SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS, JULY 7, 2020 – American Legend Aircraft Company announced today its MOAC, a.k.a. the Mother Of All Cubs, a backcountry edition of the Legend Cub. While rooted in the legendary Super Cub, MOAC is a thorough remake and all new construction from the expert hands of American Legend. MOAC incorporates numerous performance enhancing features and is purposely built for the backcountry operations.
Since the wildly successful introduction and debut of the Legend Cub in 2005, successive models have continuously evolved and innovated. At first, the Legend Cub was all about modernity and weight savings. American Legend added strength while lightening the airframe and components. Options to improve pilot situational awareness and comfort followed in the cabin and cockpit. Today’s evolutions of the Legend Cub are again numerous. These include envelope expanding modifications with higher horsepower engines and adapting the airframe for access to remote terrain. Now, MOAC is the most exciting way to fly low, and slow, while driving performance to the extreme.
Horsepower on the Legend Cub has more than doubled with MOAC and current availability of Titan engines from Continental. Up to 208 horsepower (187–195 continuous) results in remarkable takeoff and landing performance on its already strengthened airframe. A Cato fixed pitch, Whirlwind ground adjustable, and Hartzell constant speed are among the many propeller options.
Flaps comprise 20- and 40-degree full-span from wing root to aileron. Leading edge slats and aerodynamic square wing tips with optimized wing tip vortices also contribute to MOAC’s remarkable performance. MOAC can take off in its own length and behind all that thrust are balanced ailerons, highly effective with a light touch on the control stick. The tail surfaces on MOAC are sized to appropriately balance the aircraft’s higher power-weight ratio. “To appreciate these improvements alone, the aircraft must be flown, as simply watching in amazement does not complete the sensation,” stated John Wisdom, CFI and Legend demo pilot.
Perhaps the most critical component for backcountry pilots is landing gear performance. If you don’t remember the days of taxiing and landing on bungee gear and steel springs, your derrière and jarred teeth certainly do. The pinnacle of modern landing gear comes from TK1 Racing with its Shock Monster front suspension. Shock Monster is a nitrogen charged air/oil shock assembly. Designed for the harshest of bush flying zones, the oil dampened system eats up all the landing aircraft’s stored energy on compression. A dual shock setup delivers the security of redundancy, unbelievable cushioning and, best of all, zero bounce back. Shock travel of 4.50 inches equates to about 12–14 inches at the wheel. Combined with the Legend Cub’s custom extended cabane vee, the Shock Monster system summons the use of oversized tundra tires and high performance brakes. MOAC with Shock Monster nearly ensures pinpoint landings with a minimum of rollout.
Longer aircraft legs invariably mean a pilot wants to carry more stuff. MOAC features a turtle deck opening that gives access to extended aft fuselage storage. Cargo doors and a folding rear seat allow storage in the mid-fuselage area for unbelievable carrying capacity. A turtle deck hatch improves accessibility even more, offering two levels of storage and accommodation for longer items, such as a stretcher. The Legend Cub fuselage also allows for L-21 style extended rear windows and a skylight offering near 360-degree viewing.
Extra performance on MOAC also comes from 40-gallons-usable fuel tanks. The extra fuel capacity allows for longer roundtrip flights without a fuel stop, such as into and out of remote areas where fuel is not available. Since its introduction, only the Legend Cub offers doors on both sides of the fuselage for simplified ingress/egress and a full-open cockpit feel.
The cockpit on the Legend Cub has always been more extravagant than one would expect on a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants Cub, and MOAC is no exception. Most are equipped with Garmin G3X/G5 glass panels and iPad or handheld panel mounts. LED lighting and Lithium-ion batteries have become standard. Engine monitoring brings great awareness to what’s happening up front and an autopilot does the same outside giving the pilot more time to scan displays of traffic, terrain and weather. For today’s tablet, smartphone and other device equipped pilots and passengers, USB power ports and panel-powered headset jacks are available at all seats.
“After years of lessons learned, including an 80-year Piper history, we build our Cubs to alleviate potential problems,” stated Darin Hart, president of American Legend. “This includes fit-and-finish, engine performance, and control systems. Doors and trim fit to perfection, and we often use common PMA-standard parts for easy serviceability. Our engine choices provide hours of reliability and proven service. Placement of physical controls are optimized to ensure freedom of motion from stop to stop without annoying interference issues so often present in other designs,” Hart concluded.
MOAC can be certified to a gross weight up to 2,000 lbs. As much as 180 lbs of that weight can be placed in the third seat of MOAC as passenger or cargo. Three occupants makes MOAC three times as fun.
American Legend Aircraft Company continues to be one of the most successful manufacturers of aircraft for personal and backcountry use. The Legend Cub is sensibly modern, competitively priced, and built-to-last by a company renown for its exceptional product support. MOAC is the incomparable Cub, a Legend to the extreme.
For further information on the Legend Cub, contact American Legend Aircraft Company at 1810 Piper Lane, Sulphur Springs, Texas 75482; call 903-885-7000, or log on to www.legend.aero. Follow us on facebook.com/LegendAircraft and instagram.com/legendcub.
– Legend Cub –
All photos courtesy of Jim Wilson photography.
