How does the Husky compare to a Carbon Cub?

Two very different beasts: “Carbon Cub” can mean a lot of different things.

Big difference: Carbon Cub isn’t certificated

MTV

I guess I should do some research before I ask, I know nothing about the various Cub offerings, hence my question and the use of Carbon cub to identify the products offered by CubCrafters. But according to CubCrafters website, the XCub is Part 23 certificated. The specs they claim are pretty impressive for a Cub type aircraft:

http://cubcrafters.com/xcub

It appears that the Husky A-1C and the XCub perform fairly similarly. Anyone here has flown both?

DeltaRomeo wrote:I guess I should do some research before I ask, I know nothing about the various Cub offerings, hence my question and the use of Carbon cub to identify the products offered by CubCrafters. But according to CubCrafters website, the XCub is Part 23 certificated. The specs they claim are pretty impressive for a Cub type aircraft:

http://cubcrafters.com/xcub

It appears that the Husky A-1C and the XCub perform fairly similarly. Anyone here has flown both?

Which was my point....folks refer to the X Cub as a Carbon Cub, but with CC aircraft, you have to be specific.

I have not flown an X Cub, so can't offer comparisons to the Husky. Cub Crafters has incorporated some of the features of the Husky, such as better ailerons, more robust fuselage structure, constant speed prop, etc into the X Cub.

I have heard great reviews of the performance of the X Cubs (and the Carbon Cubs before), and CC seems to be selling the things about as fast as they build them, so......

MTV

I had quite a gap in experience with the Husky. I looked at one on my field when I was in Florida when the initial offering was put out in the last century. There where also a smattering of Cubs on the field (Private grass strip). I found the two comparable in many respects, but the Husky was cheaper in price from most similar equipped Cubs and considerably newer. There is kind of this Cub tax on the name "Cub." I always found them overpriced for what they actually did.

Now fast forward to last weekend and I went out in my buds new to him, but quite young (2009) Husky -C on floats. What a difference. The -C model build quality was quite high compared to the original. A lot more attention to detail. Belts and seats are really comfortable. The panel is nicely thought out and well constructed. It flies very nicely, of course, being on floats it is not quick, but I found its handling to be quite nice.

So my summation. Look to what you want to actually do (what you do 90% of the time). See if the stock one does what you want or if you need performance only provided by mods, see if it applies to both or only one. Both aircraft have innumerable STC's and options. There is quite a difference on the original Husky and what is presently being built. As MTV pointed out, there can be a big difference in empty weight of the same (ostensibly) aircraft. Aircraft are still hand built, so they vary. The difference may be between hauling a moose or a muskrat out. I think Cubs are overpriced for what they are, but its what some people want. I am surprised about some folks insurance quotes. My bud had no issues on insurance on his and it was inline with class and hull value. There is a bang for your buck aspect to the Husky and they tend to be overall newer with less cloudy history in logbooks and aircraft that belonged to a Leroy at one time over the last several decades. Cubs that have emerged from barns after a decade or three slumber in the hay, sketchy.

I’ve always and a thing for Huskies but unfortunately have never had the chance to fly one. The local FBO used to be a dealer for them so I’ve drooled on them quite a bit. Sure seems like fine airplane to me. I met the factory test pilot earlier this year. He happily chatted with me for quite a while offering pointers on what was my upcoming test flight. I’d call up the factory and ask to talk with the test pilot.

One time I was camped next to a Husky during Elk season. I was impressed when the two guys loaded up their comforable camp took off for home. I was sure they couldn’t fit it all but somehow they crammed it all in; the baggage compartment was stacked to the ceiling.

This has me thinking... I guess I always assumed them to be a Cub competitor but the more I look at them it’s more like a 2 place Maule. Little faster, higher gross but still gets in and out fairly short. This might be the ticket for my mission.

I got the Wagon thinking the family would go but nope!

That sucks about the family not wanting to fly. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes. IMO a wagon isn’t the plane I’d choose to fly around solo in. A Husky would be high on my list.

I hate to be “that guy” but I’d take a look at the Bearhawk Patrol too since stopping in Austin to fly the factory demo plane wouldn’t be too far out of your way.

TxAgfisher wrote:This has me thinking... I guess I always assumed them to be a Cub competitor but the more I look at them it’s more like a 2 place Maule. Little faster, higher gross but still gets in and out fairly short. This might be the ticket for my mission.

I got the Wagon thinking the family would go but nope!

The company's initial intention was to put PA-18's back in to production. They knew that there was a good market for these airplanes which Piper had stopped building. This was in the mid 1980s.

Piper would not license the PA-18 to be produced in the Afton Wyoming facility, so Herb Anderson, who was the plant manager at the time proposed developing and certifying a similar, but a more modern and improved version of the Supercub. They built the Husky A-1, which was a 1800 lb gross airplane. The early A-1 Huskies were light. They have gotten more powerful, fancier and fatter, as they have added practically every scrotum-tickler and nut-scratcher invented over the last 25 years.

It is a great design. The Husky will run alongside Cubs in most operations and run away from Cubs in others. If extreme short and rough field operations with short legs define your mission, the Cub is probably better for you. The Husky will hold its own in the short and rough though. If a little more speed and range are attractive and you will not be landing on bowling ball size rocks, the Husky is a fine choice as a gentleman's bush plane.

I wouldn't overlook the ACA Scout as another attractive option. They hold a whopping 70 gallons of fuel, and have the most comfortable cabin in the class IMO.

whee wrote:I hate to be “that guy” but I’d take a look at the Bearhawk Patrol too since stopping in Austin to fly the factory demo plane wouldn’t be too far out of your way.

X 2 on this suggestion. I owned a C180 for 20 years and lost it in a hangar fire. I wanted to build a Patrol with the insurance money but I decided to build a Rans S7, mainly because I wanted to be back in the air as soon as possible. I knew the Patrol would be a much more difficult build, which it is, the S7 is a relatively easy build. I was flying it after 2 years of building. I was still considering building a Patrol, now that I had the S7. Luck was in my corner and I came across a flying Patrol for sale and bought it. Sold the S7 and haven’t looked back.

My C180 life was similar to yours, mostly solo and the family losing interest. A 180 is in a class of its own but it’s not that great for just flying around the patch. This is where the Patrol shines. It is an absolute blast to fly, I can’t get enough of it. When I hit the road I estimate 128 mph tas on 31” Dessers with my fixed pitch prop. I would build it with a constant speed prop and would expect to see 145 mph tas on the 31s. Flush riveted metal wing with a single lift strut. Take a look at the Patrol and keep your eyes on Barnstormers and the Bearhawk forum if you are interested. A very nicely equipped Patrol was just sold a couple of months ago on Barnstormers. That’s only the second one I’ve personally seen for sale but there are quite a few being built.

Keep the 180 and build a Patrol kit from avipro, that’s what I would do. Take on 2 or 3 partners in the 180 but keep the Patrol for yourself. Bottom line, The Patrol is a sweet flyer and extremely capable. Opinion only.

Mike

I just looked at the TCDS for the Cub Crafters certificated planes.

If it matters, those planes are listed as Day/Night VFR.

The Husky is Day/Night VFR and IFR

And you don’t just add some radios to make a part 23 airplane IFR certified.

MTV

Just read through this thread. I have not flown a Husky, so no input on that. I have been flying the Top Cub that MTV mentioned, as we have replaced pretty much all the federal tandems in Alaska with the CC18s. The gross is 2300, and with the huge tanks and the flat prop it was capable of handling an entire day without refueling but was still very slow.

The recently acquired airframes have come with the Hartzell Voyager CS prop though. Those cubs fly significantly faster in cruise, though I do not know how they compare to Husky cruise speeds. The fixed pitch aircraft are all slated to get modded to the CS at overhaul, or at least that is the impression I had.

The added speed is 10 to 20 mph depending how hard you run it. Cruises between 100 and 110 mph.

mpm wrote:

whee wrote:I hate to be “that guy” but I’d take a look at the Bearhawk Patrol too since stopping in Austin to fly the factory demo plane wouldn’t be too far out of your way.

X 2 on this suggestion. I owned a C180 for 20 years and lost it in a hangar fire. I wanted to build a Patrol with the insurance money but I decided to build a Rans S7, mainly because I wanted to be back in the air as soon as possible. I knew the Patrol would be a much more difficult build, which it is, the S7 is a relatively easy build. I was flying it after 2 years of building. I was still considering building a Patrol, now that I had the S7. Luck was in my corner and I came across a flying Patrol for sale and bought it. Sold the S7 and haven’t looked back.

My C180 life was similar to yours, mostly solo and the family losing interest. A 180 is in a class of its own but it’s not that great for just flying around the patch. This is where the Patrol shines. It is an absolute blast to fly, I can’t get enough of it. When I hit the road I estimate 128 mph tas on 31” Dessers with my fixed pitch prop. I would build it with a constant speed prop and would expect to see 145 mph tas on the 31s. Flush riveted metal wing with a single lift strut. Take a look at the Patrol and keep your eyes on Barnstormers and the Bearhawk forum if you are interested. A very nicely equipped Patrol was just sold a couple of months ago on Barnstormers. That’s only the second one I’ve personally seen for sale but there are quite a few being built.

Keep the 180 and build a Patrol kit from avipro, that’s what I would do. Take on 2 or 3 partners in the 180 but keep the Patrol for yourself. Bottom line, The Patrol is a sweet flyer and extremely capable. Opinion only.

Mike

I think your expected speed with a CS prop is right. I can't seem to find the pic of the guy's EFIS but it show'd him flying his Patrol, which is on 31s, at 5600msl, at like 60% power (8gph) with a TAS of 140mph.

whee wrote:

mpm wrote:

whee wrote:I hate to be “that guy” but I’d take a look at the Bearhawk Patrol too since stopping in Austin to fly the factory demo plane wouldn’t be too far out of your way.

X 2 on this suggestion. I owned a C180 for 20 years and lost it in a hangar fire. I wanted to build a Patrol with the insurance money but I decided to build a Rans S7, mainly because I wanted to be back in the air as soon as possible. I knew the Patrol would be a much more difficult build, which it is, the S7 is a relatively easy build. I was flying it after 2 years of building. I was still considering building a Patrol, now that I had the S7. Luck was in my corner and I came across a flying Patrol for sale and bought it. Sold the S7 and haven’t looked back.

My C180 life was similar to yours, mostly solo and the family losing interest. A 180 is in a class of its own but it’s not that great for just flying around the patch. This is where the Patrol shines. It is an absolute blast to fly, I can’t get enough of it. When I hit the road I estimate 128 mph tas on 31” Dessers with my fixed pitch prop. I would build it with a constant speed prop and would expect to see 145 mph tas on the 31s. Flush riveted metal wing with a single lift strut. Take a look at the Patrol and keep your eyes on Barnstormers and the Bearhawk forum if you are interested. A very nicely equipped Patrol was just sold a couple of months ago on Barnstormers. That’s only the second one I’ve personally seen for sale but there are quite a few being built.

Keep the 180 and build a Patrol kit from avipro, that’s what I would do. Take on 2 or 3 partners in the 180 but keep the Patrol for yourself. Bottom line, The Patrol is a sweet flyer and extremely capable. Opinion only.

Mike

I think your expected speed with a CS prop is right. I can't seem to find the pic of the guy's EFIS but it show'd him flying his Patrol, which is on 31s, at 5600msl, at like 60% power (8gph) with a TAS of 140mph.

My understanding was that the CC-18-180 type certificate was sold to China. Are they (CC) still building that airplane? Seems like all I ever hear being built by Cub Crafters these days is the EX and FX cubs and the CC-19-180, which I believe is a very different airplane than the CC-18-180. The CC-19 is equipped with a constant speed prop from the factory.

MTV

They are still building the CC18 and they are equipping them with a constant speed prop. I heard they sold the type certificate, but it has not seemed to have any effect on their ability to produce the airplane. We don't have any CC19s in the Alaska DOI fleet. Not sure about elsewhere.

And...the reason nobody talks about the CC18 is that it really is only in demand by the agencies. It gives us a legal useful load that allows us to conduct survey and search missions legally with lots of fuel, big people, and realistic survival gear. But it is a heavy cub, not a good play cub like the super lightweight options you reference. So the private market for it seems nonexistent in comparison to those other options. It really is a nice fit for our work though.

whee wrote:That sucks about the family not wanting to fly. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes. IMO a wagon isn’t the plane I’d choose to fly around solo in. A Husky would be high on my list.

I hate to be “that guy” but I’d take a look at the Bearhawk Patrol too since stopping in Austin to fly the factory demo plane wouldn’t be too far out of your way.

I flew Mark’s Patrol before it was wrecked (again lol). It would definitely be my first choice but seeing as how I’ve seen 3 flying Patrol’s for sale in the last 4 years that’s pretty low odds. I’ve got a big job and 2 kids under 4, building isn’t an option right now.

Just find a good Husky that fits your needs and budget, you will not be disappointed. If something else comes along in the future you like better then the Husky will be an easy sell if well taken care of and realistically priced. If you have any specific Husky questions send me a PM or if you would rather talk on the phone I would be happy to do so, its easier than typing, just leave me your number in a PM.

Kurt

Love the Husky. Been flying with this fella for a bit and he's flying his Husky like a 10,000 hour pro. https://youtu.be/ljjQ9g8obiY


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I’d do like G44 says and just by a nice Husky. If you ever decide to sell you won’t have to try very hard to get rid of it.

But...I’ll sell you a Patrol. Just send me a check...postdated for about 18mo from now.[emoji6]