Super Cub Sweepstakes: Super-sizing the Special

The design also caught the eye of the military, sparking development of what has become one of Piper’s most versatile ragwing aircraft: the Super Cub. The U.S. Army approached Piper in October 1948 with a request for an aircraft that could be used for reconnaissance, patrol, and training missions, according to a Super Cub tribute Smith authored. He said the result was a modified PA–11 Cub Special that ultimately was designated the PA–18. The improvements that debuted November 23, 1949, on the Super Cub proved transformational: Increased range, improved visibility and ergonomics, and better performance. “They’re just like a four-wheeler or SUV,” Smith said, making Super Cubs well suited for bush work, the fish and game industry, pipeline and power line inspections, agricultural applications, and float flying.

Smith should know more than anyone else about the improvements from the Cub Special to the Super Cub. He grew up spending time at the Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, Piper factory with his father, Clyde Smith Sr., who was a test pilot and flew the Super Cub. Before the younger Smith earned his pilot certificate, he flew with a friend in a Cub Special; later, during a nearly two-decade career with Piper, Smith flew Super Cubs extensively and was part of a short-lived effort to produce the PA–18 at Piper’s Vero Beach, Florida, facility.

Piper added a right fuel tank to increase range over the Cub Special’s single left tank, and created a full upper windscreen and skylight to improve visibility over the Cub Special’s cabin that had the front spar passing through above the pilot’s head—a welcome change for taller pilots. With the addition of an electrical system, pilots could start the aircraft without hand propping, fly at night thanks to landing and navigation lights, and install radios to improve communication. An adjustable front seat that sat higher enhanced forward visibility, while the rear seat was made more comfortable and the baggage area expanded.

The PA–18 also featured a slightly larger “round-back” rudder, had better cabin heat, and a swing-out engine mount that made it easier for mechanics to work on the engine. Early PA–18s were powered by a 90-horsepower Continental C90-12 or a Lycoming O-235; the Lycoming-powered Super Cubs featured a larger tail surface and balanced elevators. Piper also increased the aircraft’s gross weight to 1,500 pounds and later 1,750 pounds, versus the Cub Special’s useful-load-limiting 1,220-pound gross weight. (A 2,000-pound-gross-weight kit from Wipaire will further extend the useful load of AOPA’s Super Cub Sweepstakes aircraft.)

“A lot of that stuff was because of the military request,” Smith said, specifically noting the windscreen modification. The Continental-powered military version was dubbed the L–18, while the Lycoming-powered versions were classified as L–21s. The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum estimates that “more than 1,800 airplanes” were sold to the U.S. and foreign militaries.

Piper produced PA–18s for civilian use until November 1982 in Lock Haven and then in Vero Beach from 1988 to 1989, bringing the total number of civilian and military PA–18s to almost 10,500. Even though the Cub design continues to evolve through other companies, it seems fitting that the PA–18 was the last Piper model to carry the Cub moniker, given the Super Cub’s ongoing popularity and versatility. “You can’t take them out of service,” Smith said of the originals. They’re “just reborn again. Amazing.”

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