Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs

  • What reasons did you have to own an airplane?
    • After having enjoyed 2 weeks of bush flying training and adventure in the Alaskan backcountry Tobias was hooked. Then, when he looked to rent a bush plane it was basically impossible. So, to be able to do this style of flying it would require owning his own.
  • What made you decide specifically on your type of aircraft?
    • With the issues of renting a bush plane and the abundant availability of renting a Cessna or other faster planes, Tobias decided on building the bush plane due to the limited availability. After checking all the options, Tobias found that the Carbon Cub was the ultimate bush flying machine. Not to mention, it’s the best looking of the bush planes especially with a great paint scheme.
  • Did you have a list of several “contenders” for what you wanted?
    • Rans S-7, Carbon Cub and Kitfox were the main contenders.
      • The tandem seating configuration was more attractive to Tobias with the pilot sitting closer the center of gravity and on the longitudinal axis.
      • Carbon Cub was the most robust airplane with the greatest range and useful load over the other options.
      • Carbon Cub weight to power ratio is very good.
      • Kitfox uses the Rotax and Tobias isn’t too keen on that engine.

  • How did you justify the build versus buy decision?
    • Tobias is definitely a ‘how does this work’ kind of person and he had the perfect opportunity in his life to focus on a project like this.
  • Would you recommend a standard or quick-build kit, if those are options?
    • We were actively looking into getting an RV-10 and were planning on getting the quick-build kit! It sounds like it saves hours and hours of riveting. But for a cub it’s a different story as there are no quick-build kit available but you could do the factory assisted build. From our understanding, that is very limited on the amount of build time that you get compared to doing it yourself.
  • What was the most intimidating part of your build?
    • The covering was the most intimidating part but it turns out that it is not that crazy as long as you have an attention to detail and patience. EAA had a great class on fabric which we would recommend taking.
  • Do you have any previous experience building or working on aircraft? A&P certificate maybe?
    • No previous experience working on airplanes, but Tobias has experience building many things. Tobias has a history with RC airplane building, woodworking, metalworking, electrical work, etc. He did have an apprentice job in Switzerland where he worked on electrical installations and repaired industrial machines. He has always been handy, but nothing specific to airplanes before starting the build.
  • Where did you build?
    • We live in a house near downtown that has a nice sized 2 car garage. (approximately 20’ x 25’) Although he also had airplane parts scattered all around the house as storage space was limited with the build taking up so much garage space. After installing the engine and landing gear we loaded the plane up into the back of a 26’ Penske truck and finished the build in the hanger.
  • Is your Carbon Cub your “forever plane” or do you plan to sell after your trip?
    • That’s a very difficult questions to answer at this moment. In our case, the plane has become a family member with the relationship that we have developed over the years. However, some people build airplanes and sell that right away as they are more into building airplanes than flying them.
  • Where did you get your engine? New or used? How did you choose?
    • Tobias chose the CC340 Experimental due to its power and fit for the Carbon Cub.
  • Is there anything about the maintenance that worries you?
    • No. Tobias likes that stuff.
  • Where did you get your tools for building? Anything you highly recommend or specifically don’t recommend?
    • Tobias purchased tools as he went and spent about $4,000 on them. A few tools he borrowed from a local FBO/mechanic. Aircraft Spruce was the go-to for tools and parts as they always had perfect shipment deliveries. For specialty items he went to Marshalls Industrial Hardware near Miramar.
  • Did you attend any seminars, classes, workshops, AOPA/EAA functions, etc?
    • Tobias attended the EAA fabric course but did not have any other courses prior to the build. Some words of advice are to never try something on your project for the first time. Always make a test specimen to learn how to use the tool/process before moving onto the project.
  • What other resources did you use to troubleshoot challenges?
    • For building the Carbon Cub, we relied heavily on the builder manual of course, additionally, the Carbon Cub forum is very helpful for tricky steps.