Kitplanes Magazine Flight Report (July 2018) on the EX-3/FX-3 — Followed by reflections of a Legend Cub builder/owner/operator.
Lighter to give them better performance — This comes at a price. A Legend Cub accomplishes this without sacrificing quality or comfort.
Aerodynamic mods can make them handle better — End the end is it still a Cub? The Cub is the standard to which everything else is compared. Where do you draw the line? True performance is limited by its wing and this is also where it derives its Cub characteristics.
Modern construction techniques make them easier to build and maintain — The multiplication in quantity and the proprietary nature of new parts puts a steep price on “easier.”
Did CubCrafters redesign (and redefine) the Cub — Today it’s a Cub in name only, and like many others who have before them redefined the Cub, namely: Backcountry, Bushwhacker, Dakota, Husky, Javron, Mackey, Savage, Smith, Tiger, Wag-Aero.
There is no substitute for power! — The same goes for the Super Legend XP. It’s the legendary Cub with extreme performance, and more power than can be fully utilized. The 150-hp Super Cub upped the bar and set the standard. Todays Super Legend HP with its Lycoming engine offers the same power-to-weight ratio.
It enters and exits a roll rate crisply, making quick maneuvers easy to initiate and formation flight fun — The same goes for every Legend Cub. It flies like a Cub for all the right reasons.
The builder shows up for a week of intense fabrication work — The Legend Cub continues to be built from the industry’s best parts making them reliable, available, familiar and affordable. Assembly preempts fabrication and, ultimately, if custom parts are not redefining the standard, they will become obsolete.
Power and a great wing — This is what makes a Cub a true Cub, and a Legend.
The rear seat sling — Making it a single-seat aircraft.
Do you feel that a builder who has invested just a couple of weeks in the build is really qualified to hold the repairman certificate and do the annual condition inspection? There has not yet been a builder who has gone through the program and requested a repairman’s certificate. They all understand the limitations of this kind of building. If a builder does ask, policy is to discourage it — A quick-build program in its true sense is for “education and recreation.” Above all it is to remove limitations and to enable the owner/operator with more tools at his/her disposal. This includes the ability to perform routine maintenance and repairs.
Apples to apples, the premium for the FX airplane will be about $70,000 over an EX with the same equipment — Their extreme Cub comes at an extreme price.