Backcountry Pilot

The Piper PA-18 has long been the standard for light STOL performance, but the new age of lightweight 180hp Cubs like the CubCrafters Carbon Cub are escalating performance expectations. Patrick Romano wanted to find out how much performance could be squeezed out of a stock 150hp Super Cub without dropping money on an engine upgrade.

In the spirit of Springtime, here are four accounts of loving owners who took their Cessnas from long-in-the-tooth and outdated to refreshed and modernized; at least in some regard, rejuvenated.

Upgrading to big tires can make a huge difference in backcountry performance, but with those gains come some trade-offs. What should an aircraft owner know going into it?

9 modification mistakes aircraft owners make when trying to "bush out" their birds—why some cool ideas aren't worth the effort or cost.