William T. Piper

An engineer and oil man with an eye for opportunity, William Piper and a partner paid $400 to become original investors in Taylor’s company. When it failed, Piper bought it, became its treasurer, and kept Taylor as president and chief engineer. Piper knew current private aircraft could only be afforded by the rich, were really working airplanes, or were so underpowered they barely flew at all. He was determined to build an aircraft that was inexpensive to fly and maintain and was stable enough so people could easily learn to fly it.