Hi Joe-

I can’t really compare kits, but my brother and his daughter built a Legend Cub which I have flown quite a bit. It seems like a well put together kit and flys quite nicely, somewhat like an overpowered J-3. They originally had the Jabiru engine, which they did not like. I helped him install a Titan X340, and it is now a little rocket ship.

Regards,

Bob

I appreciate all the input guys.....apologies for not responding individually. I'm thinking the Cubcrafters might unfortunately be outside my budget. I'm trying to keep this under $160k total, which may not be realistic. Although I'm only looking to put a basic vfr panel in it so that could help $$$$ wise

I am kind of kicking myself for recently pouring a dump truck full of money in my V35 which has constrained me a bit here on options. I should've left it alone and bought the Cubcrafters.

Does anyone have any input or knowledge with the Javron kit? I followed a thread on a Cub site with a guy that did a beautiful build with one of those.

Mark.....that picture is priceless.

Joe,

You might want to consider the RANS S-7 as an alternative. That's a really nice-flying tandem "cub-like" airplane that meets the LSA standards.

The kit pricing is pretty reasonable – around $40K, plus the engine for a decently configured backcountry plane. Or you can purchase one built by RANS (S-LSA) starting at about $145K.

Upgrade either one from the 912ULS to the 914 or 915 turbo engines, and it becomes a rocket ship!


I'll have to confess to being a RANS fan, having just purchased a 2007 S-6ES E-LSA side-by-side... Even though it has the tailwheel on the wrong end, it's a really fun plane!

I am elbow deep in this process now. I settled on a scratch build/kit build using Javron to source most of my parts. I spoke with Carbon Cub and spent the day with Legend cub deciding which way to go. I love both of those airplanes and they build incredible machines. That was the hang up for me. They build everything, you assemble finished wings on a finished fuselage. This gets you flying much quicker and you trade that time for dollars. If I was building a complete kit I would lean to legend cub based on the customer service and build manual. I have a ton of great things to say about Javron though. Jay has bent over backwards to help me with my project allowing me to buy items as I need and build the parts that I want to tackle. My focus was building a cub the way I envisioned it to be, that will take much more time and some regrets along the way that I could have a kit completed and flying. I'm guilty of probably watching too many Mike Patey videos and drafting up crazy ideas, with that I will have the plane just the way I want it to be. Feel free to PM me and we can get on a call to discuss the options. I spent a year or so researching and flying everything I could get my hands on. Its been a blast working the project and I encourage anyone thats interested to dive in head first!

Jim, I've seen the RANS airplanes and they are sweet.....but I've got Cub (ish) fever.

Hi Joe

My Cubcrafters EX-3 kit was delivered 2 months ago. I was a prototype machinist while I put myself through engineering school, and I have previously built an RV-8. I will say that the quality of the kit is top tier among kit planes. I felt that if I was spending all the build time, I wanted a nice one.

It is true that it will give up a few feet on take-off and landing to some of the full custom cubs out there, but those guys deserve it for all the work they put in.

I will say that there are significant drawbacks to the CC kit. The build manual is really poor. If not for my past experience I would be very frustrated. It is fortunate that a man named Dave Embry has made a 17 page post in the forum.cubcrafters website that does a fine job of supplementing and correcting the manual. I will also say that the kit support group is disfunctional. This is not entirely their fault because of a high employee turnover and of course COVID but true non-the-less.

So, pluses and minuses. Good luck with your choice and have fun with your Cub.

John

Joe,

I have a factory built American Legend Cub. They do nice work. You can order a kit from them or do factory assist build. There are things I like about the Legend Cub over Cubcrafters. First is price. Second, most of the parts are off the shelf Super Cub parts, so you can source parts from Legend, Univair, or Aircraft Spruce instead of being reliant on the manufacturer. Third, two doors are way better than 1. None of this is meant to be negative towards Cubcrafters. They build an awesome product.

I also think that Legend operates almost like a custom shop. They allow for a lot of options and modifications. You can build the airplane you want.

I am not a builder, so I am not qualified to answer kit questions. Go to Supercub.org and poke around if you haven't already. There are some great threads on the Javron product, which seems to be very high quality.

Ed

Let’s face it, fellow pilots ... once you start flying one of these airplanes (whichever one you pick), that grin is just not going to leave your face. Have fun!!

Not a kit but i've owned a j-3 i helped rebuild 20 years ago. Presently running a c-85 stroker with 24x111x4 tires and i couldn't be happier.

This has been an interesting experience as I've already gotten a bad vibe from one manufacturer. I'm leaning toward the Javron at this point if I pull the trigger on this project. I've heard some great things about support and dealing with the company.

Ed, the AL kit with the lower gross weights will not work....I need something in the
2000# plus max gross weight category. They are very nice airplanes though.

John, I've already ruled out CC for overall price. Ive heard similar stories about support.

Read Bill Rusk's blog on building a Javron Cub and his quest for to save as much weight as possible. Bill (who I have not met) has put together a great build and travelogue thread.

https://www.supercub.org/forum/showthre ... Javron-Cub

Just curiosity, has anyone had experience with the Wag Aero Cub kits? Just wondered if they were much lower quality or ????

From what i saw years ago, The kit quality was well above the builder quality. One such version was brought to us for a look see prior to getting the FAA involved. He addressed the laundry list given to him then presented it for approval. They added a handful of other items I embarrassedly missed. Last engine I built up. It looked good from 25 feet.

Ordered the Javron today......outstanding customer service with Jay truly sealed the deal. I'll withhold comments about another kit manufacturer.

I just curious, did you look at the bearhawk patrol or were you only looking pure cub ?