Sunday 3 May 2020

Back Country Cubs (Only One) of New Zealand

The next new type of sport plane to be registered here in 2014 was the Back Country Cub:

The Back Country Cub is produced as a kit by Back Country Super Cubs LLC of Douglas, Wyoming.  It is their version of an updated PA 18 Super Cub but strengthened in many areas.  The Back Country Cub wing can be built with or without slats and with the standard rounded wingtips as in our example.  Back Country Super Cubs also offer a wider 4 seat version of the aircraft called the Back Country Boss.

The Back Country Cub is a bit larger and heavier than the PA 18 Super Cub but it does have a bigger payload with an empty weight of 1,200 pounds (544 Kg) and in New Zealand a MAUW of 2,300 pounds (1,043 Kg), compared to the PA 18A-150's empty weight of around 930 pounds and MAUW of 1,750 pounds.  The standard engine is the 180 HP Lycoming O-360 and this gives a cruise speed of around 112 mph (97 knots) but speed is not really the point of a Cub.  More relevant to its back country role is the stall speed of 28 mph (24 knots).

We have had only one Back Country Cub in New Zealand to date:

ZK-BPL2 (c/n GC1007) was registered to Ronald Alan McAuley of Wanaka on 23/10/14.  I have never seen it and the only photo I have ever seen is this spectacular one from Steve Bunting taken at the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground in the Pisa Range in Central Otago, on 3/9/17.  Thanks for the photo Steve.

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