Hi all,.
Long time lurker, small time poster I'm currently a 50hr sport pilot with about 90% of my flight time in a 65hp J3 Cub. I'm currently doing some restoration work on it and plan to sell it in the coming months. I would like to get something faster and with a bit more "pop" so I can do some backcountry flying. Being as I live in south Texas, I have ZERO experience with mountain flying. I would like to fly into Johnson Creek and other strips in the near future...prob take my g/f along.
I'd like to keep my next airplane purchase in the $25k range and therefore am looking at a C85 Luscombe for speed and utility. Are there any other options I should be looking at that has good speed (100+mph cruise), decent climb, and baggage space in the $25k range?

I'd buy a Kitfox IV with a Rotax 912. 1200lb gross wt 115mph cruise and will literally fly circles around Luscombe. You get a nicely equipped one for 25K

I agree with Avidflyer. I recently went for a ride in a nice Kitfox and was definitely impressed. They are a little 'tight' but heck, its your girlfriend so you shouldn't mind if she is close.
You can find a pretty nice Kitfox for $25K with a little looking. A Rans is another option although they generally bring much more than $25K

The luscombe is faster than the cub, but it isn't a great back country plane. An 85 HP Taylorcraft is in your price range, and in my very humble, and unbiased opinion, they make a respectable back country airplane.

I'm a little biased but I would 3rd the kitfox model IV. They have the same shoulder room as a 152. With the bubble doors they are a little roomier. Or just fly with the doors open. What's the matter Keith I've flown with lot bigger guys than you and they never complained. I must not have showered or something.

I'd agree with the notion that the Luscombe isn't that great a backcountry airplane. They do fly faster, and are VERY nice airplanes for many things.

If you're really interested in backcountry flying, you already have a nearly ideal platform to build on...the J-3.

You said you're going to "freshen up" the Cub and sell it. Why not REALLY freshen it up, and keep it? Trade the 65 hp for a 85 or 90 Continental, or even an O-200 first off. You won't go faster, but your takeoff and climb will amaze you.

Secondly, adding wing tanks, getting rid of the nose tank and installing a PA-11 windshield will increase your cruise speed by 5 to 7 KNOTS, and will extend your endurance to bladder busting ranges. You'll have some money in those mods, no doubt, BUT you'll also have a VERY saleable airplane (which the Luscombe can't come close to matching the desireability of the J-3) and one that outperforms the Luscombe in climb and takeoff/landing, and is only a few mph slower.

I owned a 90 hp J-3 with these mods at one time, and it was the BEST off airport airplane I've ever flown, bar none. The speed wasn't that great, but the gas mileage and performance were just fantastic. Wish I still owned it.

MTV

Foxflyer (Nick),
You had me LMAO!!! Nah, you weren't smelly! I guess I have just gotten so used to flying tandem aircraft that anything SxS seems tight. Heck even my 172 seems tight afer flying the Champ or S-7.
By the way TexasNick, it was FoxFlyers Kitfox I recently rode in. I have been looking at one that is in need of a rebuild but the price is right. I like the option of the folding wing and being able to trailer it with ease if I needed to.

Also, what MTV says was actually must first thought also in you keeping the J-3 but then I figured you had a reason for wanting to sell it. I love the J-3 but it is so uncomfortable for me to sit in for any length of time (back issue) that I would only have one for very short flights. But modified as Mike says they are a blast to fly and would serve your purpose well. As he states though, they are no speed demon but then the pure joy of flying is what it is all about for me and that means more time in the air.
Taylorcrafts are also a great plane, actually probably one of the fastest (if you want to call them that) small planes out there for the HP.
Taylorcrafts can generally be picked up for a lot less than most of these other small tail draggers.
Good Luck.
Keith

Thanks for the advice, especially to MTV for giving me second thoughts on the J3. I just know that adding the mods MTV mentioned, I may as well look for a PA11 (did anyone see the nice one that sold quickly in Barnstormers for 30k? It included floats, too!) I'd love to stick with the Cub platform. It's just getting to the backcountry strips in a J3..well....it takes time How often will I travel? Once a year? Once every two years? I don't know, part of the problem is living so far away from the bush. Being a federal employee, maybe I can transfer closer to Idaho? Wait 'till I tell the g/f that one...she's from UTAH...hummm...

So many things to think about....but I do know that I'll regret selling the Cub if it comes to that.

I fly with a buddy who has a J3 with a c90 and a climb prop he can get off just like me. It takes forever to get anywhere I generally cruise 110 indicated he cruises wide open at 75mph.

Even folks from the Luscombe forum don't recommend them for back country. They are perfect though on a level grass strip. In keeping with MTVs comments I wonder about doing all that stuff and adding the PA-11 pressure cowl. Seems to me other than gross weight you then have nearly a super cub. My wife's uncle in AK flew a 90 hp PA-11 in the bush for years. He called it his favorite airplane. He had 33,000 hours when he finally lost his medical. In other words he flew them all.

Have an 85 horse Luscombe... and I have to agree with the others. Not the backcountry machine.
Great for tailwheel proficiency... and economical as well.
Kitfox might really suit your needs instead. I found my Luscombe in a Calif. hangar not being used... and the price was right. If I need to get into a short strip, I take the C182A. Plenty of power and the nose wheel is up higher than most.
Hope everyone's advice has helped rather than confused you !!!!

I have a 85hp Luscombe and fly it in the Idaho Backcountry all the time. It is definitely a compromise but it works for me. T-craft of J-3 would be better. You can't legally get a 85hp Luscombe in the Light sport category. You can do it if you play in the gray area but it isn't 100% legal. A friend has a 65hp Luscombe and he can put a cruise prop on it and travel as fast as I do but takes a lot of runway to get off the ground. At 5000msl and gross I need 800ft; he would need at least twice that.

I've been flying Idaho for 6 years with my Luscombe; my grandpa flew Idaho for 20 years with his 65hp Luscombe...so it is totally doable you just have to know your limits. I'll probably never make it to Vines or Simonds or Lower Loon but I'm ok with that.

If I were you I'd keep the cub. If your set on selling the cub then I'd buy a t-craft....but I'd never sell my Luscombe to buy a cub or a T-craft.

Well... what goes around comes around I guess. A few weeks ago MTV agreed with me, now it's my turn to agree with him. Wholeheartedly, matter of fact. I've had 4 Taylorcrafts, two with 85HP, and a J-3 with 75 HP. Either one would be a great back country plane with 85-100 HP.

But you're starting with the Cub, and so if you just keep the Cub you already know and love, put more power on the front, and do whichever PA-11 mods that the Cub experts recommend, you will have an absolute blast of an airplane. There will be very very few places that the full-out Monster Cubs can go that you can't. And when the time comes to re-cover the wings you can put in the PA-18 flap system as an STC upgrade I believe.

As soon as you can get that fuel OUT of the cockpit, the better off you will be. Flying from the front is much better, and the 5-7 knots of speed won't exactly be unwelcome in a Cub.

But the biggie is safety. MANY people have been lost in otherwise completely survivable accidents because it was more convenient for the designer to put the #($%*# fuel in the cabin. But we now know that fuel in the cockpit is just un-necessarily risky for no real gain.

If you keep the Cub and "bush it out" (Pimp My Cub TV show?), you will also have a very solid investment in return for your restoration and upgrade money.

Hey thanks for that feedback, Whee (btw, I sent you a PM).

Well, I never considered a T-craft....and just today I finally opened the hangar door next to me and there's a 1946 T-craft (BC12-D?) sitting there! I have yet to see the owner....maybe he can let me fly it a bit since it's LSA compatible. How fast do these T-crafts normally cruise? I just checked Barnstormers and it seems most go for 18-20k. Is that right? If so, I'd probably put an 85 on it with the extra money.

I also may consider the J3 -> PA11 conversion.

Thanks again, guys.

I agree....
With MTV.

I have a 90 hp J-3/pa11 that I fly-and like a whole bunch! It would be faster (a little) if I had a cruise prop instead of a very flat seaplane prop, but I like acceleration and climb. I went to JC this year for the fly in it. It does very well in the back country, but it is a tad slow. I just tell myself "I like to fly, and slow gives me more of it!".

lc

There is a PIX in the JC photos on the JC thread of my white Cub with me napping under the wing.
It is not pregnant-it has a fuel belly pod.

For $25K there is also the PA-20 or PA-22/20. They can make a good backcountry plane.

He's looking at LSA compliant aircraft. Sport Pilot. The Pacer isn't.

MTV