Mapleflt wrote:Sorry to have implied anything, yes the pace is clearly yours to set in the process.

No, no!! Please… I welcome all the thoughts and ideas. This is part of the fun. I’m really interested in all ideas and feedback.

This might be a fun thread to spitball dreams.

Modern cubs seem as much an expressionistic endeavor as anything else. I’m pretty sure (as others have said,) there ain’t no right answer.

I’m here to share and to learn.

Given the current exchange rate of the USD to CDN you might want to consider the North Star offered by Custom Flight Ltd. in Canada. There's one that operates on floats locally and it's a reasonable looking Cub-esque airplane, it's on a set of CAP2000's I believe with an 0-320 under the hood. That said the pre-fab Javeron airframe would a huge sell point in my decision making process.

The Backcountry Cubs kit looks very well developed and the "optional" pivoting/hinged leading edge slats really get my attention.

Mapleflt wrote:…you might want to consider...

It’s quite possible the die has been cast…

It sounds like you might have settled on the Javron, very nice it will be a work of art in your hands

daedaluscan wrote:…I feel your first 170 build was hugely innovative and influential- I know I’ve copied a lot from it.

I really appreciate you saying that. That bird was a learning project for sure, and certainly formative for me.

I had a LOT of mentorship, many here (you know who you are) never hesitated to pick up the phone, or lend a hand to point me in the right direction, share a simple trick, or as it were, save me from myself. LOL

It’s for this reason that it might be fun to help Zzz reboot the cub chatter. Who knows, we all might learn a nugget or two?

Oh oh, Cub chatter might be like borrowing a buddies driver at the golf course for "one" try, it gets very expensive.

What an intense, but impressive day at Javron.

Jay. Zane, and myself.

I’d say your “all in”, hook, line & sinker looking forward to watching it all come together in your very capable hands lots of pictures please

I drove 2.5 hours from northeast to central MN today to meet Big Renna for his tour of the Javron factory, which is located in the town of Brainerd. I couldn't have imagined a more tidy, well-run operation. It was a really fun and inspiring time...made me want to do a more excellent job on the Bearhawk.

Big Renna getting some sort of demo from owner Jay DeRosier on this laser cut aluminum part.


Javron began as a machine shop so they have plentiful 3-axis machines, press brakes, even flat bed laser cutters.






The fabrication shop.

A giant copy of the plans lords over the scene, bouquets of TIG filler rod and tungsten.



Even the scraps have a certain aesthetic.



No fiber phenolic pulleys here. They machine their own aluminum versions,




Jay's personal aircraft being assembled.


How to manage three-dimensional space for components in a Super Cub. Nice under-seat storage box, with carbon-fiber sandwich board seat structure.


Simple, modern. Garmin G3X. I was really enamored with the aluminum hydraulic fluid reservoir and folding pump handle.




The engine is partially assembled. They build their own engines in-house from Titan parts/kits.





Parts and packing.







Customer kits ready to go out the door.





I forgot to ask but this looks like some sort of cable measuring board. There was a bench mounted Nicopress unit nearby.




Not a bad little Friday. Thanks again to Jay and crew for showing us around.

Greg and I parted ways…he’s headed to AK and I headed back to the Iron Range, but not before I treated myself to Chik ‘n Rice. This is Midwest Thai food. 3 stars.

Good write-up Zane, I enjoy every visit to Jay's shop!

Awesome thread, good write-up Zane. I've been impressed with the Javron since Bill Rusk started his documentation over on SC.

Exactly when did Greg turn into a middle aged dad? Now I feel old, great.

Can't wait to see the Hrens show up at my place in a nice shiny (satin) cub during their 2028 tour of the PNW...

Halestorm wrote:Exactly when did Greg turn into a middle aged dad? Now I feel old, great.

Hahahaha. I ask myself that question every day!

Zane and I really did have a great morning with Jay. Such a nice guy.

Couple more pics from the day.

Thanks for the photo walk-thru that's an incredible set-up, very cool.

I'm currently in build with a javron kit. I have a build thread over at sc.org called "yes, another javron cub" or something like that. Standard width, square wings, upper baggage, two baggage doors, grove wheels and brakes, extended tail surfaces all came in the kit. Standard flap handle, extended gear. I added grove brake cylinders, vetterman exhaust, titan o370 carbd, std compression engine, b&c 20 amp or so alternator,. My panel will be garmin g3x with remote transponder and Com. There won't be any normal gauges, I'll go thru the g3x for everything. Zero complaints about kit build quality. We did have a wrong front seat which Jay corrected quickly. Jay is a super nice and helpful guy but can sometimes be hard to get ahold of. Unless anything has changed, the best way is to call the shop and have somebody find him for you. Also, if nothing has changed, lead time will be about double whatever you are told. They may be getting better on that, don't know. I got my kit two years ago. It took about 18 months or so to receive after ordering. There are lots of resources out there. One of the best is supercubproject.com. Known as bugsy, he has most of the Piper cub drawings online for download. I'm a regular visitor to his site. I thank him almost everyday but he probably doesn't know that. Jay can also give you contact details to a builders group if you are so inclined.

Wayne

c180pilot wrote:I'm currently in build with a javron kit…

Thanks Wayne. I’d love to see some pics. Perhaps a thread here on BCP?

As I mentioned at the onset, I’t be great to see some more cub content here on BCP, especially with it being such a welcoming community.

It’d be great to learn more about your choices!

Let's see. Standard width- I'm not a big guy and other times when I flew super cubs it didn't feel particularly tight and it is slightly lighter. Square wings because I like the look, slightly more wing area. Extended tail surfaces should give more control authority which I figure can't be too bad. Grove brake cylinders because they just make beautiful stuff and I wanted heel brakes. Standard flap handle, well, I drive a 180 with a floor mounted flap handle so it's no big adjustment for me and I just don't want stuff cluttering up the view. I also have long ape arms so it's not too far to reach. I tend to be frugal (read cheap) and vetterman exhaust is less than half the cost of rubbert or Sutton. Plus I like the look better and the quality is excellent. Titan o370 cuz mo powa. Carb'd and std compression so I can run car gas if I need. By the way, the engine may take as long to get as the kit itself so don't wait too long on ordering one.[attachment=0]20250502_132248.jpg[/attachment] here's my painted fuselage.

Wayne

c180pilot wrote:Let's see. Standard width…

Nice. I’m wrestling with this choice, and I know there will be many many more… but I suppose thats the fun!

Engine I already have. My goal is simple and middle ground, so I’ll hang a wide deck O-320 A2B. Prob goose it just a touch, but nothing over the top.

Great choice. Precision interchangeable with Cub parts. Can’t go wrong.

Ok... just got back from Ak from the show... it was a whirlwind strike, but back to reality.

Here's my update: On Fri, with Zane holding my delicate hand, I handed over a deposit for a cub kit to Jay.

Jay said I should expect "a year," and I'm cool with that. Fact is that even if I could go out tomorrow and drive a kit home, I don't have the space (now) nor the time. The timing should work out perfectly as I have one 170B restomod in the shop, and one to do as soon as thats done. I should be able to deliver one Cessna, finally get my Wagon back up in the air, then move the SC kit into my personal hangar to start nibbling at.

Again, my timeline is sloooowww. My boy is turning 9 this summer, and we'd like to have it ready at the very latest for his 14th birthday. So no drama... nice and easy timeline. If it's done sooner, than yahtzee, if not, no drama.

I knew this before I flew out, but what really made me go with Jay was his kind and even demeanor. He was just nice. I know that may sound hokey, but I got a really good feeling. This, BTW, is the same feeling I had gotten every single time I had crossed paths in the past. OSH, the Airmen Show, etc... he was never pushy and just wanted to be helpful. I liked this.

FWIW, he did say that there were 35 guys ahead of me, and that he's turning out about one kit a week... A WEEK! Pretty impressive.

Its actually one of the compelling reasons (for me anyway) to go with the Javron kit. If he's actually dialed it in so fine that he can keep that tempo while producing quality parts, he's obviously worked out the kinks.

Anyway... now it's up to me to start researching as there are a ton of choices.

One of the things I was keen on examining were all the variations of cubs up in AK. Round/square/flap up, flap down, trim up/trim down... bungees, shocks, heel/toe, standard/3", on and on and on.

What's really exciting for me is the fact that I get to be a noob again. Of course I dont want to make a wrong decision, but the nice thing is that Im old enough not to get too riled up. Perfect is the enemy of the good, so this will be my mantra.

Engine: locked in. 160hp O-320.
1st decision: narrow body, or wide (4" more)

And thanks to those that have reached out via DM and I've talked to on the phone. I'm enjoying all the opinions.