We Fly: CubCrafters NXCub

It was too good to pass up. CubCrafters offered to bring FLYING the first of the kitbuilt NXCubs to north Idaho and turn us loose with it for two weeks to fly into the backcountry—introducing pilots of all experience and skill levels to the airplane. They told us to get it muddy and grass stained. We did.

The adventure began with a checkout with CubCrafters pilot David Blake, along with orientation around its STOL capabilities. Over the next two weeks we made one long cross-country, several short ones, and had some 19 pilots of all skill and experience levels fly it.

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Bottom line, we were seriously impressed by the NXCub. Every person who flew it had a ball and came away with 1,000-watt smiles. With its excellent ground handling and ability to absorb rough terrain, it provided confidence in the backcountry. Despite having personally flown tailwheel airplanes for 55 years and being a tailwheel purist, I didn’t give a fig whether it had a tailwheel or nosewheel—it proved a great flying machine for all sorts of missions.

The Basics

After years of repairing and rebuilding Piper PA-18 Super Cubs, late backcountry aviation innovator Jim Richmond formed CubCrafters in 1980 to create a better Super Cub. Richmond’s company started by creating STCs to improve the Super Cub before taking the big step into using modern airframe technology, notably carbon fiber, to build a better, lighter, more robust airplane.

CubCrafters released its top-of-the-line XCub in 2016 after a six-year secret development program. It came out simultaneously as a builder-assist experimental airplane as well as an FAA Part 23 type-certificated production machine. Power was boosted to 215 hp in 2020 at nearly the same time the production and builder-assist experimental NXCub (nosewheel) reached the market. In a startling innovation, the NXCub can be converted to a tailwheel XCub by two people in four hours with the appropriate parts. This year CubCrafters created the experimental kit (as opposed to experimental owner assist) NXCub. We flew the very first one completed, CCK-2300-0001.

Equipped with a fuel-injected Lycoming IO-390 engine developing 215 hp, using dual SureFly electronic ignition, we were told by CubCrafters delivery coordinator Gracie Main that the engine was a joint effort between the manufacturer and Lycoming to eliminate excess weight. Designated the Lycoming CC393i, it weighs only 10 pounds more than a 180 hp Lycoming O-360.

Up front on the airplane we flew is a Hartzell two-bladed, Trailblazer composite prop that is optimized for backcountry operations. Ailerons are actuated by pushrods that run through the wing struts, reducing aerodynamic drag and giving the responsive ailerons a solid feel. The manual flaps have four positions, up, 16 degrees, 33 degrees, and 46 degrees. Full flaps are used for normal landings and 16 degrees for takeoffs.

The NXCub is a serious load carrier.

Where putting enough fuel into many bushplanes to get into and out of backcountry airstrips limits the load to two occupants and a community toothbrush, the NXCub will take full fuel, two big occupants, and plenty of gear for an extended backcountry adventure.

CubCrafters said its goal was to build an airplane with a 1,000-pound useful load. Given that gross weight for the NX is 2,300 pounds and the standard empty weight in base configuration is 1,216 pounds, CubCrafters achieved its goal. The airplane we flew had virtually every option available, including a luxury Scottish leather interior, which boosted its empty weight to 1,445 pounds, giving a useful load of 855 pounds.

Full usable fuel is 44.6 gallons or 267.6 pounds—leaving an acceptable cabin load of 587.4 pounds. The forward baggage area can hold 180 pounds and the rear 50. There are 14 tie-downs in the baggage areas. The passenger seat can be removed.

While the NXCub can carry a big load, it can only do so if loaded carefully because the weight and balance envelope has an unusual shape. The full 2,300 pounds can only be carried when loading the airplane to a point at or near the aft CG limit. At the forward CG limit, the maximum gross weight is 1,690 pounds, giving a useful load of only 245 pounds. That got our attention.

Fortunately, the weight and balance section of the Garmin G3X touch avionics made those calculations a piece of cake. Doing our sums with its assistance, we quickly found that a 170-pound pilot carrying a full load of fuel would be over gross due to being so far forward in the sloped envelope.

The problem of being over gross at a forward CG location can be solved by either reducing the fuel load or putting weight into the aft baggage compartment, which can hold 50 pounds. Figuring that we weren’t going into the backcountry without adequate survival gear and tools, we can fill that 50-pound compartment easily.

As we did our homework, we learned that if we want to put big occupants in the airplane and carry full fuel, we can do it, but we’ve got to carry weight in one or both baggage compartments. We aren’t complaining as that means we’re less likely to skimp on survival gear and tools that we might need.

“Yeah, but I want to compete in STOL competitions.” Not a problem, you’re going to be doing so with minimal fuel anyway, so you don’t run into a problem with the low gross weight at forward CG locations. Besides, even at gross weight, the NXCub is one of the most amazing STOL airplanes we’ve experienced. At a power loading of 10.7 pounds per horsepower—better than almost any competitor, we’re not surprised. More on that later.

A look at the CubCrafters NXCub from ground level [Credit: Jon Bliss]

Nosewheel

We must talk about the elephant in the room—this bushplane has a nosewheel, an anathema to tailwheel snobs. Our perspective is this: Aviation is a small community, backcountry aviation is even smaller, yet it is the source of some of the most beautiful flying and adventure anywhere for aviators. If there is a way to open backcountry flying safely for more pilots, we’re all for it. After all, tailwheel pilots wreck their airplanes on landing at a rate twice to three times that pilots do with nosewheel airplanes.

In general, tailwheel airplanes do well on unimproved airstrips because of prop clearance and, with larger main gear tires, the ability to handle ruts and uneven ground. However, they are not magic. Tailwheels break off in ruts. The mains can bog down in wet ground and flip the airplane. Gusting winds tend to cause pilots to run off of the landing surface into hard things along the edges. Overbraking leads to inverted airplanes way too often. Yet, it’s accepted that tailwheel airplanes look cool, and as Americans, we’ll do anything trying to look cool.

The reality is painful. Once nosewheels were beefed up, there was no longer any real magic to tailwheel airplanes in the bush. Cessna figured that out when it designed the 208 Caravan and put a whacking great, stout nosewheel and strut on it up front. It does just fine, as does the Cessna 206 and 207 and Daher Kodiak (previously Quest Kodiak).

To add insult to the tailwheel snobs, the NXCub takes off and lands shorter than the XCub, which is the same airplane with the gear positioned differently. On takeoff, the NX fuselage is already level rather than in the high-drag, nose high position. While on landing, there’s no limit to how hard the brakes are applied as the trailing beam nose gear soaks up the load and doesn’t let the prop hit the ground, much less the airplane do an outside half-loop centered on its nose.

Making aviation more accessible has historically been a good thing. Insurance companies like nosewheels much more than tailwheels, so if a nosewheel backcountry airplane can safely attract and keep more pilots able to enjoy the most beautiful flying around—the backcountry—we’re all for it.

What about the nosewheel itself? In our opinion, it’s brilliantly engineered. It is as far forward as possible for stability under heavy braking and absorbs serious shock loading through a trailing-beam design. The trailing beam hinge location effectively increases the diameter of the nosewheel, already a large, 800-by-6 tire, allowing it to roll over good-sized obstacles on the ground and navigate ruts without hitting the prop. It is free swiveling, so ground steering is via the brakes as is the case with a Cirrus. However, its turn limit is 95 degrees, so the NX can pivot on one main gear when taxiing. Better yet, pulling one pin and dropping the component that provides the turn stop allows the wheel to swivel 360 degrees, making it easy to push backward into parking without a tow bar. With the nosewheel backward, the prop can hit it, so there is a red light on the panel prohibiting engine start if the turn limit device has not been reinstalled—(it takes maybe five seconds to do so.

We admit the look of the NXCub didn’t initially fit what we’ve been led to believe about the appearance of a STOL airplane. But, when an airplane flies as well as the NXCub, who cares about appearance? We think that the naysayers either haven’t flown it or are jealous.

A look at the CubCrafters NXCub panel [Credit: Jon Bliss]

Avionics

The iron gyro is dead—thank goodness. Getting rid of the weight of gyros and vacuum pumps have freed little airplanes to carry more—especially into the backcountry where weight is everything—so the new lightweight glass panels have made them even more utilitarian and, in our opinion, safer.

The NXCub we flew was equipped with a Garmin G3X Touch screen system with a 10.6-inch display, GTR 20 comm, GTX 345R transponder, G5 attitude indicator, GDL 84 ADS-B package, Garmin dual-axis autopilot, and stereo intercom. The autopilot includes a “level” feature, so should things start going wrong due to weather and/or pilot disorientation, one push brings the aircraft into level flight.

For us, an autopilot in a bushplane seems incongruous, but we found ourselves using it more often than we expected, especially in letdowns toward backcountry strips as it gave us time to take a good look around for situational awareness and plan our approach route to the strip.

Walking Around It

We were like everyone else who commented about the smiley face on the NXCub on first notice—we liked it.

It set out a good vibe. That vibe was enhanced as we did our first preflight because of the extremely high quality of the fit and finish over everything on the airplane—from the superb paint job through the way doors fit their frames and control surface hinges were small and low-drag. The airframe is amazingly clean, more so than we’ve seen of anything in the two-seat tandem airplane world. Even the one-piece aluminum landing gear is gun-drilled to allow the brake lines to be carried internally. There are gap seals between the elevator and horizontal stabilizer, and the rudder and vertical stabilizer. Until getting close to the NXCub, we would never have used the word “sleek” to refer to a two-place bushplane, but it applies.

The preflight contains no surprises. The engine is tightly cowled with access for the oil dipstick through a hatch closed by two Phillips head fasteners. There are six fuel drains. The aft baggage compartment is accessed by opening four straight-screw fasteners. The door folds upward and, wonder of wonders, is magnetic so it stays open against the fuselage. After years of having to hold open baggage doors with our head as we wrestled stuff in and out of compartments, this was wonderful.

The NXCub we flew had the largest diameter main tires—26 inches—approved for the airplane. Anything larger upsets the geometry with the nose gear. Our experience was the tires were plenty able to handle everything we threw at the airplane and weren’t so big that they reduced the cruise speed to where cross-countries must be timed with a calendar.

The Cabin

Learning to climb into a Cub through the clamshell doors is a rite of passage for pilots. There are numerous techniques and movements that will someday be newly named yoga poses. Done correctly, it’s not difficult—it just takes a little practice.

Once inside there is plenty of room for the tallest people. The front seat adjusts fore and aft over a satisfactory range. However, the POH prohibits adjusting it in flight, so get it right before takeoff. The cabin is 4 inches wider at the shoulders than a standard Super Cub, making it quite roomy. The optional Scottish leather seats are wonderfully comfortable, something not common in the bushplane world.

There is an amazing array of storage spaces—from cubbyholes in the wing roots (placarded for 1-pound maximum load), through two folding door slim storage lockers on the left cabin wall, a cup holder for the pilot, engine oil container holder aft of the rear seat to a dedicated headset locker at the top of the aft baggage bulkhead. The back of the front seat has a holder for a tablet computer, and there are four USB ports scattered through the cabin.

The control stick has a push-to-talk microphone switch for one’s trigger finger and the electric trim operating switch and the disconnect button on the top. One experienced backcountry pilot who flew the airplane with us described the stick as the most ergonomically correct he had ever flown and commented that the controls and switches seemed to naturally fall to hand. The propeller control is inboard of the throttle, with the mixture control on the left side of the panel. We needed to operate the propeller control underhanded when setting power in flight to avoid bumping the throttle.

CubCrafters NXCub in flight [Credit: Jon Bliss]

Flying It

Start-up is conventional for a fuel-injected Lycoming engine. The engine is primed with the fuel pump then started with the mixture in the idle cutoff position. Once the engine fires, the mixture is moved to full rich. We had no starting issues either cold or hot over the time we flew the airplane.

And then there’s the takeoff. “Oh, wow!” was the common expression on climbout from the pilots who joined to fly the NX. Well, OK, the most common expression uttered isn’t appropriate for a family magazine…

Simply put, the NXCub comes off the ground in less distance than any bushplane we’ve flown except for the King Katmai. With 215 hp on a 2,300-pound airframe, the rate of acceleration might best be described as addictive. With 15 degrees of flaps, starting to raise the nosewheel aggressively when the airspeed comes alive works out about right. The stall warner sounds briefly at liftoff as the speed continues to build and a startlingly high pitch attitude is held to nail 59 mph indicated initially. The airplane we flew had airspeeds in miles per hour. Visibility over the nose is very good, even in a steep climb.

CubCrafters’ website notes a demonstrated takeoff ground roll of 120 feet for the NX. At gross weight we were able to break ground on a calm day, on pavement, in 200 feet. On rough grass it was 400 feet. The POH gives obstacle clearance takeoff information only for the tailwheel X Cub and shows it as 974 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle. We think that is accurate or maybe conservative. Most of the less-experienced pilots who flew the airplane blew right through rotation speed on their first takeoff, likely suffering from sensory overload. On subsequent takeoffs they were able to raise the nose more or less on schedule and hold something close to VX on climbout.

No one had any problem with directional control on takeoff, unlike the situation when we give initial tailwheel instruction. Max climb rate in the POH is 1,286 fpm at V_Y, 76 mph. Operating from an airport at 2,330 feet msl on a standard day, we saw rates of climb from 1,200 to 1,500 fpm depending on the weight.

Handling is delightful. The pushrod ailerons are solid and quick, and nicely harmonized with the elevator and rudder. Steep turns were just plain fun, and slow flight was rock solid with excellent control responsiveness down to the stall. As would be expected, there is adverse aileron yaw, but much less than we anticipated. CubCrafters personnel told FLYING that this was because of differential aileron travel up and down designed into the system.

Stalls were true nonevents. It took absolutely full aft stick travel to induce a break, and then it was nothing more than a gentle rocking nose down motion. We found a flaps up, power-off stall speed of 47 mph indicated airspeed, and full-flap stall speed of 42 mph indicated.

We did power versus true airspeed checks at 7,500 feet on a standard atmosphere and temperature day. At 75 percent power, 60-degrees rich of peak EGT, we recorded a cruise speed of 146 mph TAS with a fuel burn of 13.9 gph; at 65 percent power the TAS was 140 mph and fuel burn was 11.7 gph; and at 55 percent power the TAS was 125 mph with a fuel burn of 9.6 gph. Going to 50-degree lean of peak at that power setting, we saw fuel burn drop to 7.8 gph and TAS to 120 mph. The speeds were about half again faster than some tailwheel bushplanes we’ve flown when equipped with larger main gear tires.

With a max flap extended speed of 81 mph on a slick airframe, it meant pulling the power well back to slow down in the traffic pattern. There is a distinct pitch up with flap extension. During our checkout with a CubCrafters pilot, we were told to use 55 mph—or 1.3 VS0 on final—which worked out very well as there was plenty of energy to flare and touch down very nose high with the stall warning sounding. If we carried more than 55 mph, the airplane would float, although not far as with full flaps—46 degrees—and with the big Hartzell prop at flat pitch, there is a lot of drag.

The company website states that demonstrated ground roll on landing is 80 feet. We were told that it was OK to touch down with the brakes locked to minimize ground roll, but just didn’t have the chutzpah to try it.

Applying heavy braking, including sliding the tires and retracting the flaps, gave us landing rolls as short as 200 feet. The POH provides a landing distance over 50 feet as 1,580 feet for the XCub—there is no information for the NXCub. That distance is quite conservative.

We had several low-time pilots (one just post-solo), who had always flown airplanes with a yoke rather than a stick, fly the NX. All suffered from sensory overload on takeoff, but most were able to fly the airplane to a decent landing without help on their first try. None had trouble keeping the airplane relatively near the runway centerline on rollout.

Conclusion

To say that FLYING was impressed by the NXCub is an understatement. Pilots who had made disparaging remarks about nosewheel airplanes and then flew with us no longer had anything bad to say, although some did indicate that they wished it had a tailwheel.

We were pleasantly surprised by its cruising speed, positive handling at all speeds, and liked that with a hell-for-stout nosewheel we could touch down and stop shorter than almost anything other than a helicopter. With its positive control on rollout, those who take them into the deepest backcountry shouldn’t have to worry about a landing accident and getting stuck in the middle of nowhere.