COMMON
PA18
Piper PA-18 Super Cub
The Bush Legend
“Where the runway ends, the Super Cub begins.”
Piper · private
NO PHOTO
Length
22 ft 7 in
Wingspan
35 ft 3 in
Max speed
100 kts
Range
400 nmi
Ceiling
19,000 ft
Engines
1x Lycoming O-320 (150 hp)
Crew
1
Max passengers
1
Typical config
tandem 2-seat
Built
9,000+
The Super Cub is the airplane that refuses to need an airport. Tube-and-fabric construction, tandem seats, and the ability to land on gravel bars, glaciers, and beaches made it the backbone of bush flying in Alaska and beyond. Working pilots trust it with their lives daily.
Fun fact
A lightly loaded Super Cub can take off in under 200 feet — less than the length of a hockey rink.
How to spot one
High wing, tailwheel, fabric covering, and often comically large tundra tires. Classic examples are Cub Yellow. If it's landing somewhere that isn't a runway, it's probably a Super Cub.
Crews call it
The Cub
Sounds like
A slow, patient four-cylinder chug — often heard low and slow over rivers and ridgelines
Related
One might be overhead right now.
Bogey turns the The Bush Legend from a dot in the sky into a card in your logbook. Coming to iOS and Android.
Get Bogey