CubCrafters CC11-160
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Carbon Cub SS is CubCrafters' light sport aircraft: a Cub-shaped two-seater rebuilt around modern materials, with a carbon fibre cowling and fairings, an aluminium and steel structure, and a purpose-built 180 hp engine in an airframe weighing under 1,000 lb empty. The power-to-weight ratio is extraordinary — it climbs at 1,800 fpm and gets airborne in well under a hundred feet.
It is bought for short-field and backcountry flying, and for the fact that as a light sport aircraft it can be flown on a sport pilot certificate without a medical. The price of the light sport category is the 1,320 lb gross weight limit, which caps useful load at around 390 lb — that is two light adults with very little fuel, or one adult with full tanks and camping gear, and it is the constraint owners plan around. Twenty-four gallons gives limited endurance and it cruises at only 95 knots. It is a taildragger and a lively one, so proper instruction matters. Expensive for a two-seater, and holding value well.
Variants of the CubCrafters Sport Cub and Carbon Cub
- CC11-100 · 2006 · 92 active
- CC11-160 · 2009 · 319 active · this page
- Carbon Cub EX-2 / FX-2 (FAA model CCX-2000) · 226 active
Also consider
- Piper PA-18S-135No overall score · 2 seats · 84 kt
- ICON Aircraft A5Score 24.4/50 · 2 seats · 85 kt
- Interstate Aircraft S-1A-90FNo overall score · 2 seats · 83 kt
Compare with…
Put CubCrafters CC11-160 side by side with up to three other models.
- CubCrafters CC11-160
Open CubCrafters CC11-160 in Compare
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | CubCrafters CC340 (Lycoming O-320 derivative) |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | LSA |
| Production start | 2009 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 95 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 400 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 32 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 500 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 700 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 390 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 246 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb |
| Empty weight | 930 lb |
| Usable fuel | 24 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.1 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 | $75/h | $7,484/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $1,700/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 | $165,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $290,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $28,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $40,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 339 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 319 |
| Median year built | 2013.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 20 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 62.71 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 50.162 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 84 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 26.333 |
| 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 319 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 319 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 319 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2 of 101 |
| Severity | 6.4 of 102 |
| Access | 3.7 of 103 |
| Support | 9.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 29.3 out of 506 |
These record scores treat CubCrafters CC11-160 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes the record of aircraft once registered under CubCrafters. 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