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Legacy Light Sport: Cub vs. Champ

While pilots grow old waiting for the FAA to reform the Third Class medical, light sport flying remains the last refuge to stay in the air. And vintage airplanes like Pipers venerable J-3 Cub or the Aeronca Champion actually promise affordability, if not comfort and technological panache.

While pilots grow old waiting for the FAA to reform the Third Class medical, light sport flying remains the last refuge to stay in the air. And vintage airplanes like Pipers venerable J-3 Cub or the Aeronca Champion actually promise affordability, if not comfort and technological panache.

Taildraggers both, these two aircraft have always enjoyed a following and now theyre getting a closer look as potential LSA choices. There are plenty out there and the prices are right when compared to a new or even recent-model light sport costing four times as much.

Paul Bertorelli

Paul Bertorelli is Aviation Consumer’s Editor at Large. In addition to his valued contributions to Aviation Consumer, his in-depth video productions on sister publication AVweb cover a wide variety of topics that greatly contribute to safety, operation and aircraft ownership. When Paul isn’t writing or filming, he’s out flying his J3 Cub.