I don't think you will find a 150-160 cub under 1,000 lbs. 13 rib wing, , Wood prop, no extended baggage, no belly pod, no under seat storage. ag cub with no rear stick, no elec, stock airframe, loose header tanks, small single bolt tailwheel, 11/4 axles, would help but I think it would still be over 1000 lbs. The big wheels and HD gear come at a price. But add all the above together and you should have a very big smile on your face!!!!
DENNY

Hey Denny, this mint green one in Sidney, MT is 160 hp and sub 1,000 lbs. (no electric and 4 inch wheels)

Well there you go, the sutton exhaust helps to. Is that stock gear or HD
DENNY

HD gear (note the extra gussets), also blimp tyres. What kind of disc brakes? The stock 4" were internal expander tubes. And that weight seems significantly lighter than I've seen on similar Supercubs; not that it's impossible, but....

Thanks. cubscout

cubscout wrote:HD gear (note the extra gussets), also blimp tyres. What kind of disc brakes? The stock 4" were internal expander tubes. And that weight seems significantly lighter than I've seen on similar Supercubs; not that it's impossible, but....

Thanks. cubscout

Nope, those tires are Goodyear Airwheels in 25 X 11 X 4 inch. Those tires are the "original" "tundra tires". And great tires they are. It's amazing there are still some around, they've been out of production for thirty years I'm guessing.

I'm guessing the brakes are Grove conversions to the original Goodrich 4 inch wheels.

As to a SC at less than 1000 pounds as Denny says, it's tough. The only sub 1000 pound SC I've flown was pretty much like that green one: No electrics, no mods to speak of, and no interior at all. Not a real practical plane in some ways, but it performed. It was 930 empty. You sat on some of your survival gear, because there were no seat cushions.

Any Super Cub I owned would definitely add the Atlee Dodge underseat battery. Yes, it moves the CG forward a bit, but it's definitely doable even empty. And yes, I've flown a number of them so equipped. That mod is essential to light weight unless you want to forego an electrical system.

I think a realistic and practical empty weight is anything under 1100 pounds. To get there, you'll probably have to use stock 13 rib wings and keep the mods to a minimum.

Why are rebuilt Cubs selling for $125 K? Price a new Top Cub, or Husky or Carbon Cub........there you're looking at $240,000 plus. And, if you look at those two that Kevin posted, they are effectively brand new airplanes.....new airframe, new fabric, etc. they're a whole lot better bargain than any of the new airplanes.

Kevin,

The Dakota wings are excellent. They are heavy, though. I suspect the weight you noted is for the square tip wings with the slots. Those wings really hang on at high AOA. I flew the prototype Super 18 with those wings, and they are to write home about. But, they are heavy....they've been tested to 2300 pounds plus.

As others have said, it may be easier to go really light with an experimental cub. So many of the production rebuilds wind up with every mod in the book, and every one of those adds weight. Do you really need the third seat conversion, for example? Are you really going to carry 180 pounds in the main baggage compt? If you're a moose hunter, maybe, but I've hauled moose in a Cub without the third seat conversion with no problem.

Mods equal weight. I'm betting that green one is almost bone stock.

MTV

Also, the gussets work. They keep the gear from bending. I've seen one that slid down a hill sideways on 35's. Bent the axle. The rest of the gear was fine.
As far as fuse mods, X brace over head, and X or H brace in the tail. If your doing any off airport stuff you need this. You will bend your tail, swinging it around. It doesn't take much. It will mess up your day.
I have herd of two cubs that are way way nose heavy. Check your cg before you decide the under seat battery.

Like others have said, think about the mods. You (I) don't need 180lb baggage. I'm not going to carry a third person, and that's what you have the 180 for. Are you going on floats? If not, no need for fittings. I have the atlee extended baggage, and cub crafters baggage door. It's great. In a pinch you can sleep in the plane. The baggage door is great for getting stuff out of the baggage and ext baggage. X brace over head is a must. If you get in a wreck, the rear carry through will collapse. And that's right where the rear passenger will be sitting. Stock wings with vg's work great. I've herd good things about the cub crafters gap seals. Also safety cables. They work too.

mtv wrote:Nope, those tires are Goodyear Airwheels in 25 X 11 X 4 inch. Those tires are the "original" "tundra tires". And great tires they are. It's amazing there are still some around, they've been out of production for thirty years I'm guessing.

I'm guessing the brakes are Grove conversions to the original Goodrich 4 inch wheels.

So the wheels are more like 22" in reality? Just applying the Goodyear ruler

They do appear to be Grove brakes from the look of them (mounted upside down, albeit) - good guess.

If I had to think really , really hard.... and that's might hurt... about the absolute one piece of advice I'd give a guy who wanted an ultra fun cub. This would be it;

Do not be 'the man in the middle'!

I mean don't compromise! If you want an absolute rip snorting load hauling brute, 160hp and stock wings ain't gonna cut it. Heck 180 hp is really just the minimum ante here... Barnstormers new ride is a really great example of cubs in this category, and no way no how is 160 piper winged cub gonna even come close to comparing. An experimental Carbon done right will do it, but it'll cost...

On the other end of the spectrum is the sweet flyers. (sorry Barn... I really mean no offense by this, but slatted planes do not fit my definition of a sweet flying wing, they do AMAZING things for sure! but they have a very unnatural flight charecteristic to me ) The reason you hear the old salts talking about how sweet a 90 hp cub flies isn't magic... hell it's the exact same fuselage, wings and tail as it's big brothers..(well ok there are 3 extra ribs, and two extra tubes...) externally, and dimensionally identical!

The reason these light cubs are such an absolute joy to fly is because they are LIGHT and CG'd appropriately.

Hang a set of 35's on a 150hp cub, and it's going to be a pig. Do up a set of Dakota wings with extended leading edges and dual lights, extra wires for strobes, then load up the panel with a big CC square job, stack in a HD windshield, HD 3" gear 6 bolt clevlands, heavy CC seats, a belly pod, X braced tail and top deck, under baggage x for the third set etc, etc, etc and you are going to have a turd...

The other side of that coin is when you try and build a snorter, and skimp... You go into those knowing you're going to weight 1200#'s or more... Plan accordingly (long wings, big engine, and big prop) and you'll more than compensate for the extra weight. Try and skimp and you'll be disappointed with a brute of an engine that is in a body that flies like a brick. Every top cub I've flown pretty much fits that bill... pulls stumps, but flies like a pig...

There are only two kind of folks who don't notice the extra weight or screwed CG in a cub... Those that are so good they can make a pig shine, and those who are so inexperienced they really haven't learn the nuances. BTW, if that last statement sounds a bit prima donna, you're reading too much into it, we've all been at ground zero, and we all have plenty to learn yet, and me more than most

Take care, Rob


Wait! Wait, Wait... that's all almost true... the best advice? Take a level to the pre buy and measure the cub up. If it doesn't measure really good, walk. You can do a whole new engine for what you'll spend cutting loose the top deck and sliding it back if the AOI is not right, and many aren't. Few are OK, and even fewer are wrong in the direction that makes them better than stock...