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How many Husky Drivers?

john schwamm said:
One has to fly a Husky differently than a cub. I have both and like them both. Cub can fly a bit slower and land slightly shorter. But Husky is faster and more solid feel to me. Constant speed prop gives great options for smooth flight without the high rpms of trying to go faster in cub. More efficient for low power and fuel savings and still go faster than cub.

Landing a Husky short requires nose up attitude as the flaps are all lift in Husky, if one aims at landing spot and going too fast it just floats on past. Unlike cub where one can point at the spot and hit it without floating past unless going really fast. Fly the Husky like a Helio Courier, nose up and slow, then just plop it down short, over quick. Full flaps on takeoff, do not raise the tail, stick back pressure and it just levitates. Totally different techniques from cub.
Husky to me has better feel for long distances, never get too tired on long flights, cub just vibrates too much after a bit, and is slow!
The new Husky trim tab makes the feel similar to cub, light on controls, they eliminated the big spring that requires trimming all the time, but once used to it no big deal to me. New trim actually feels odd with no resistance.
My thoughts.
John
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Having owned a Super Cub and Husky I echo what John said. I love them both but I own a Husky right now, fits my mission better.

Kurt
 
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Flyingde post is funny, today I had to choose between my husky on straight floats vs my A36 Bonanza for a 180 nautical flight. Because of weather I chose the Bonanza. Had it been a super cub not a husky hands down it would have been the Bonanza.
 
I previously owned a 180 hp super cub. I now own a new wing Husky. Without much detailed explanation, here are the areas where I find significant differences between the two airplanes and which plane is better in this area *in my opinion.

Baggage area. + Super cub.
Landing gear. + Super cub.
Elevator control. + Super cub.
Aftermarket mods. + Super cub.
Parts availability. + Super cub.
Flap hinge head knockers. + Super cub.
Stall speed. + Super cub.

Climb. + Husky
Speed. + Husky
Range. + Husky
Aileron control. + Husky
Passenger comfort. + Husky
Overall comfort. + Husky
Strength and simplicity of horizontal stabilizer. + Husky
 
Lots more Husky folks on here than I imagined! Not my intent to start a Husky vs Cub free for all and am glad to see we're civil! Similar aircraft for somewhat different missions. I enjoy both, and have modded my Husky to where it is pretty comparable. But I'm light (the airplane!) and have Cub gear! However, I need to stop putting divots on my forehead. 362sm trip to Flat AK in 3.2hrs this weekend would have been 4.5hrs in the Cub.
 
As another Husky owner on SuperCub.org I definitely enjoy this thread. Huskys are great aircraft, and we know nothing beats a light SuperCub when it comes to landing. Otherwise I always have fun flying with my Cub friends. A main reason why the Husky has a bad reputation is Aviat, and Steve is head on: Dealing with the company and waiting for expensive parts can be frustrating. Parts are often twice or more the price of almost identical Piper parts. There are no multiple vendors.

In Alaska it can be a challenge to find a mechanic who wants to work on a Husky. Besides parts, mechanics used to Piper products do not like to work on the spring loaded trim system, the narrow engine compartment, or all the panel screws.

A friend who had his Husky repaired at Aviat in Afton told me recently: 'Now I understand why 90% of Husky owners are at least 55 years old, have a thick wallet, and fly less than 30 hours per year'.
 
I can’t figure out why My Husky flys as poorly as my A36 Bonanza and those of you that have flown a Beechcraft know how poorly they fly!! Just kidding
 
MartinS said:
As another Husky owner on SuperCub.org I definitely enjoy this thread. Huskys are great aircraft, and we know nothing beats a light SuperCub when it comes to landing. Otherwise I always have fun flying with my Cub friends. A main reason why the Husky has a bad reputation is Aviat, and Steve is head on: Dealing with the company and waiting for expensive parts can be frustrating. Parts are often twice or more the price of almost identical Piper parts. There are no multiple vendors.

In Alaska it can be a challenge to find a mechanic who wants to work on a Husky. Besides parts, mechanics used to Piper products do not like to work on the spring loaded trim system, the narrow engine compartment, or all the panel screws.

A friend who had his Husky repaired at Aviat in Afton told me recently: 'Now I understand why 90% of Husky owners are at least 55 years old, have a thick wallet, and fly less than 30 hours per year'.
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I don't understand mechanics not wanting to work on a Husky. They are usually in way better condition than a lot of old Super Cubs and haven't been rebuilt by who knows who who did who knows what. They are pretty straight forward and all those screws give you access to lots of things. A good screw gun is your friend. 180 HP engine e on a Husky is easier to work on than most Cub engines. The 200 hp is a pita as it is pretty compact in there.
 
MartinS said:
As another Husky owner on SuperCub.org I definitely enjoy this thread. Huskys are great aircraft, and we know nothing beats a light SuperCub when it comes to landing. Otherwise I always have fun flying with my Cub friends. A main reason why the Husky has a bad reputation is Aviat, and Steve is head on: Dealing with the company and waiting for expensive parts can be frustrating. Parts are often twice or more the price of almost identical Piper parts. There are no multiple vendors.

In Alaska it can be a challenge to find a mechanic who wants to work on a Husky. Besides parts, mechanics used to Piper products do not like to work on the spring loaded trim system, the narrow engine compartment, or all the panel screws.

A friend who had his Husky repaired at Aviat in Afton told me recently: 'Now I understand why 90% of Husky owners are at least 55 years old, have a thick wallet, and fly less than 30 hours per year'.
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It does help if you don't break the things, thus requiring parts....:lol:

As to all those machine screws, a mechanic works by the hour....then again, owner participation helps.

And, yes, Piper parts (actually pma'd parts that have nothing to do with Piper) are commonly available. Try ordering some parts from Cub Crafters for a CC-18-180. Or from Cessna for a 180.

There's something about aircraft manufacturers and parts....:roll:

MTV
 
MartinS said:
As another Husky owner on SuperCub.org I definitely enjoy this thread. Huskys are great aircraft, and we know nothing beats a light SuperCub when it comes to landing. Otherwise I always have fun flying with my Cub friends. A main reason why the Husky has a bad reputation is Aviat, and Steve is head on: Dealing with the company and waiting for expensive parts can be frustrating. Parts are often twice or more the price of almost identical Piper parts. There are no multiple vendors.

In Alaska it can be a challenge to find a mechanic who wants to work on a Husky. Besides parts, mechanics used to Piper products do not like to work on the spring loaded trim system, the narrow engine compartment, or all the panel screws.

A friend who had his Husky repaired at Aviat in Afton told me recently: 'Now I understand why 90% of Husky owners are at least 55 years old, have a thick wallet, and fly less than 30 hours per year'.
Click to expand...


Whitewings Aircraft services at Lake Hood rebuilt both my Husky's, bought them as projects and we made them nice and lightweight. Any IA who says Husky is hard to work on is not who you want to use. Other than some screws to take off metal panels rather than uncover fabric for access is not hard at all, gives one access to most all areas needed. Very basic airplanes.
Built better than a cub, and if your IA cannot figure it out from a cub, get a new mechanic!
John
 
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john schwamm said:
Whitewings Aircraft services at Lake Hood rebuilt both my Husky's, bought them as projects and we made them nice and lightweight. Any IA who says Husky is hard to work on is not who you want to use. Other than some screws to take off metal panels rather than uncover fabric for access is not hard at all, gives one access to most all areas needed. Very basic airplanes.
Built better than a cub, and if your IA cannot figure it out from a cub, get a new mechanic!
John
Click to expand...
I helped the shop put my amphibs on my cub yesterday. I will be billed about 2 - 3 hours labor and 0 parts. I hear that a husky is a near full day project and a new set of bungees $?
 
Floats on Husky on mine are the same as cub, I have cub gear/AOSS on my husky, no bungees. But even if bungees not a big deal, all else pretty much the same. Good idea to change bungees anyway if one has them rather than cub gear.
John
 
john schwamm said:
Floats on Husky on mine are the same as cub, I have cub gear/AOSS on my husky, no bungees. But even if bungees not a big deal, all else pretty much the same. Good idea to change bungees anyway if one has them rather than cub gear.
John
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I understand that this is a bit of major surgery to change a Husky to aoss? Are there two different mods? IE One that changes Husky to Cub gear, and another that just eliminates bungees?
 
Only the Burl's Aircraft STC for the cub gear mod on Husky, does require some welding to beef things up. No other mod I know to eliminate bungees.
John
 
MoJo said:
I helped the shop put my amphibs on my cub yesterday. I will be billed about 2 - 3 hours labor and 0 parts. I hear that a husky is a near full day project and a new set of bungees $?
Click to expand...

Two to three hours to install amphibs sounds pretty light, even on a second or third install.....but,

I ran Huskys that went from wheels to floats and back seasonally. Change never took over 3 hours or so. These were straight floats.

Yes, bungees are a bit of a pain, but as John says, the new bungee material won't hold up for 20 years like the old gear bungees used to do. So, it's not a bad idea to have new bungees every year in any case, and they're not obscenely expensive.

The new Huskys have a different gear, with shock struts internally in place of the bungees. Never saw one apart, so not sure how that works, but I'm betting it'll make gear changes a piece of cake.

MTV
 
MoJo said:
I helped the shop put my amphibs on my cub yesterday. I will be billed about 2 - 3 hours labor and 0 parts. I hear that a husky is a near full day project and a new set of bungees $?
Click to expand...

I’ve heard that a Husky uses 6 bungees, as opposed to a Cub using 4 bungees $? ? ?
Would that really be a reason to choose a Cub over Husky?
 
redfin said:
I’ve heard that a Husky uses 6 bungees, as opposed to a Cub using 4 bungees $? ? ?
Would that really be a reason to choose a Cub over Husky?
Click to expand...

Costs over time. I’ll replace my Cub bungees roughly once every 5yrs - 6 yrs. I’ve been considering a Husky, and have been informed about 300$ extra every float to wheel change (I assume that is parts and labor as I am on year four now and I haven’t had to do it yet on my cub.).
 
mvivion said:
Two to three hours to install amphibs sounds pretty light, even on a second or third install.....but,

I ran Huskys that went from wheels to floats and back seasonally. Change never took over 3 hours or so. These were straight floats.

Yes, bungees are a bit of a pain, but as John says, the new bungee material won't hold up for 20 years like the old gear bungees used to do. So, it's not a bad idea to have new bungees every year in any case, and they're not obscenely expensive.

The new Huskys have a different gear, with shock struts internally in place of the bungees. Never saw one apart, so not sure how that works, but I'm betting it'll make gear changes a piece of cake.

MTV
Click to expand...
Mike,
Think the bungees are still there with the shocks, believe they just dampen the bounce?
John
 
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mvivion said:
Two to three hours to install amphibs sounds pretty light, even on a second or third install.....but,

I ran Huskys that went from wheels to floats and back seasonally. Change never took over 3 hours or so. These were straight floats.

Yes, bungees are a bit of a pain, but as John says, the new bungee material won't hold up for 20 years like the old gear bungees used to do. So, it's not a bad idea to have new bungees every year in any case, and they're not obscenely expensive.

The new Huskys have a different gear, with shock struts internally in place of the bungees. Never saw one apart, so not sure how that works, but I'm betting it'll make gear changes a piece of cake.

MTV
Click to expand...
Since you are familiar with straight floats, labor time and parts, what would be the difference Husky vs Cub
going from wheels to floats and back again?
 
6 1380 bungee cords on a Husky, they are a bitch in my opinion. Had to beef up my tool to stretch them. $32.75 x 6 for 1380 and if you want 1380HDs they are $81.75 each.

Installing Cub gear on a Husky is a lot of work with lots of welding, sleeving the tubes all the way up to the panel.
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I had a couple of Huskys. They were useful...lot of bang for the buck. Very fast, 50 gallons fuel, relatively new airframes (vs. 1946 PA-12) No wing strut issues, tail didn't shake. Good muffler system. Downside... flew a bit strange compared to a PA-18, slightly hard to get in and out of compared to a PA18, maintenance issues with MT props (got a Hartzell CF, end of troubles). expensive parts, trim system springs and cogs wear out. tail wire upgrades become more and more necessary, after wire broke in flight. Cheaper than outfitting a PA-18 with the same goodies, but never ever going to be a Super Cub, and they look chubby. Oh yeah, they have cooling issues even in no work environment. tight cowls. Still pretty good machine, and lower cost ot buy an older one. Last of all - they'll scalp you.
 
Unlike a Cub every Husky has a five point harness attached directly to the airframe. Not just weld on tabs, bolted to the seat base or who knows what was cobbled together in 1977 with a well intentioned owner manufactured part, but a harness that is attached directly to the tubular airframe structure.
 
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Bill.Brine said:
Unlike a Cub every Husky has a five point harness attached directly to the airframe. Not just weld on tabs, bolted to the seat base or who knows what was cobbled together in 1977 with a well intentioned owner manufactured part, but a harness that is attached directly to the tubular airframe structure.
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I have seen a simple fix for that. Seatbelts attached to vinyl coated cable rapped around the frame.
 
WhiskeyMike said:
I had a couple of Huskys. They were useful...lot of bang for the buck. Very fast, 50 gallons fuel, relatively new airframes (vs. 1946 PA-12) No wing strut issues, tail didn't shake. Good muffler system. Downside... flew a bit strange compared to a PA-18, slightly hard to get in and out of compared to a PA18, maintenance issues with MT props (got a Hartzell CF, end of troubles). expensive parts, trim system springs and cogs wear out. tail wire upgrades become more and more necessary, after wire broke in flight. Cheaper than outfitting a PA-18 with the same goodies, but never ever going to be a Super Cub, and they look chubby. Oh yeah, they have cooling issues even in no work environment. tight cowls. Still pretty good machine, and lower cost ot buy an older one. Last of all - they'll scalp you.
Click to expand...
. But still.. there I was two days ago, 92 mph and cruising along at 60 mph ground speed.
 
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