Aircraft model
CUB CRAFTERS INC CC18-180
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The CubCrafters Top Cub is a fully certified — not light sport — development of the Super Cub, built new with a 180 hp Lycoming, a 2,300 lb gross weight and structural improvements over the Piper original. It carries 1,050 lb, which is far more than any Super Cub.
That gross weight is the point: it turns a two-seat backcountry aeroplane into one that can carry two people, full fuel and a serious load of camping or work equipment. Government agencies and Alaskan operators bought them for exactly that. Being certified rather than light sport, it can be flown at that weight and used commercially. Fabric is the eventual major cost. CubCrafters remains in business, which for a fabric taildragger is a real advantage over buying a seventy-year-old Piper.
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Put CUB CRAFTERS INC CC18-180 side by side with up to two other models.
- CUB CRAFTERS INC CC18-180
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360-A1P |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 2004 |
| Production end | 2013 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 115 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 550 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,200 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 36 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 700 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 800 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,050 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 774 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,300 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,250 lb |
| Usable fuel | 46 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $160,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $285,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $32,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $46,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 55 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 51 |
| Median year built | 2014.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 10 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 196.08 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 10 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 19.61 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 51 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 51 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 51 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 9.4 of 101 |
| Severity | 7.7 of 102 |
| Access | 2.3 of 103 |
| Support | 3.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 27.6 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- 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.