This weekend we had the Cub Crafters Factory demo Super Sport Cub at our disposal. We took this opportunity to demonstrate it to as many interested pilots in the area as possible. We started our day at Stanton Airfield, KSYN, where the Cub is king. Stanton has two S2 Sport Cubs on the field as well as a PA-11 and two PA-18's for rent and glider towing. Once we arrived a small crowd gathered around the Super Sport and the demo flights began. Every pilot that egress from the Super Sport Cub did so with an ear to ear grin.
Next Stop was Faribault Municipal Airport, KFBL. The first pilot to fly the Super Sport was Bob Peasley. Bob is a friend and one of our preferred flight instructors for check outs and ferry flights who also owns a Super Decathlon which I might add, he is very fond of. Whats not to like about a Super Decathlon!! After an airline career and being a flight instructor for many years Bob is the go to guy around the Faribault Airport for flight instruction, check outs and plain old good advice. After throwing Bob the keys we asked him to give his impressions of the Super Sport Cub and here is what he had to say;
Nov. 23, 09
Hi Ben:
I want to thank you for the opportunity to fly the Light Sport Super Cub last Saturday. It is a very impressive airplane. Due to limited time I did not do a detailed examination of the outside, paint etc. I was more interested in the flying qualities but my first impression of the out side was that it was very nicely done. In descending order here are a few of my impressions of the airplane.
The take off acceleration and climb are very impressive as should be expected with this weight power ratio.
The ease of entry & exit for this old guy was way better than a “real” Cub or Husky, even with the big Tundra tires. The cabin was most comfortable for me at 6’2” and 225 lbs.
It handled much better than I was expecting. It felt and handled like a much heavier airplane. The control harmony was very nice and the controls were more effective than I expected. As you know there was about a 50 degree cross wind gusting to 18-19 knots. I made my first take off at about a 30 degree angle across the runway to reduce the angle. My plan was to make an attempt to land on the same runway but I expected that the wind would be to strong. Thus I would go around and land on the other runway pointed right into the wind. It turned out to be unnecessary. The airplane was fully capable of handling a 50 degree cross wind at 18 knots. At no time during my 3 landings with 1 notch, 2 notches and full flaps did I ever feel uncomfortable and consider going around. Very impressive for a 1320 lb airplane in this wind!
The engine was very smooth and again gave the plane the feel of something heavier than 1320 lbs. It was very smooth & responsive to small power changes made on landing approach in rough air. Owners will surly be happy with a 2400 hour TBO!
There are a lot of options for glass cockpit panels and I am not real familiar with the various options. However I did like what I saw in this airplane. The panel was nicely laid out. As much as I hate to say it I like the switch locations better than Champion.
About the only negative comment would be the control stick. I definitely like the Champion stick better as it is bigger, more of a handful. Also the stick location was just slightly uncomfortable for me. It seemed like I had to reach a little forward all the time and could not rest my forearm on my leg as I do in the Champ.
All in all I think this would be a very good airplane for a new tail wheel pilot; especially as far as landing. Things happen very fast on take off which can be controlled by using reduced power on take off when learning. I also think it is a very versatile airplane for a pilot wanting lots of fun with fair cruise speed and range for the famous $100.00 burger. I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to do some tail wheel training in one of these and learn more about it.
Regards,
Bob Peasley Lonsdale, MN
Hi Ben:
I want to thank you for the opportunity to fly the Light Sport Super Cub last Saturday. It is a very impressive airplane. Due to limited time I did not do a detailed examination of the outside, paint etc. I was more interested in the flying qualities but my first impression of the out side was that it was very nicely done. In descending order here are a few of my impressions of the airplane.
The take off acceleration and climb are very impressive as should be expected with this weight power ratio.
The ease of entry & exit for this old guy was way better than a “real” Cub or Husky, even with the big Tundra tires. The cabin was most comfortable for me at 6’2” and 225 lbs.
It handled much better than I was expecting. It felt and handled like a much heavier airplane. The control harmony was very nice and the controls were more effective than I expected. As you know there was about a 50 degree cross wind gusting to 18-19 knots. I made my first take off at about a 30 degree angle across the runway to reduce the angle. My plan was to make an attempt to land on the same runway but I expected that the wind would be to strong. Thus I would go around and land on the other runway pointed right into the wind. It turned out to be unnecessary. The airplane was fully capable of handling a 50 degree cross wind at 18 knots. At no time during my 3 landings with 1 notch, 2 notches and full flaps did I ever feel uncomfortable and consider going around. Very impressive for a 1320 lb airplane in this wind!
The engine was very smooth and again gave the plane the feel of something heavier than 1320 lbs. It was very smooth & responsive to small power changes made on landing approach in rough air. Owners will surly be happy with a 2400 hour TBO!
There are a lot of options for glass cockpit panels and I am not real familiar with the various options. However I did like what I saw in this airplane. The panel was nicely laid out. As much as I hate to say it I like the switch locations better than Champion.
About the only negative comment would be the control stick. I definitely like the Champion stick better as it is bigger, more of a handful. Also the stick location was just slightly uncomfortable for me. It seemed like I had to reach a little forward all the time and could not rest my forearm on my leg as I do in the Champ.
All in all I think this would be a very good airplane for a new tail wheel pilot; especially as far as landing. Things happen very fast on take off which can be controlled by using reduced power on take off when learning. I also think it is a very versatile airplane for a pilot wanting lots of fun with fair cruise speed and range for the famous $100.00 burger. I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to do some tail wheel training in one of these and learn more about it.
Regards,
Bob Peasley Lonsdale, MN
Bob has summed up the Super Sport pretty well for those of you who were more interested in the opinion of a pilot rather than the salesman!
After the FBL flights we also visited three private grass strips in the area, two with homes and one that will remain our undisclosed location for short and unimproved field demonstrations. If your interested in taking a demo flight yourself to see first hand the amazing performance give us a call to arrange for one and see for yourself what this little animal is capable of!
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