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Aircraft

The Look-Ahead Cub

Marc Cook
Verified
On The Cover: No, that’s not your great-grandfather’s Cub. Jon Bliss shot the 2023 CubCrafters Carbon Cub UL that’s powered by the new Rotax 916 iS turbo engine and equipped with Garmin glass. Aside from turning in impressive performance numbers, the efficient Rotax-powered Carbon Cub is a treat for pilots familiar with the Rotax 900-series engines and, in particular, the turbocharged 915 or non-turbo 912 iS, which are easy to operate with a single-lever power control. Contributor Marc Cook put the whole package through the wringer for the flight trial report on page 4.

Airplanes anyone would recognize as a “Cub” are not always at the forefront of technology. The tube-and-fabric taildraggers seem to be glancing over their shoulders more often than looking ahead. 

CubCrafters, the Yakima, Washington, manufacturer that now employs more than 220 people and kicks out Part 23-certified aircraft, LSA models and experimental kits while supporting a highly integrated builder-assist program, has other thoughts.

Marc Cook

Marc Cook is the Editor in Chief of sister publication KITPLANES Magazine and a veteran special-interest journalist who started as a staffer at AOPA Pilot in the late 1980s. Marc has built two airplanes, an Aero Designs Pulsar XP and a Glasair Aviation Sportsman, and now owns a 180-hp, recently modernized GlaStar based in western Oregon. Marc has 5000 hours spread over 200-plus types and four decades of flying.