Vintage Looks Mated With Modern Materials Take 25 years of experience with rebuilding Piper Cubs, add a new FAA regulation allowing more flexibility in designing and producing aircraft, spice the mixture with many design changes, and you get CubCrafters' Sport Cub. The Yakima, Washington-based company has created an airplane that retains the vintage look of a J-3 Cub but embraces 21st century materials and technology. On a warm evening during the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Florida, I flew with CubCrafters' pilot Clay Hammond. He identified company President Jim Richmond as the primary motivator behind the Sport Cub. Richmond has been rebuilding Cubs for 25 years, during which time he conceived many changes he wanted to try. Taking into consideration his height-he's 6 feet 4 inches tall-he wanted to make all the improvements he'd envisioned for the venerable Cub, and he wanted the airplane to fit him. A Thoroughly Modern Cub CubCrafters took on the redesign of the 50-year-old airplane using modern materials and engineering software not available to Piper engineers when the J-3 was created. The result is a stronger, lighter weight fuselage structure. CubCrafters Vice President Todd Simmons said the company made extraordinary efforts to lighten the Sport Cub's airframe to stay within the maximum gross weight allowed for light-sport aircraft (LSA)-that's 1,320 pounds for landplanes and 1,420 pounds for seaplanes. One example of this effort is a cowling built of composite materials instead of aluminum. Additionally, the Sport Cub's wingtips have a carbon fiber component that sweeps from a D-cell shape to a tubular shape at the trailing edge. The Sport Cub's main fuselage structure uses composite stringers for shaping where cosmetic finish is the goal. Wherever structural strength is important, CubCrafters uses steel or aluminum. In many places where a steel part might be used, the Sport Cub uses a machined aluminum billet fashioned into a specialized part, according to Clay. The effort was made in the interest of saving ounces, but the parts are beautiful. At the base of the Sport Cub's joystick are handsome aluminum machined fittings that function as ailerons linkages. Overall, the Sport Cub exhibits excellent finish work from the machined parts to the beautiful paint job. Clay attributed that to Richmond's many years of involvement with this airframe. Poly-Fiber coverings and coatings are used to the silver finish stage, with PPG paint used for the attractive final finish. The Sport Cub manages to preserve the image of an original Cub while delivering an all-new design with significant redesign work to address ASTM standards. Retro automobiles like the Thunderbird also hark back to the familiar models of yesteryear yet add new construction technology to the mix. Appropriate to the Sport Cub's contemporary premise, the entire plane was created with SolidWorks engineering software. The final evidence of CubCrafters' work to shave weight wherever possible is that Sport Cub number one, N468CB, has an empty weight of 877 pounds according to the pilot's operating handbook in the airplane. That weight would permit another 13 pounds of equipment and yet still be within the ASTM standards requirement that all S-LSA have a minimum useful load of 430 pounds. Most original Cubs had no electrical systems, but the new millennia Sport Cub does, to accommodate avionics and a built-in landing light in the wing. And it has two 12-gallon fuel tanks located in the wings. The Feel Is Real Similar to authentic Piper J-3s, the Sport Cub has no door on the left side. In exchange for entry there's a broad window offering good lateral vision and a somewhat aft view. The windshield is also large as it extends into a skylight, which adds lateral visibility in turns. Open-cockpit flying lovers can rejoice. The Sport Cub's windows and door may be opened at any time during flight. However, Clay indicated that if you are "tached up" (that is, the engine revving high), it gets pretty windy inside. He sets power at about 2100 rpm to have a better open-cockpit flying experience. Why fly with the windows open at the highest speed the Sport Cub can muster, especially considering how well it slows down? The Sport Cub's floorboard is a single piece of fiberglass that is built into the airplane as it is assembled; it lends a quality finish and coordinates well with the handsome machined parts. The aft, hammock-style seat can be folded up to effectively become part of the headliner. Once it's stowed properly, the back area opens up for other uses. The Sport Cub can be loaded with 100 pounds in this aft area plus another 20 pounds in the hat rack, assuming the cargo is well secured and remains within the weight and balance envelope. This aft area's versatility adds value to those wishing to use the Sport Cub as a bushplane. To improve support when used by a passenger, carbon-fiber pieces are added to lend structure. A cushion goes on top of the basic seat for additional comfort. Our test Sport Cub had a sturdylooking Aircraft Spruce tail wheel. However, bush pilots will want to upgrade to the optional Scott tail wheel, which puts more surface on the ground. The Sport Cub's landing gear has a bungee cord suspension like original Cubs, though the cords are modernized with a fairing cover. Slow-Flying Delight Here's my confession: I'm a longtime ultralight pilot who appreciates the ability to fly slowly over the landscape. When I discovered the great slow-speed qualities of the Sport Cub, I knew I'd like it for low-and-slow flying. On landing, we used one notch of flaps and powered back substantially abeam the landing point. We used 65 mph on base leg and 55 mph on approach. These comfortably low numbers are merely a baseline. Clay said when flying solo, well under gross, he can approach safely at 45 mph (39 knots), which allows landings in small spaces. The Sport Cub's optional flaps have a noticeable effect when you deploy them. The first notch of flaps, normally deployed at a higher airspeed, caused a significant pitch change. To best operate these flaps, you first relieve the pressure on the flap handle before deflecting the detent release with your thumb. When adjusting to a new setting, you first move the lever slightly and then engage the detent tab. Flap forces were light, making this an easy adjustment. Clay described a technique he uses if he wishes to loiter in the pattern, perhaps to allow traffic ahead more spacing. He puts down full flaps and enters slow flight, dropping the airplane to 28 mph while holding altitude. My own test of this technique quickly gave reassurance that it's possible. The Sport Cub slows down marvelously. Despite a good bit of taildragger experience, I bounced slightly on my early landings. There was a brisk crosswind at South Lakeland Airport during my evaluation flight. In such conditions, Clay likes to execute wheel landings. Therefore, I did likewise, though my usual method is the fullstall landing on three points of a taildragger. Clay's technique is to come in tail low and plant the mains fairly authoritatively. Once the mains are on to stay, he eases the stick forward to maintain this posture. I tried this technique to achieve my best landing of the bunch. While taxiing, I was pleasantly surprised to find that you can see over the nose quite well despite the taildragger deck angle, and the Sport Cub's brakes proved potent. You can break loose the tail wheel to pivot on the mains once your technique is sufficiently practiced. My Dutch roll coordination exercises went well from the start. Over the years, I've found this to be a reliable way to judge overall control authority, response, and harmony. Many airplanes require a few hours of experience to appreciate their fine points; others come quickly, and the Sport Cub is in the latter group. However, I found the joystick seemed a bit heavier in control motions contrasted with the powerful rudder pedals. As cleanly executed as the joystick hardware was, the stick became rather slippery in my hand; I'd prefer a more tactile grip. Fashioned out of an aluminum tube, the diameter was thin and thus difficult to hold. Steep turns done at 2500 rpm (about 75 percent power) required no additional power to hold altitude, and I did not have to change trim to sustain the turn. In the steep turn without a trim adjustment, I found a fair amount of stick backpressure was required, but I was easily able to hold the turn to within 100 feet of deviation through two full circles. This was true in either direction. Stalls in all simulations worked without surprise. Given the Sport Cub's wonderful low-speed capability, I expected stalls would be docile, and they were. My longitudinal stability check went equally uneventful as well. The same can be said for power response checks with no sustained oscillation before the Sport Cub responded in the correct direction. At 2450 rpm, approximately 65 percent power, I saw about 88 mph (76 knots) on the airspeed indicator. At this power setting Clay believed fuel consumption would be about 5 gph. Bumping power to 75 percent would raise the burn rate to 5.5 gph, he thought, and speed climbed into the low 90s. In a timed descent checked through 120 seconds, I saw a sink rate of about 420 fpm. With the engine idling and producing plenty of drag, this qualifies as excellent in the LSA category. Later in the day, with conditions mellowing, the vertical speed indicator confirmed this idle-power sink rate. As you look over the Sport Cub, you'll notice vortex generators on the wings' upper surface. They contribute to its slow speed flying capability but set the CubCrafters' version apart from other LSA Cubs in one more way. Though Cubs are known for their highlift wing, the generators do a good job. On his departure to the Plant City airport, Clay demonstrated a short takeoff roll in the Sport Cub flown solo after the heat of the day passed. I estimate he was off in less than 150 feet. I also noticed that the Continental engine is considerably noisier than a Rotax lifting a similar weight. Top-of-The-Line Cub The Sport Cub is nicely finished, but that heightened level of professionalism comes at a price premium. The base price of the Sport Cub is listed at $99,500 in spring 2007. But that doesn't include the flaps I used ($6,500), the twin fuel tanks (12 gallons is standard; 24 gallons will cost $1,700), or all the panel goodies. Nonetheless, a base-price Sport Cub is a well-equipped machine. On the panel you get an airspeed indicator, altimeter, compass, tachometer, oil temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, inclinometer, and Garmin SL40 VHF communications transceiver. If you want GPS and glass instrumentation, you can spend $10,000 to $20,000 more. An intercom adds another $1,000. If you want colors other than the "standard Cub" look, optional paint adds $2,900, and the obligatory emergency locator transmitter adds $1,100. The Sport Cub I tested would approach $130,000 in price. But for this premium, you get an airplane essentially built in a Part 23 environment, the same as used by Cessna, Cirrus, and Diamond. You also get an airplane that complies with the ASTM useful load requirement. In fact, Cub- Crafters "prices" the Sport Cub in dollars and pounds. The ASTM standards for LSA call out a minimum useful load of 430 pounds; that value subtracted from the maximum gross weight of 1,320 pounds means no 100-hp two-seat SLSA landplane can weigh more than 890 pounds empty. Buyers have a reasonable duty to examine an S-LSA's weight and balance information to assure any plane that interests them actually meets ASTM guidelines. With its base price equipment, CubCrafters says the Sport Cub will weigh only 825 pounds empty, as a result of the company's extensive effort to keep weight down. With the basic options I specified above, the Sport Cub should weigh 856 pounds, well under the 890-pound maximum. This means if you simply must have more options, CubCrafters has planned well and worked hard to allow you make your Sport Cub the Cub you want. Reflecting on the care and long experience used by CubCrafters to create its LSA, you realize not all Cubs are created equal. If you are a particularly demanding buyer, the Sport Cub should make a great choice for you. Get informed via the company's website, and then get a demo flight. A Sport Cub might look good in your hangar.