Might be joining the ranks...

[guitargeezer]

My uncle and I are looking very hard at a Carbon Cub S2 or SS. He lives on northern Virginia (Great Falls) and I live near Dayton, Ohio; the aircraft would be based here most of the time. What wisdom can the members of this forum share with us about the airplanes, which engine to go with, recommended options, and company support? (In particular, have the O-200a issues mentioned elsewhere in the forum been solved?) We would be using the airplane for general enjoyment, some cross country work (up to ~500 miles, but most shorter), mostly operating off of prepared surfaces and some grass strips ranging from well leveled to bumpy. I also plan to use the airplane to generate flight test data for my university flight test engineering students to reduce and analyze. Most flying will be within ~200 miles of Leesburg VA or Xenia (Greene County Airport) OH. My uncle is a pretty small guy but I'm XXL size (though trying to reduce to gain useful load). Both of us are highly experienced pilots but have been out of aviation for several years and want to get back into it via a LSA.

ANYTHING you can pass along would be appreciated. At this point, we don't know what we don't know, so feel free to share anything.

[carlconti]

Congratulations on your plan to Join the ranks of Cubcrafter owners. You will probably get as many opinions as there are owners.

Here's my two cents worth as one who chose the SS. In my case it was the SS demo flight that was the clincher. Takeoff and climb are simply awe inspiring in the SS. The SS will do everything, but has two disadvantages. First, it costs more. Second, it has a higher empty weight. There is a 900 pound empty weight limit for SLSA certification for these airplanes. It is very difficult to configure the SS and stay under that weight limit. Thus, most SS airplanes get certified as ELSA. That leads to a whole bunch of other advantages and disadvantages.

Best regards,

Carl

[guitargeezer]

Care to elaborate on the S-LSA/E-LSA issue, Carl? Like I said, we don't know what we don't know.

[carlconti]

Care to elaborate on the S-LSA/E-LSA issue, Carl? Like I said, we don't know what we don't know.

Hi Tom,

ELSA is an experimental airplane even though it is factory built. SLSA is a standard LSA.

In the case of a standard LSA all maintenance other than normal FAR allowed owner/pilot work such as oil changes, etc., must be done by a certified mechanic. Also, any changes must be approved by the manufacturer. Annual condition inspection must also be done by a properly certified mechanic.

An ELSA can be maintained by anyone. In addition, if the owner passes a 16 hour course he or she can be authorized to perform the annual condition inspection. Also, modifications are at the discretion of the owner. Of course, proper log book entry is required for all of the above.

All of the above applies to non commercial use.

In theory experimental classification could effect resale value. There is no evidence of reduction of resale value for the Carbon Cub. Of course, you could also choose to register a Sport Cub as an ELSA.

Hope this helps.

Carl

[guitargeezer]

Sounds too good to be true. What's the down side?

[carlconti]

Sounds too good to be true. What's the down side?

Tom,

There isn't much downside to an ELSA. The major downside is that it cannot be used for hire in any way, shape, or form. It can be used for training only if no money changes hands for the airplane use. There are minor exceptions such as sharing fuel costs, etc. You need to read the FARs for authoritative information.

To my knowledge, 98% of Carbon Cub SS aircraft are ELSA. I think those few that are SLSA are used in commercial flight training operations. Cubcrafters, or others, may have more information on the disposition of the fleet.

Carl

[guitargeezer]

I'll do that.

It sounds like where it might impact me the most would be if I get my CFI-LSA (I was a CFI-SE, ME, and II but let it lapse many years ago) I can instruct friends and family in the airplane but not for hire (other than sharing costs per the 50% rule).

[Ccater]

Tom, Thanks for your interest in the CubCrafters line of Cubs. Im the Sales Center for the Great Lakes area and would love to answer any and all questions. If you have some time please don't hesitate to give me a shout and we can talk it out.

[carlconti]

I'll do that.

It sounds like where it might impact me the most would be if I get my CFI-LSA (I was a CFI-SE, ME, and II but let it lapse many years ago) I can instruct friends and family in the airplane but not for hire (other than sharing costs per the 50% rule).

Tom,

I believe you could charge for your instruction, just not for the aircraft.

Carl

[RickB]

I love my SS! Prior to buying mine I worried about overloading the airplane. Not a problem. two big guys, full fuel, hot day, 1500 ft per minute climb. Its simply amazing. I've never regretted excess power in a machine.
About the only thing I'd do differently is get the long range fuel tanks. The aircraft will handle them easily and it would save a lot of climbing around re-fuelling.