Bill Rusk
BENEFACTOR
Sandpoint, Idaho
Folks
Lets talk about building a Supercub.
Options
1 Scratch Good = lots of options, full flexibility, cheap intro and possibly final cost
Bad = Time, resale
2 Backcountry kit Good = fairly complete, reasonable quality, available, support,
strong, previous experience
Bad = could be lighter
3 Dakota Cub Kit Good = company has excellent reputation,
Bad = not much info, weight?
4 Cub Crafters Good = Quality, Company, complete, support, resale, all good
Bad = Cost, Gross weight limit?
5 Javron Good = Don't know much, Buhler? anyone
Bad = see above
6 Spraker Good = Cheap start, flexibility,
Bad = Time
7 Wag Aero Good = Cost, available,
Bad = Time, more of a J-3 than a SC
8 Rebuild Good = Find a fuselage and redo it, quick start, light,
Bad = FAA issues, small parts nickel and dime you to death,
9 Kit Bash Good = Pick and choose best parts from anyone, flexibility
Bad = Cost
Are there other kits out there I am missing? I would like to have a large baggage, gross weight of 2300 or so (experimental you can set what you want, but if the kit manuf is claiming a much lower GW you might have trouble justifying a higher GW). What other ideas do we know of? I think Legend Cubs are all Light Sport. I need the 2300 GW to do floats, camping gear, and two people. My goal would be 1100 pounds empty with an 0-360 and interior like I had. I was at 1133 with everything and a 0-320. So I am thinking I need to save about 70 pounds from my last build, 35 for the larger engine and 35 to get below 1100. What do you think? I think I was pretty light before with the Smith Kit but I do think I could have saved some weight in the wings. They seemed heavy to me. But, I had no concerns setting my GW at 2300 either so maybe it is a trade off. However I do not remember any Cub in-flight wing failures so perhaps the wing is overbuilt.
Thanks for your inputs
Bill
Lets talk about building a Supercub.
Options
1 Scratch Good = lots of options, full flexibility, cheap intro and possibly final cost
Bad = Time, resale
2 Backcountry kit Good = fairly complete, reasonable quality, available, support,
strong, previous experience
Bad = could be lighter
3 Dakota Cub Kit Good = company has excellent reputation,
Bad = not much info, weight?
4 Cub Crafters Good = Quality, Company, complete, support, resale, all good
Bad = Cost, Gross weight limit?
5 Javron Good = Don't know much, Buhler? anyone
Bad = see above
6 Spraker Good = Cheap start, flexibility,
Bad = Time
7 Wag Aero Good = Cost, available,
Bad = Time, more of a J-3 than a SC
8 Rebuild Good = Find a fuselage and redo it, quick start, light,
Bad = FAA issues, small parts nickel and dime you to death,
9 Kit Bash Good = Pick and choose best parts from anyone, flexibility
Bad = Cost
Are there other kits out there I am missing? I would like to have a large baggage, gross weight of 2300 or so (experimental you can set what you want, but if the kit manuf is claiming a much lower GW you might have trouble justifying a higher GW). What other ideas do we know of? I think Legend Cubs are all Light Sport. I need the 2300 GW to do floats, camping gear, and two people. My goal would be 1100 pounds empty with an 0-360 and interior like I had. I was at 1133 with everything and a 0-320. So I am thinking I need to save about 70 pounds from my last build, 35 for the larger engine and 35 to get below 1100. What do you think? I think I was pretty light before with the Smith Kit but I do think I could have saved some weight in the wings. They seemed heavy to me. But, I had no concerns setting my GW at 2300 either so maybe it is a trade off. However I do not remember any Cub in-flight wing failures so perhaps the wing is overbuilt.
Thanks for your inputs
Bill