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9S7 -- Montana's Missouri Breaks
As a biologist, I have hundreds of hours in the back seat of cubs and now a couple hundred in the front. With these experiences, it is my belief that the cub is one of the few things mankind designed correctly the first time. But I also know there are better construction methods and materials available to us today compared to the 1940's. As a result of these two attitudes, I have a strong interest in what modern cub manufacturers are doing.
Monday (26th June) we visited the CubCrafters factory in Yakima and flew one of the sport cubs. Angie greeted my wife and I at the door with a big hug and we quickly met with Clay Hammond who would answer our questions. You could eat off the factory floor; it was clean and spacious; all the workers were engaged, and each one of them worked individually on their specialty. We started with the topcub/sportcub construction building. All the rebuilding is done in a separate facility. These cubs are put together using state of the art fabrication processes and the hand work (fabric, etc) was excellent. The metal work is CNC; the cuts are the same each time. Some parts are carbon-fiber layup saving weight and also built in-house. Carbon-fiber is relatively new ground for a cub-type mission plane, but I'm a heavy person yet have driven carbon-fiber framed bicycles off cliffs during mountain bike runs...I'm not afraid of it. There were cubs at various stages of completion and you could see exactly how they are manufactured from raw materials to finished product.
I couldn't get the grin off my face during the test flight...the airplane was a joy...easier to get into and out of...and comfortable while you were in it. Clay chuckled when I observed that by moving the panel forward 4" it made it the perfect distance for my 50-ish year old eyes. I suspect it was between 80-85 deg during the test; I'm heavy and Clay isn't a "shrimp"; gas tanks were full and yet it got up and down short. I don't haul passengers and large dead ungulates at the same time...most of my flying is alone or with one observer and/or a fishing rod. This plane will do what I need better, cheaper, and fly a little faster doing it.
We left CubCrafters comfortable that the individuals we encountered were sincere and honest. Like most "cub" people, they were passionate about what they were doing. I appreciated the fact that the process is transparent; they want you to look closely at their manufacturing and try their product. We bought into the dream.
Monday (26th June) we visited the CubCrafters factory in Yakima and flew one of the sport cubs. Angie greeted my wife and I at the door with a big hug and we quickly met with Clay Hammond who would answer our questions. You could eat off the factory floor; it was clean and spacious; all the workers were engaged, and each one of them worked individually on their specialty. We started with the topcub/sportcub construction building. All the rebuilding is done in a separate facility. These cubs are put together using state of the art fabrication processes and the hand work (fabric, etc) was excellent. The metal work is CNC; the cuts are the same each time. Some parts are carbon-fiber layup saving weight and also built in-house. Carbon-fiber is relatively new ground for a cub-type mission plane, but I'm a heavy person yet have driven carbon-fiber framed bicycles off cliffs during mountain bike runs...I'm not afraid of it. There were cubs at various stages of completion and you could see exactly how they are manufactured from raw materials to finished product.
I couldn't get the grin off my face during the test flight...the airplane was a joy...easier to get into and out of...and comfortable while you were in it. Clay chuckled when I observed that by moving the panel forward 4" it made it the perfect distance for my 50-ish year old eyes. I suspect it was between 80-85 deg during the test; I'm heavy and Clay isn't a "shrimp"; gas tanks were full and yet it got up and down short. I don't haul passengers and large dead ungulates at the same time...most of my flying is alone or with one observer and/or a fishing rod. This plane will do what I need better, cheaper, and fly a little faster doing it.
We left CubCrafters comfortable that the individuals we encountered were sincere and honest. Like most "cub" people, they were passionate about what they were doing. I appreciated the fact that the process is transparent; they want you to look closely at their manufacturing and try their product. We bought into the dream.
