excluded the Cavalier design. The court ordered the USAF to evaluate the aircraft. At this point Piper bought the design and rights and created the PA48. The aircraft were all built at the Lakeland plant in an unused area of the Cheyenne building.

    The aircraft were delivered to the USAF and sent to Edwards for evaluation. The aircraft met the qualifications the USAF required, with one distinct advantage. The USAF had trouble locking on with IR, meaning that it would be difficult for a heat seeking missile such as an SA7 to lock on.

    The point of course was moot and the USAF was never going to buy it. But that was not Piper’s plan. Piper expected export sales, which never happened.

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