We Fly: Just Aircraft SuperSTOL

No other airplane I’ve flown can do what the SuperSTOL can. STOL, as you know, stands for “short takeoff and landing.” SuperSTOL, then, implies really short takeoffs and landings, made possible by the airplane’s huge 45-degree fowler flaps and self-deploying leading-edge slats, designs borrowed from the Helio Courier bush plane and scaled to fit this diminutive two-seat experimental amateur-built kitplane.

FLYING Staff

Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 08:41 AM ET

Verified

Just Aircraft SuperSTOL [Photo: Stephen Pope]

Key Takeaways:

The SuperSTOL is an experimental kitplane renowned for its extreme Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) capabilities, enabling operations from exceptionally short, rough, and unprepared landing strips.
Its impressive bush-flying performance is achieved through innovative design features including large fowler flaps, self-deploying leading-edge slats, and a robust landing gear with nitrogen-charged shocks and large tundra tires, allowing "drop-in" landings.
Conceived as an "aerial ATV," the SuperSTOL offers pilots an unparalleled "go-anywhere" experience, providing access to remote locations and unique adventures not feasible with most other aircraft.
Developed by Just Aircraft, the SuperSTOL is available as a kit for approximately $75,000 (in 2014) and requires 500-1000 hours to build, experiencing high demand due to its unique ruggedness and short-field prowess.

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Editor’s Note: This article, written by Stephen Pope, was previously published in 2014.

Work crews finished hauling away the largest of the rocks and muddy stumps only a few days ago, turning what had been a leafy hill behind the Just Aircraft factory in tiny Walhalla, South Carolina, into a rutted, scarred clearing barely the size of a football field. Even my host, company co-founder Troy Woodland, doesn’t condescend to calling this a runway. He banks steeply, turning short final in his lime-green and silver SuperSTOL kitplane, diving for the red-hued earth with what suddenly seems like questionable sanity.