A Super Cubfor the 21st Century
PHOTOS: JOE SIEGEL
This full-scale Carbon Cub SS (above) is owned by fellow radio control enthusiast, Joe Siegel. After a short demo flight two years ago, this airplane followed Joe home and it doesn’t look like it’s going to leave. While the silver looks great on this plane, it’s really a weight saving paint job. Normally the silver coat is covered with another color. The carbon fiber cowl flaps are
closed for cold weather operations. Typically the tundra tires (below left) are swapped out for skis when the snow gets much more than 6 or 8 inches deep. With 31-inch tires and only 1.5 psi of pressure, even a rocky surface (below right) serves as a suitable runway, proving that the Carbon Cub SS is a true bush pilot’s dream.
C
ubCrafters has been in the business of everything Super Cub for more than 30 years. Started by Jim Richmond, the compa- ny recognized the performance potential in the Piper Super Cub. Over the years the company has manufactured parts and modifica- tions as well as rebuilt many a Super Cub, the trusted and beloved workhorse of bush pilots.
By the late 1980s, CubCrafters found the Super Cubs they were rebuilding had such a great number of new, FAA Approved parts that based on the FAA rules, they could actually issue their “re- built” Cubs a new airworthiness certificate. And so it began, from 1988 through 2004, CubCrafters sold many new PA-18-150s. Unfortunately, as the 1990s were coming to a close, it became ap- parent that the same FAA rules that allowed these airplanes to be sold as new, were likely going to change.
CubCrafters found themselves designing a completely new Super
Cub that would meet the FAA’s new standards. The Top Cub, with its 1000-pound useful load, was type certified in 2004 and has been selling since. While the Top Cub continues in production today, with the intro- duction of the Light Sport classification of aircraft, CubCrafters saw the potential to enter a new market and the Sport Cub was born. With an empty weight of 858 pounds, a gross weight of 1320 pounds, 100 horsepower, and flaps, the Sport Cub sort of splits the difference between J-3 Cub and Super Cub although it’s said to per- form as well as many 150 hp Super Cubs. With the new light weight (1320 pounds gross) and FAA certified
FLYING MODELS
Sport Cub in hand, CubCrafters set out to redefine what was possi- ble in the Light Sport category. In 2007, based largely on the Sport Cub, the Carbon Cub SS was introduced. Using carbon fiber instead of aluminum in the cowl, spinner, and many interior parts helped to save some of the weight. On the Carbon Cub, the “performance paint job” only covers a portion of the silver base coat with color and is said to save up to 11 pounds. The 180 horsepower Lycoming based engine weighs only 250 pounds and burns around 5 gallons of gas per hour at cruise power. Overall the Carbon Cub SS has 50 percent fewer parts and weighs 250 pounds less than a similarly equipped Super Cub. The Carbon Cub SS will take off in just a couple of fuselage lengths and climb at over 2000 feet per minute. It can be outfitted with skis, tundra tires, and floats depending on the mission at hand. All of the performance and weight savings does not come at the expense of safety. The fuselage has been stressed to 40% higher weights than required, inertia reel shoulder harnesses come stan- dard, and there is an option to add airbags, the Carbon Cub SS is as safe as it is powerful. With the timeless looks of the good old Piper Super Cub but with less weight, more power, modern instru- ments, and a high level of safety equipment, it sure makes for an awesome aircraft.
It’s unlikely that CubCrafters will rest on their laurels. It seems that every time you check their website, they’ve come up with new ways of improving on their design. How about a kick panel with a water bottle holder or a magnesium accessory case on the engine to save 1.5 pounds? We can’t wait to see what comes next.
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