CubCrafters To Offer Nosewheel-Equipped XCub

CubCrafters has officially decided to certify and offer a nosewheel option for its CC-19 XCub. The decision comes after the completion of a yearlong public market survey effort designed to judge potential customer acceptance for the new version. The tricycle gear option is currently available on experimental XCubs through the company’s Builder Assist program and CubCrafters hopes to achieve FAA Part 23 certification for the nosewheel-equipped “NX” Cub in early 2021.

“Putting a nosewheel on a modern Cub type aircraft certainly surprised some people, but the overwhelming public response has been positive, especially among the more than 300 pilots that have had the opportunity to fly the airplane during the Market Survey phase,” said CubCrafters Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brad Damm. “A nosewheel-equipped XCub is a very easy airplane to fly that takes off shorter, lands shorter, and cruises faster than the tailwheel version.”

As previously reported in AVweb, the XCub received its FAA certification in June 2016. Last year, CubCrafters introduced a new 215-HP CC393i fuel-injected engine and high-performance PathFinder three-bladed composite propeller for the aircraft. When equipped with the 180-HP Lycoming O-360-C1G engine, the XCub has a useful load of 1084 pounds, top speed of 153 MPH and range of 800 miles.