Page 54 - World Airnews Magazine July Edition 2020

NEWS DIGITAL

PUBLIC MARKET SURVEY EFFORT

COMPLETE

option are game-changing" said Horgan. "The XCub is easily
convertible between nosewheel and tailwheel, so you really get
Following a year-long public Market Survey effort, light aircraft two airplanes in one. A fast, modern, easy-to-fly, tricycle gear
manufacturer CubCrafters has officially decided to certify and offer aircraft and a traditional big-tire tailwheel Cub together. Both are
a nosewheel option for its flagship Part 23 certified aircraft, the very capable STOL aircraft designed for the backcountry missions
CC-19 XCub. that CubCrafters' airplanes have always excelled at."
"Putting a nosewheel on a modern Cub type aircraft certainly With an extremely robust trailing-link nosewheel assembly
surprised some people, but the overwhelming public response has and large tundra tires as an option for the mains, the nosewheel
been positive, especially among the more than 300 pilots that have equipped XCub is capable of handling primitive landing strips and
had the opportunity to fly the airplane during the Market Survey most off-airport type operations. Landing loads on the nosewheel
phase," said Brad Damm, CubCrafters VP of sales and marketing. are transmitted to the airframe by a heavy-duty truss designed
just for this application, and the entire nosewheel assembly itself
"A nosewheel equipped XCub is a very easy airplane to fly is a bolt-on option that can be removed should the owner want to
that takes off shorter, lands shorter and cruises faster than the convert the airplane to a tailwheel configuration.
tailwheel version. Once a pilot is in the airplane and experiences it, "This is something I've looked forward to for a long time,"
the advantages are obvious." said Jim Richmond, CubCrafters founder and CEO. "I've always
"Engaging our customers in a Market Survey effort for this believed that back-country flying should be open to more than
new nosewheel option has been hugely important," said Patrick just tailwheel rated pilots, and it's exciting to see that vision now
Horgan, president of CubCrafters. becoming a reality!"
"We went into this process not entirely sure if the market wanted The XCub programme has achieved a number of significant
to accept a nosewheel-type personal adventure Cub. There is no milestones in its short history. After initial FAA certification in June
question now; we've had people wanting to plane deposits for this of 2015, the XCub was the first United States General Aviation
aircraft from day one. Our customers have made it very clear that aircraft to achieve non-TSO avionics approval for the Garmin G3X
they want us to build this airplane." system in 2017. In 2019, CubCrafters collaborated with Lycoming
The company also notes that hundreds of real-world use by a and Hartzell to offer the new lightweight CC393i fuel injected
variety of pilots of varying skill levels during the Market Survey 215 horsepower engine and a new high-performance PathFinder
phase led to many design improvements that wouldn't otherwise 3-bladed composite propeller, for the XCub.
have been possible in an internal-only development setting. Badged as the "NX Cub" for aircraft leaving the Factory in the
Current and prospective customers were able to have a large nosewheel configuration, the new tricycle gear option is available
influence on the final design of the nosewheel option for the now on experimental XCubs through the company's builder asset
aircraft. programme and CubCrafters expects to achieve FAA Part 23
"The added capabilities and value offered by the new nosewheel certification in early 2021. Q

World Airnews | July Extra 2020
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