Piper 18 Super Cub

1 × Piston Unpressurized High Wing • Conventional

Range Map

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+ cargo

Payload vs. Range

Occupants:

Fuel on board

Cargo

Range

Cargo is additional payload after occupants and baggage.

Adjust payload

full tanks

Available Range / nm

Mission capable. This load flies with full fuel.

Fuel reduced by . left aboard for nm range.

Over max payload by . At this load it cannot lift a single occupant.

Trip Preview

Mission Profile

MOSAIC Eligible

Used market

100

KTAS

Cruise Speed

400

Max Range

19,000

Service Ceiling

Occupants

604

lbs

Wet Payload

Endorsements & ratings:

Tailwheel

Piper PA-18 Super Cub at Löchgau, Baden-Württemberg, 2012. Photo: Felix König, CC BY 3.0.

Estimated Ownership Costs

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About the Piper 18 Super Cub

Type certificated 1949

Overview

The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, tandem high-wing taildragger and the powered, fully equipped evolution of the Piper Cub line that began with the J-3. Piper built it from 1949 to 1994 under FAA Aircraft Specification 1A2, and the PA-18-150 pairs a 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320-A2A with two things the earlier Cubs never had: wing flaps and a full electrical system. Where the J-3 and PA-11 fly on 65 to 90 horsepower with no flaps and hand-propped magnetos, the Super Cub lifts off short and climbs steeply, carries radios and lights, and starts on a key. A large aftermarket has grown around the airframe, with STOL kits, tundra tires, vortex generators, and belly cargo pods.

The Super Cub sits at the top of the legacy Cub ladder. With about 820 pounds of useful load, a takeoff roll near 500 feet that shrinks well below that on tundra tires, and a 19,000-foot service ceiling, it trades cruise speed for the ability to work gravel bars, ridge strips, and unimproved fields that close out other airplanes. It cruises around 100 knots, slower on big tires, so it is a short-haul working airplane rather than a tourer, and at 1,750 pounds gross it is not a Light Sport aircraft: flying one requires a Private Pilot certificate and a medical or BasicMed. Its modern counterparts are the Aviat Husky and the American Champion Scout. The Super Cub belongs to the backcountry owner who judges an airplane by where it can land, not how fast it arrives: someone hauling gear or game off gravel bars and ridge strips, content to maintain a fabric taildragger and carry the top-of-the-Cub-ladder running cost for access no faster airplane can match. A pilot who rarely leaves paved runways pays for capability they will not use.

Key Features for GA Buyers

Power and flaps the early Cubs lack. The 150 hp O-320 and wing flaps give the Super Cub the short-field climb and slow-flight control a 65 hp J-3 cannot match.
Short-field takeoff around 500 feet. Off a hard surface it unsticks in roughly 500 feet, and far less on soft tundra tires.
Useful load near 820 pounds. On a 1,750-pound gross airframe it carries two people, full fuel, and gear.
Full electrical system. Unlike the J-3 and PA-11, it starts on a key and powers radios, lights, and panel equipment.
Large modification ecosystem. STOL kits, vortex generators, belly pods, and tundra-tire setups are widely available, and clean Super Cubs hold their resale value well.

Trade-offs

Slow cruise. Around 100 knots, and slower still on big bush tires, the Super Cub is a short-haul working airplane, not a tourer.
Tight tandem cabin. The rear seat is cramped for a full-size adult, and the stock cabin heater is weak.
Not Light Sport eligible. At 1,750 pounds gross it needs a Private Pilot certificate plus a medical or BasicMed.
Tailwheel skill and operating cost. It requires proficiency on rough, sloped, and unimproved surfaces, and at roughly $86 per hour direct it sits at the top of the Cub ladder for running cost.

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Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Height: 7 ft
Length: 22 ft
Parking area (ft²²): 1,246 ft²

Max Takeoff Weight: 1,750 lbs
Max Landing Weight: 1,750 lbs
Useful Load: 820 lbs
Fuel Capacity: 36 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed: Source: third-party reference 100 KTAS
Never-Exceed (V_NE): Source: Pilot's Operating Handbook / Aircraft Flight Manual 130 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (V_NO): Source: Pilot's Operating Handbook / Aircraft Flight Manual 105 KIAS
Approach Speed: 61 KIAS
Stall, Clean (V_S₁): 41 KIAS
Range: 400 NM
Service Ceiling: 19,000 ft
Rate of Climb: 960 fpm
Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle: 500 ft
Landing over 50 ft obstacle: 350 ft

Engine

Sources

Where the figures on this page come from. Piper 18 Super Cub specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.

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