A Piper J-3 pilot suffered an engine failure; with the propeller stopping completely; just prior to base leg. To compensate for the drag of the dead prop he elected to land on a parallel taxiway which reduced the length of his final by some 1;000 FT.

Narrative

During the run-up prior to a personal pleasure flight I had checked that the engine idled properly with the throttle fully closed. After returning to the airport after 30 minutes of flying; while on base leg about to turn final; the engine quit and the propeller stopped completely. I immediately lowered the nose in an attempt to get the propeller to windmill so the engine would re-start but it did not turn. This 1941 Cub has no electrics and no starter motor and must be 'hand-propped' on the ground.I was making left traffic for Runway 25L and was not certain that I could make it to the threshold. I elected to land on the parallel taxiway which extends further east which allowed for an assured landing. Prior to landing I called the Tower (using a battery powered radio) and told them I had an engine out and would be landing on the parallel taxiway. The landing rollout was uneventful and I notified the Tower that I would get out and push the aircraft off the taxiway onto the adjacent tarmac.