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What are CC11-100 Sport Cub owners seeing as empty weights?

Alex Clark

Registered User
Life Long Alaskan
What are CC11-100 Sport Cub owners seeing as empty weights?
Anyone running one on floats?
If so what is the legal useful?
 
By the SLSA definition a 100 hp airplane must have a minimum useful load of 430 pounds. That makes the EW no higher than 890 to stay under the 1320 GW. On wheels. On floats GW can be 1430. So, EW on floats can go up by 110 maximum to maintain the required 430 UL.

My experience with both CC11 100 and the Legend AL3 were/are coming in at around 850 or a tad less empty. The first 25 Legends were heavier and I know the guy who got the first CC11 and it weighed 889 empty 😀

Many Legends flying well on amphibious floats. I don’t know about CC.

Another thing that always intrigued me was CC claims all fuel is useable where Legend says 1 gallon each side is unusable. This adds 12 pounds to the Legend EW.

The formula for the minimum useful load of an SLSA is 190 plus 190 plus half the horsepower. So fo a 100 hp plane that’s 380 plus 50 equals 430. When engine horsepower goes up most folks go ELSA which doesn’t have to conform to this formula, as long as the GW stays under 1320 on wheels. That’s why most high horsepower LSA planes are only legal with one person and gas and maybe a ham sandwich.

Rich
 
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I found it interesting that the FAA exempted the flying car from LSA std wheel gross wt of 1320.They gave that 1430.Kinda like who you know I guess.
I always wanted to know what the rationale was for the two different weights.If the higher weight was ok on floats then why not wheels.Just my twisted logic.
I wonder,would an inspector have the nerve to ask a woman what she weighs,and challenge what she told them?:lol:
 
The formula for the minimum useful load of an SLSA is 190 plus 190 plus half the horsepower. So for a 100 hp plane that’s 380 plus 50 equals 430. When engine horsepower goes up most folks go ELSA which doesn’t have to conform to this formula, as long as the GW stays under 1320 on wheels. That’s why most high horsepower LSA planes are only legal with one person and gas and maybe a ham sandwich.

Rich
Rich, I've been unable to locate the actual requirements. However I do believe that the formula states half the maximum continuous horsepower. So if you limit the maximum continuous power to a lower number the required useful load will be reduced, enabling a higher empty weight. For example if that 100 hp engine had a restriction of 70 hp max continuous, you would be able to reduce the useful load requirement by 15 pounds. You could then use 100 hp for take off with a time limitation. Since it is unlikely that more than 70 hp would be used during normal cruise flight there would be no restrictions. I think this is how CC is getting away with using high hp engines. For example, if that 100 hp engine was replaced with a 180 hp with a METO rating of 100 hp the useful load requirement would not change from 430 lbs.
 
I have received a couple e-mails from owners who say theirs are at 870 and nearly 870 on wheels. Considerably more than my old PA-11 on wheels.
 
The Sport Cub and the Legend are more like a PA18-95, rather than a PA11 or J3. Plus the Sport Cub has flaps. Most of these SLSA planes from CC and Legend were built with heavier and more comfortable interiors, avionics, starters, alternators and heavy batteries. My Legend had a metal prop that added about 15 pounds over the wood one.
Having said that, a light PA11 is a joy. I recently gave a guy a TW endorsement in his stock PA12. I hadn’t flown one since 1968. I thought it flew a lot like my Legend.

Rich
 
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