What on Earth is the world coming to…?! A Cub with a nose wheel? Has the aviation world gone mad? No, of course not. Admittedly, though, a nosedragger is certainly not what most pilots think when they envision a Cub. Leading manufacturer CubCrafters has explored many corners of the Cub world, filling niche after niche in fulfilling resilient demand for this popular airplane design. (Note that I keep calling this aircraft a “Cub,” instead of “Cubalike” because the Washington company actually owns that name after acquiring it from Piper some time back.) Cub Wonderment “Following a year-long public market survey,” CubCrafters announced, “[we have] officially decided to [start efforts to] certify and offer a nosewheel option for our flagship Part 23 certified aircraft, the CC-19 XCub.” This is not an Light-Sport Aircraft entry, however, the model remains easily within the coverage area this website pursues. “Putting a nosewheel on a modern Cub type aircraft certainly surprised some people,” noted CubCrafters’ VP of Sales & Marketing, Brad Damm.
WHAT?! A Cub Dragging its Nose Rather than its Tail? CubCrafters’ Newest Entry…
Cub Wonderment
"Following a year-long public market survey," CubCrafters announced, "[we have] officially decided to [start efforts to] certify and offer a nosewheel option for our flagship Part 23 certified aircraft, the CC-19 XCub." This is not an Light-Sport Aircraft entry, however, the model remains easily within the coverage area this website pursues.Going Both Ways
“XCub is easily convertible between nosewheel and tailwheel," CubCrafters said, "so you really get two airplanes in one: a tricycle-gear aircraft, and a traditional big-tire tailwheel Cub. Both are very capable STOL aircraft designed for backcountry missions.” CubCrafters boasts "an extremely robust trailing-link nosewheel assembly and large tundra tires as an option for the mains." The company said the traditional tail-dragging XCub can handle "primitive landing strips" plus most off-airport operations. Likewise landing loads on the nosewheel are transmitted to the airframe by a heavy duty truss and can accommodate unimproved landing surfaces.https://youtu.be/vAK0iwHuf5I