Cub Crafters, Inc. (styled CubCrafters) is an

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

based in

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 ...

History

The company was founded in 1980 by Jim Richmond to build parts and

supplementary type certificate A supplemental type certificate (STC) is a civil aviation authority-approved major modification or repair to an existing type certified aircraft, engine or propeller. As it adds to the existing type certificate, it is deemed "supplemental". In ...

(STC) modifications for the

Piper PA-18 Super Cub The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the PA-11 Cub Special, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 Cub to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930s. In close ...

. Its CC18-180 Top Cub was

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

-certified on December 16, 2004, and remained in production in February 2017.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 40. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X The CC18-180 Top Cub was granted a

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

(TC) by

Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...

on 23 July 2008 and achieved Australian certification in August that year. In July 2015 the company announced that it had sold the TC for the CC18 to the Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corporation of China. CubCrafters licences the TC back to continue to produce the aircraft for the non-Chinese market. The Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corporation plans to produce the design for flight training, aerial photography, mapping, agriculture and personal use. CubCrafters also produces a

light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictions on weigh ...

, the CC11-100 Sport Cub, based on the original

Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

's appearance. The Carbon Cub replaces many aluminium parts with

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

to lighten the empty weight and allow for additional

payload Payload is the object or the entity that is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of t ...

. The company also has a service and overhaul facility for PA-18 Super Cubs and other Cub derivative designs. In June 2016 the company introduced a new

type certified A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

design, the

XCub The CubCrafters CC19 XCub is an American light aircraft, designed and produced by CubCrafters of Yakima, Washington, introduced in June 2016. The aircraft is supplied complete and ready-to-fly. Development The XCub is a development of the Cu ...

, which had been secretly developed over six years. In July 2022 the company announced that it intended to raise investment capital by selling preferred shares for US$5, with a minimum purchase of US$400, aimed at customers and aviation enthusiasts. The offer will be under the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

's Regulation A, which exempts normal registration requirements imposed in a traditional

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

(IPO). AVweb noted it as "surely a first for a small aircraft company". In November 2022, the company earned a Securities and Exchange Commission “qualification” to make the US$50 million dollar public IPO. In December 2022, the company acquired Summit Aircraft Skis of

Sandpoint, Idaho Sandpoint is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, Bonner County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 9,777 as of the 2022 United States census, census. Sandpoint's major economic contributors include forest pr ...

, a manufacturer of aircraft skis. On February 4, 2025, CubCrafters announced that the certified NX Cub had been selected by

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs based in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, United States. It is the largest accredited university system specializing in ...

as the official aircraft for the Golden Eagles Flight Team.

Aircraft

* CC18 Top Cub * CC18-180 Top Cub Certified version of the CC-18 * CC11-100 Sport Cub * CC11-160 Carbon Cub SS * CCX-1865 Carbon Cub FX * CCK-1865 Carbon Cub FX Homebuilt version of the CCX-1865 * CCX-2000 Carbon Cub FX * CCK-2000 Carbon Cub EX Hombeuilt version of the CCX-2000 * CC19-180 XCub * CC19-180 NXCub Tricycle landing gear variant of the CC19-180 XCub * CCX-2300 Revised designation for the NXCub. * Carbon Cub UL, introduced in 2023, powered by a Rotax 916 iS

References

{{CubCrafters aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Yakima, Washington 1980 establishments in Washington (state) American companies established in 1980