Ted's Aircraft Shop

Step 2. Organizing and Planning, page 4

Step 2.   Organizing and Planning 

Little did I know until I started looking at Cubs and taking pictures, there are a million variations in planes even though the basic Cub is yellow with a lightning bolt on the side and black cylinders hanging out of the cut open cowl.  Even then, if you look closely, the valve covers may be black or chrome.  The wheels may be 4 inch, as in the original, with brakes that hardly worked, or 6 inch Cleveland wheels with hydraulic brakes that can put a Cub on its nose with aggressive braking.  Even here clever innovators offer  improvements, while looking like the original, often disguise a modern improvement.  The old A-7 magneto switch had no key, an invitation to theft of an airplane.  But you can now get an A-7 looking switch with a hidden key. 

compartment requires a change in the routing of control cables and their arrangement.  The J-3 originally used a bell crank below the baggage compartment to connect the elevator cables.  A small but significant change to a Super Cub control system routes the cable directly from the control sticks to the tail without a bell crank.  That makes a huge difference.  A larger baggage compartment for storage.  A more secure control cable system.  Room for an underseat storage compartment for maps, a lunch, or portable electronics.  Lastly, one of the true joys of a Piper Cub is the ability to fly with the doors and windows open.  (Think of traveling down the street in your Mercury coupe of the 1950s with the windows down and your elbow hanging out—right out of the movie American Graffiti.)  A little planning and a better door latch can be installed (before covering).  A little redesign and a better window system can be installed on the left side.  The original window closed and opened up and down. The result was a window difficult to open, that often opened without permission in flight, and a rash of ugly scratches across the Plexiglas.  The Super Cub came with a window that opens front and back, a sliding window, that is subtly different but more practical in use. 

About

Contact

Home

Next Page

Previous Page