Let’s look at the CubCrafters’ Sport Cub S2. I have to
talk about it first because I flew the Sport Cub S2 and the
Carbon Cub SS back to back. I have to tell you about one
in order to best tell you about the other.
The Sport Cub is a classic in its own right, engineered to LSA specifications. Just walking up to it makes
you feel good. Yellow with a black lightning bolt, new
and shiny, it speaks to the joy of flight, pure and simple.
You preflight, climb in, and are surrounded by quality,
comfort and, yes, toe brakes. You also solo from the front
seat. This is a classic airplane made even classier.
Engine start of the 100-hp Continental O-200 is
straightforward. Everything is straightforward in a Cub!
Visibility over the nose is good. Nudge the throttle and
away you taxi. There is no technology to master (unless
you order the optional glass panel); there is only flight to
experience. Pull out on the runway, push up the power,
get a small roar, roll, stab the nose straight with the rudders, and bingo—you’re airborne. Comfortable climb,
Flying a Cub is about the purest form of powered flight there is.
comfortable speeds, and comfortable cruise. Transitioning from one to the other
in a Cub is seamless.
Flying a Cub is about the purest form of powered flight there is. I flew
around, doing various maneuvers: gentle turns, steep turns, stalls (a straightforward, gentle, nonevent), and slow flight. The specs say the airplane stalls at 32
mph; I flew slow flight and the airspeed needle was quivering right around 30
and the little airplane was just chugging along like it could do that all day. Talk
about straightforward and honest!
Next we flew, with permission, to a private grass airstrip. Nice green grass,
apple orchard on the left side, farm equipment on the right, with trees and a
house near the approach end. We flew the pattern, lined up on final, and zipped
over the approach end grass. I didn’t get the nose up quite enough, touched,
skipped slightly, kept the stick back, and plopped down again on all three and
stayed, feeling the accompanying jiggle that grass gives compared to concrete.
Turn around for the taxi-back and a dog ran lickety-split from the house, barked
three times at our left tire, then went back and laid down, mission complete. A
little boy in a wading pool watched us while his mother watched him.
And here’s what you’re feeling at that moment: You are right where you
want to be, doing what you want to be doing, in an airplane you want to be
doing it in. We flew the pattern a few more times—the dog stayed put each time,
