American Legend Aircraft AL3
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Legend Cub is a modern light sport reproduction of the Piper J-3: the same tandem two-seat fabric-over-steel-tube layout, but built new with a wider fuselage, a 100 hp engine, a door on both sides and modern materials. It is soloed from the front seat rather than the rear, unlike an original Cub.
For a buyer the argument against an original J-3 is that this one is new, has better performance, is more comfortable and does not carry seventy years of unknown history. The argument for the original is price and authenticity. As a light sport aircraft it can be flown on a sport pilot certificate without a medical, which is much of the market. It is a taildragger and a light one, so a tailwheel endorsement and real currency are needed. Fabric will eventually need replacing, though modern coverings last far longer than cotton.
Variants of the American Legend AL3 Cub
- AL3 · 2005 · 105 active · this page
Also consider
- Luscombe 8A (registered as LUSCOMBE)Score 25/50 · 2 seats · 87 kt
- Taylorcraft BL-65Score 24/50 · 2 seats · 85 kt
- Champion 7FCScore 32.1/50 · 2 seats · 85 kt
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One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental O-200-D |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | LSA |
| Production start | 2005 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 87 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 350 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 900 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 33 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 800 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 700 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 520 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 412 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb |
| Empty weight | 800 lb |
| Usable fuel | 18 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.6 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 1–2 seats.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $41/h | $4,150/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $1,611/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | $1,500/yr | |
| Insurance | fixed | $1,400/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $1,500/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $95,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $200,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $24,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $34,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 116 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 105 |
| Median year built | 2008.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 12 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 114.291 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 95.242 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 35 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 33.333 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 105 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 105 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 105 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.2 of 101 |
| Severity | 8.4 of 102 |
| Access | 8.4 of 103 |
| Support | 6.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.2 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 32.7 out of 506 |
These record scores treat American Legend Aircraft AL3 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 1 aircraft registered under LAWRENCE J HOFFMAN. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 31.56 · 197 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,000.75.
- Support: class median 89.
- Liquidity: class median 19.74.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30