Super Cub Fly-In

Oct. 10, 2011

Some of the most interesting and just plain—or plane—fun aviation events are at smallish airports.

Case in point: The Elizabethton (TN) Municipal Airport hosted the annual Piper Cub Fly-In last weekend. Most of the Cubs were really Super Cubs. Most people think there is only one Piper Cub, but there are actually a bunch of Cubs. The most popular, of course, is the original J-3 Cub, and I’d bet that the Super Cub, or A-18, is the second most popular. It is surely the workhorse of the Cubs.

Over 60 aircraft were expected, and it seemed to me that they all got there. I have a few Super Cub hours myself—including a few hours flying power line patrol—and it was delightful just watching them take off and land—on the grass, of course.

The Piper Cub is a much-copied airplane, and there were a few look-alikes there made by CubCrafters, one of the more popular makers of “new” Cubs.

There is something about a Cub. The J-3 is a minimal airplane, but oh, what a minimum! If you measure a piece of machinery by how well it does what it was designed to do, then the Cub is one of the greatest airplanes ever built, just as the original Volkswagen “Bug” was one of the finest cars ever built.

One of the absolute highest (pun intended) flights of my career took place when a wonderful fellow in Kodiak, Alaska, gave me a ride in his beautiful, big-tired, Super Cub. We even landed on a beach, just as bush pilots have been doing in Super Cubs for decades. I still have a picture of myself with that airplane.

The big, “Tundra” tires were originally built to help bush pilots land and take off on rock piles and other rough strips. Today, they have become a status symbol. Many Cubs that never land off-airport sport the big tires, just as many pickups that will never be muddy have 4-wheel drive.

All in all, the Cub Fly-In was nostalgic, fascinating and—that word again—just plain fun.

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