The Backcountry Super Cubs Supercruiser is an American
amateur-built aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...
, designed and produced by
Backcountry Super Cubs of
Douglas, Wyoming. The aircraft is based upon the design of the
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser and is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
[Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 44. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851]
Design and development
The Supercruiser features a
strut-braced high wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
, a three-seat wide enclosed cockpit, fixed
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
and a single engine in
tractor configuration
In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...
. The aircraft seats the pilot in front and two passengers in the rear on a bench seat.
The aircraft
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...
is made from welded steel tubing, with the wings constructed of
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...
sheet, all covered in
doped aircraft fabric
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
. Its span wing has an area of , is supported by "V" struts with
jury struts
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...
and mounts
flaps. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is and standard engines used include the
Lycoming O-360
The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...
four-stroke powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is 1200 hours.
Operational history
By December 2011, 140 examples had been reported as completed and flown.
Specifications (Supercruiser)
References
External links
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{{Piper Cub aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Backcountry Super Cubs aircraft