George and Bruce
Here are some thoughts from a previous post.
I chose the round wing tips with 48 gal gas. As best I could tell the other wings don't give that much better slow speed performance, 1 or 2 knots and I greatly prefer the looks of the classic tips. If the squared tips gave a big performance advantage it might be worth the sacrifice in appearance. Obviously, appearance is strictly individual preference. Another factor driving most everything on the Cub is building for the 90% rule rather than the 10% rule. That is the one that says " What is 90% of your flying?" Answer for most of us is messing around the local area and getting the hamburger type thing. Example for me is the issue of dual doors. That left door might be nice when it is on floats (probably 30% of the time for me) and when I really need to dock on that side,(10% of 30%), so not very often, but the throttle will be in a uncomfortable position ALL of the time with dual doors. So it is not worth it to me to have poor ergonomics for the throttle for that one time a year event. One of the things I love about cubs is the way the controls just seem to fit and be in just the right place. It is a wonderfully comfortable plane to fly.
The door/throttle is just one example of many, and others may have other opinions but I do think whatever your opinion....build for what you will be doing MOST of the time.
It is so easy to build the dream plane for the once in a lifetime dream trip but unfortunately we carry the weight around the rest of the life of the plane. REALLY evaluate HONESTLY what you will be doing most of the time with the plane. If you fly 100 hours per year, how much will be on floats, skis, X/C etc. Then figure that after the first couple of years those numbers will probably drop as you take fewer X/C's, it is a hassle to put it on skis so you do it less often, maybe the same for floats. OK so now how often are you using that 72 gallons of fuel. Answer never but you are dragging that 50 pounds of tanks, plumbing etc on every local, around the patch, just for fun, flight.
I really like this light and wanted to put one in my cub. Certainly looks nice. Then I got to thinking. I will only need it at night. 10% of my flying or less. But really only on the ground and probably when camping, in order to get something out of the plane. It would add about 1 pound. Do I really need it or can I just use a flashlight when camping a couple of times a year? I decided to just use a flashlight. But it is really easy to get suckered into adding all this stuff. Dual doors add weight, as does extra fuel, big engines, etc, etc. But each person builds his own "Perfect Cub" right? Maybe not. I have yet to hear anyone complain that their cub is too light, but I have heard complaints of not enough utility so you have to find what works for you.
Build for the 90% rule.
Just another opinion to help you in your search. There is a TON of good info on this site by some really experienced guys.
Bill
I'm thinking that if an airplane is well maintained/documented, the hit shouldn't be too huge, but then I tend to be more practical than rule-abiding.
