Quality of Carbon Cub Kits

[Paul]

I'm completely new to the Cubcrafter's community...had my first experience just last week. Amazing...and I'm seriously looking at building a Carbon Cub. One of the first blogs I went to was a fellow that built his back in 2009. Here's an excerpt from one of his posts...
...the quality of this kit and it's parts is without question, the best I've seen, however,
the availability of the right parts is the other side of the coin -
about 20% of the parts are either wrong or missing, and I know it's
not going to be the case for the next kits, as I am helping correct
these growing pains and mistakes, but I just have to say... Arghh!
He claimed it was the first Carbon kit so it's understandable that Cubcrafters might have been working out some kinks in their kits. How have they done in the last two years? The sample pdf plans and instructions look pretty good. Are the kits coming complete with all the parts for those of you that have started building recently? How's the documentation and instructions.
Thanks
Paul

[randylervold]

No question we had some "kitting" issues early in the program. I believe Mitch has worked things out to each builder's satisfaction though, and we have certainly improved our picking/packing procedures since then. I will let the actual builders weigh in though, theirs is the experience that counts.

[Mitch]

Gal had Carbon Cub EX #1 and there were issues with the first 3 kits that were delivered. It was a steep learning curve for CubCrafters. The Carbon Cub EX contains about 1500 parts, and making sure that all the kits had the proper parts/hardware was quite a job. We also had the task of figuring out how the customer could assemble this kit without all of the jigs and fixtures that are used at the factory. We have spent countless hours refining the assembly manuals, and now have manuals that allow someone without aircraft experience to fully assemble the Carbon Cub EX. We also have 7 DVDs that walk the builder through some of the toughest parts of the build. When there is a problem in any phase of the building process, there is only one phone number the builder needs to call. We have spent a lot of time making sure that the builder gets everything that is needed to complete each of the kits that are purchased. Now with 27 kits delivered and 11 of them flying we are seeing a completion rate that is well above industry standards, and builders that had such a good time building the Carbon Cub EX that some are wanting to build another one. I stopped by to see Gal on the way back from Oshkosh this year and one of his comments to me was that he was thinking about building another Carbon Cub EX.

Thanks
Mitch

[EVRoosevelt]

I built kit #5 I had a few parts missing just had to call Mitch and the part was there the next day. Also a few issues with the manual not being clear but again a call to Mitch and I had all the extra pictures and info that I needed, if I sell the one I have I would build another one.
EV

[Dan L]

Paul, I built kit #11. My experience was just about the same as what EV says in his post. A few very minor issues with the manual, which I know Mitch has since fixed. I thought I was missing a few parts but as it turned out I don't think I actually was missing anything. If there was, it was one or two parts. Mitch was always quick with anything I needed or question I had. If something wasn't quite clear to me he'd run out to the shop and take a few pictures and put them into a Dropbox account or e-mail me a drawing or schematic.

The quality of the parts is excellent, and I say that as an owner of a manufacturing company that works with tight tolerances and proprietary processes.

I consider the Carbon Cub to be a first class airplane built by the same type of company.

[Paul]

Thanks guys, for your replies and comments.
Seriously getting closer to starting my own Carbon Cub.

Paul

[Rob Huntington]

Thanks guys, for your replies and comments.
Seriously getting closer to starting my own Carbon Cub.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Let me introduce myself and our company Desert Rat Aviation (DRA), we are a CubCrafters' service center located in Maricopa Arizona at Phoenix Regional Airport (A39). I have been to the factory many times to observe the fabrication of the kits and the SLSA aircraft and can report that the factory is constantly trying to improve the aircraft and the build quality. At DRA, we specialize in tube & fabric work, assisting builders such as yourself on completing projects as well as aircraft maintenance and repairs. If we can be of any assistance in your endeavor, please don't hesitate to contact us. I think that you'll end up with an aircraft that is vastly superior to either a classic Super Cub or other experimental aircraft on the market. We look forward to hearing from you.

[Paul]

Hi Paul,

Let me introduce myself and our company Desert Rat Aviation (DRA), we are a CubCrafters' service center located in Maricopa Arizona at Phoenix Regional Airport (A39). I have been to the factory many times to observe the fabrication of the kits and the SLSA aircraft and can report that the factory is constantly trying to improve the aircraft and the build quality. At DRA, we specialize in tube & fabric work, assisting builders such as yourself on completing projects as well as aircraft maintenance and repairs. If we can be of any assistance in your endeavor, please don't hesitate to contact us. I think that you'll end up with an aircraft that is vastly superior to either a classic Super Cub or other experimental aircraft on the market. We look forward to hearing from you.

Hi Rob,
thanks for your note. Good to hear of someone nearby with some experience in tube and fabric. And your comments on Cubcrafters line up with everything I've heard so far. Have you built or assisted with any Cubcrafter's models? And second question...how's your runway at A39...in decent shape?
Look forward to meeting you sometime.
Paul

[Rob Huntington]

Hi Rob,
thanks for your note. Good to hear of someone nearby with some experience in tube and fabric. And your comments on Cubcrafters line up with everything I've heard so far. Have you built or assisted with any Cubcrafter's models? And second question...how's your runway at A39...in decent shape?
Look forward to meeting you sometime.
Paul

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the reply--yes the quality of the kit (and the instructions which are and equally important item) are among the top in the kit plane industry. I have been building experimental aircraft since the late '60's with my dad as we built 4 aircraft together while I was growing up. Later, I have been involved in the builder assistance field for the past 12 years working on the completion of over 50 aircraft. Although we haven't assisted with any CubCrafters' models, we have completely restored many aircraft, including 2 Super Cubs just this past year. I spent an entire day at the CubCrafters factory observing the process of the factory built Cubs. It is a very straighforward process with the covering and painting the most challenging for the uninitiated. The runway is currently being set for renovation this spring, but is still fully usable with some ruts in the surface--we have Cessna's, Warriors, etc. landing every day here.

Perhaps you would be able to catch a ride with George Hoover who lives in Mesa and comes to us for maintenance in his Sport Cub sometime as we'd like to show you first-hand what kind of assistance we could offer. Thanks again for your interest--I can say wholeheartedly that the CubCrafters organization is keen to delivering a top quality product, with support to match even after the sale. We look forward to seeing you. www.desertrataviation.com

[Paul]

Rob, what projects do you have on the go right now? I'm thinking of heading down to see you possibly next week sometime but ideally would like to come when I can get a look at a tube and fabric job in progress.

Thanks
Paul

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