The CubCrafters Carbon Cub UL is an American light-sport and

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

that is under development by

Cub Crafters Cub Crafters, Inc. (styled CubCrafters) is an aircraft manufacturer based in Yakima, Washington. History The company was founded in 1980 by Jim Richmond to build parts and supplementary type certificate (STC) modifications for the Piper PA-18 ...

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, introduced at the

Sun 'n Fun Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (officially styled SUN 'n FUN) is a nonprofit organization in Lakeland, Florida dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. It is best known for the annual week-long fly-in and airshow at Lakeland Linder Intern ...

airshow in March 2023. The aircraft is intended to be supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft. Still under development in March 2023, the first customer deliveries are forecast for 2025.

Design and development

The design is a development of the CubCrafters CC11-160 Carbon Cub SS that has been lightened to improve performance, including the newly designed

Rotax 916 iS The Rotax 916 iS is an Austrian piston aircraft engine, designed and produced by Rotax of Gunskirchen for use in light aircraft, light sport, ultralight, homebuilt aircraft and Unmanned aerial vehicle. The engine was publicly introduced in M ...

engine, for which this aircraft is the launch customer. It has been designed to fit the US light-sport aircraft category with a gross weight and also many other nations'

categories, to facilitate exports. The aircraft features a

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

with

jury struts In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

, a two-seats-in-

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

enclosed cockpit accessed by doors, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...

. The aircraft is made from welded steel tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. Use is made of

pre-preg Pre-preg is a composite material made from "pre-impregnated" fibers and a ''partially cured'' polymer matrix, such as epoxy or phenolic resin, or even thermoplastic mixed with liquid rubbers or resins. The fibers often take the form of a weave ...

composite material A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...

s, lighter fabric and

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

components, including the

firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...

and

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

, to reduce the empty weight. The standard engine used is the

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

, liquid and air-cooled powerplant, with

FADEC A full authority digital engine (or electronics) control (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or " engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of a ...

, which can run on unleaded automotive

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

avgas Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the United Kingdom, UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in moto ...

. Due to its turbocharger, the engine can produce full power up to . Regarding the choice of powerplants for the design, aviation writer Paul Bertorelli stated, "the 916 iS gives CubCrafters an uncharacteristic opportunity to shear away from driving increased performance with power loading to driving it with structural efficiency". The development was forecast to be completed later in 2023, a demonstrator in 2024 and with the first customer deliveries forecast for 2025. On February 25, 2025,

CubCrafters Cub Crafters, Inc. (styled CubCrafters) is an aircraft manufacturer based in Yakima, Washington. History The company was founded in 1980 by Jim Richmond to build parts and supplementary type certificate (STC) modifications for the Piper PA-18 ...

, in collaboration with

Hartzell Propeller Hartzell Propeller is an American manufacturer that was founded in 1917 by Robert N. Hartzell as the Hartzell Walnut Propeller Company. It produces composite and aluminum propellers for certified, homebuilt, and ultralight aircraft. The co ...

, announced the development of a lightweight constant-speed propeller designed specifically for the Rotax 916-powered Carbon Cub UL.

Operational history

The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

was landed on the diameter rooftop

helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...

at the

Burj Al Arab The Jumeirah Burj Al Arab (, ), commonly known as Burj Al Arab, is a luxury hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Developed and managed by Jumeirah, it is one of the tallest hotels in the world, although 39% of its total height is made up of ...

hotel in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

on March 15, 2023, as a

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

Specifications (Carbon Cub UL)

References

External links

* {{Cub Crafters aircraft Cub Crafters aircraft 2020s United States sport aircraft 2020s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2023

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications (Carbon Cub UL)

See also

References

External links