Well I made it back to Colorado with the new plane last week and I've been flying it everyday since until the snow grounded me yesterday. So I thought I'd take this snow day to pass on my thoughts on what the planes been like so far to any of you that might be interested.
Pickup:
The delivery went very smooth Randy gave me a tour and showed me the plane. I had been a little apprehensive of the pickup as there had been some confusion/disagreement on what was included as standard equipment when I had made my order. But after some discussion prier to my arrival I was very pleased as CC stepped up and delivered on everything in question. I left very satisfied with both the plane and there committment to customer service.
I'm sure a lot of you have been to the factory but it was my first time. I was very impressed with the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail in the building process. I was also surprised by the how much of the plane is made in house. (pretty much everything except the engine and the avionics) The entire process was very enjoyable and educational and I was on my way home by noon.
The Plane:
I picked up serial# 103 but that includes sportcubs as well. I didn't think to ask how many supersports have been built but i think its probably around 10.
Statistics:
Empty weight is 897 lbs and I weigh 180 lbs and had about 70 lbs of gear with me. Initial climb out at Yakima was around 1500'-1800' fpm. As the engine was still in the break in stage I ran high power setting all the way home varing between 2450-2650 rpm and 6k-11k in altitude (tried to stay in the 6k-8k when ever terrain permitted) Cruise at those setting stayed around 100-110 knots (gps speed derived from flighing into and out of the wind and averaging the difference I had a tail wind all the way and saw 115 to 125 knots ground speed most of the trip). My plane came with a Cato prop that has a pretty flat pitch (i dont know the exact pitch) at all altutudes to 12k the engine has enough power to easily over speed the prop in level flight. At 10k full power resutls in a climb of 1000 fpm and an ias of 90 mph.
Three quarter throttle at 9k results in 2700 rpm and an ias of 125 mph.( i think the ias is a little off but haven't checked it yet.
Fuel burn was high at those settings. I dont have a fuel flow meter but a 2 hour 20 min leg used 21.5 gal. If i had to guess i would say full power climbs are burning 15 gph and high speed cruise (2650) rpm is around 10 gph.
After i got back and oil consumption had stabalised I spent some time at lower power setting. First let me say its way more enjoyable at the lower settings 2000 rpm at 6500' seems to give a ias of about 85-90 mph and the noise and vibration drop dramatically to a almost car like level i haven't done any trips at this setting but judging from the fuel used poking around Im thinking around 3-5 gph but its just a guess.
Flight :
In level flight at 8k with power at idle and full flaps i could not get any stall or break at all. Holding the stick at the stops for 30-45 sec resulted in a slowly accelerating nose high mush that began at 500 fpm and seemed to stabilize at 1100 fpm after about 10 sec. Adding approximately half throttle without releasing the stick resulted in level flight nose high with and ias of 0 but a gps speed of 24 knots. Going to full power resulted in a pretty strong climb but i didnt hold it that long and forgot to check the fpm or the gps but the ias stayed around 0. I haven't tested any accelerated or turning stalls yet but i think power on stall with full flaps are impossible without a lot more weight in the plane. I havent flown it at all with any passangers so keep in mind all of this is at a light weight.
engine:
The engine has been good and seems to be breaking in ok (but i have no real experiance on this so take it for what its worth) CC recently redesigned the cooling inlets with some removable rings and believe mine may be the first to have them. They seem to work too well as my oil temp never got above 180 and stayed closer to 130-140 in cruise i took them off after my last flight and am hoping it will let the engine run a little hotter.
Complaints: So far I have only one the door seal or lack there of, the heater puts out a good supply of heat but with the wind blowing right in through the door it keeps your leg pretty cool this time of year. I added a little weather stripping and it fixed the problem but seems like it should come with some already on.
All in all I'm very happy with the plane. I flew up to my dads place last friday (about a 100 air miles) and landed in his hay field 800'x600' with no problems whatsoever even though his house is at 6000' feet and there was no wind at all. I'm really starting to see what all the love for the little cubs is all about.
Once this weather clears i hope to be flying everyday again for a while so if anyone has anything they'd like to know about the plane let me know and i'll try to test it.
Blu
Pickup:
The delivery went very smooth Randy gave me a tour and showed me the plane. I had been a little apprehensive of the pickup as there had been some confusion/disagreement on what was included as standard equipment when I had made my order. But after some discussion prier to my arrival I was very pleased as CC stepped up and delivered on everything in question. I left very satisfied with both the plane and there committment to customer service.
I'm sure a lot of you have been to the factory but it was my first time. I was very impressed with the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail in the building process. I was also surprised by the how much of the plane is made in house. (pretty much everything except the engine and the avionics) The entire process was very enjoyable and educational and I was on my way home by noon.
The Plane:
I picked up serial# 103 but that includes sportcubs as well. I didn't think to ask how many supersports have been built but i think its probably around 10.
Statistics:
Empty weight is 897 lbs and I weigh 180 lbs and had about 70 lbs of gear with me. Initial climb out at Yakima was around 1500'-1800' fpm. As the engine was still in the break in stage I ran high power setting all the way home varing between 2450-2650 rpm and 6k-11k in altitude (tried to stay in the 6k-8k when ever terrain permitted) Cruise at those setting stayed around 100-110 knots (gps speed derived from flighing into and out of the wind and averaging the difference I had a tail wind all the way and saw 115 to 125 knots ground speed most of the trip). My plane came with a Cato prop that has a pretty flat pitch (i dont know the exact pitch) at all altutudes to 12k the engine has enough power to easily over speed the prop in level flight. At 10k full power resutls in a climb of 1000 fpm and an ias of 90 mph.
Three quarter throttle at 9k results in 2700 rpm and an ias of 125 mph.( i think the ias is a little off but haven't checked it yet.
Fuel burn was high at those settings. I dont have a fuel flow meter but a 2 hour 20 min leg used 21.5 gal. If i had to guess i would say full power climbs are burning 15 gph and high speed cruise (2650) rpm is around 10 gph.
After i got back and oil consumption had stabalised I spent some time at lower power setting. First let me say its way more enjoyable at the lower settings 2000 rpm at 6500' seems to give a ias of about 85-90 mph and the noise and vibration drop dramatically to a almost car like level i haven't done any trips at this setting but judging from the fuel used poking around Im thinking around 3-5 gph but its just a guess.
Flight :
In level flight at 8k with power at idle and full flaps i could not get any stall or break at all. Holding the stick at the stops for 30-45 sec resulted in a slowly accelerating nose high mush that began at 500 fpm and seemed to stabilize at 1100 fpm after about 10 sec. Adding approximately half throttle without releasing the stick resulted in level flight nose high with and ias of 0 but a gps speed of 24 knots. Going to full power resulted in a pretty strong climb but i didnt hold it that long and forgot to check the fpm or the gps but the ias stayed around 0. I haven't tested any accelerated or turning stalls yet but i think power on stall with full flaps are impossible without a lot more weight in the plane. I havent flown it at all with any passangers so keep in mind all of this is at a light weight.
engine:
The engine has been good and seems to be breaking in ok (but i have no real experiance on this so take it for what its worth) CC recently redesigned the cooling inlets with some removable rings and believe mine may be the first to have them. They seem to work too well as my oil temp never got above 180 and stayed closer to 130-140 in cruise i took them off after my last flight and am hoping it will let the engine run a little hotter.
Complaints: So far I have only one the door seal or lack there of, the heater puts out a good supply of heat but with the wind blowing right in through the door it keeps your leg pretty cool this time of year. I added a little weather stripping and it fixed the problem but seems like it should come with some already on.
All in all I'm very happy with the plane. I flew up to my dads place last friday (about a 100 air miles) and landed in his hay field 800'x600' with no problems whatsoever even though his house is at 6000' feet and there was no wind at all. I'm really starting to see what all the love for the little cubs is all about.
Once this weather clears i hope to be flying everyday again for a while so if anyone has anything they'd like to know about the plane let me know and i'll try to test it.
Blu
