Imagine yourself in a dealership filled with new Cubs! That was the scene at Florida’s Spruce Creek Fly-In community recently. For a moment, the FBO morphed into a gleaming showroom of Cubs, both Legend and legendary. Stick-and-Rudder City!
Paraphrasing that ‘70s pop song, there were big ones and tall ones and fat ones and small ones. Standing tall were new Legend Cubs on floats. A “fat” red PA-22 Pacer was in back, the only four-seater. Small were the newer LSAs outside. The big one? A just-restored for-sale Super Cub that crowed “horsepower here!”
Due to a turf squabble with neighboring businesses, all this was stuffed into one FBO hangar and apron. I flashed back to days of old.
Outside, one of the new composite wonders belonged to ex-Pan Am captain and friend Ralph Loewinger. He traded in his 747 too early, then retired to Spruce Creek with a modern Piper.
Last year, he went LSA. Logging only 20 hours since, he says, “It’s a challenge — sensitive controls, 55-knot landing speed. The new model is easier, I understand.”
Perhaps all who convert to LSAs should go back for Cub time. One needs to explore low landing speeds, cement the correct landing attitude, recall what crosswinds can do and remember what a rudder is for. We could all fly better after reviewing those basics…if only we had a hangar full of Cubs at our FBO!
© Story and Photos 2013 Drew Steketee All Rights Reserved
If every student flew through solo in a J-3 there would be a lot less accidents