Cub Crafters, Inc. (often styled CubCrafters) is an

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

based in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

. Founded in 1980, by Jim Richmond, to build parts and supplementary type certificate (STC) modifications for the

Piper PA-18 Super Cub The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the PA-11 Cub Special, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 Cub to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930s. In close ...

, its CC18-180 Top Cub was

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

-certified on December 16, 2004 and remained in production in February 2017. The Top Cub is a new aircraft based on the shape and attributes of the Super Cub, but incorporating modern materials and technology.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 40. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X The CC18-180 Top Cub was granted a

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

(TC) by

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

on 23 July 2008 and achieved Australian certification in August that year. In July 2015 the company announced that it had sold the TC for the CC18 to the

Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corporation Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost c ...

of China. Cub Crafters licences the TC back to continue to produce the aircraft for the non-Chinese market. The Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corporation plans to produce the design for flight training, aerial photography, mapping, agriculture and personal use. Cub Crafters also produces a

light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...

, the CC11-100 Sport Cub, based on the original

Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

's appearance. The Carbon Cub replaces many aluminium parts with

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

to lighten the empty weight and allow for additional

payload Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...

. The company also has a service and overhaul facility for PA-18 Super Cubs and other Cub derivative designs. In June 2016 the company introduced a new

type certified A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

design, the

XCub The CubCrafters CC19-180 XCub is an American light aircraft, designed and produced by Cub Crafters of Yakima, Washington, introduced in June 2016. The aircraft is supplied complete and ready-to-fly. Development The XCub is a development of the ...

, which had been secretly developed over six years. In July 2022 the company announced that it intended to raise investment capital by selling

preferred share Preferred stock (also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds) is a component of share capital that may have any combination of features not possessed by common stock, including properties of both an equity and a debt inst ...

s for US$5, with a minimum purchase of US$400, aimed at customers and aviation enthusiasts. The offer will be under the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

's Regulation A, which exempts normal registration requirements imposed in a traditional

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

(IPO). AVweb noted it as "surely a first for a small aircraft company". In November 2022, the company earned a Securities and Exchange Commission “qualification” to make the US$50 million dollar public IPO. In December 2022, the company acquired

Summit Aircraft Skis A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

Sandpoint, Idaho Sandpoint (Kutenai language: kamanqukuⱡ) is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, Bonner County, Idaho. Its population was 8,639 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Sandpoint's major economic contributor ...

, a manufacturer of aircraft skis.

Jim Richmond

The founder of Cub Crafters, Jim Richmond, died on November 21, 2021, aged 67. He was born in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, on December 2, 1953, and grew up in

Easton, Washington Easton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 478 at the 2010 census. History Easton was platted in 1902. It was given its name by the Northern Pacific R ...

Aircraft

* CC19-180 XCub * CC18-180 Top Cub * CC11-100 Sport Cub * Carbon Cub FX * CC11-160 Carbon Cub SS * Carbon Cub EX * NX Cub (nosewheel equipped)

References

{{Cub Crafters aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Yakima, Washington 1980 establishments in Washington (state)