CubCrafters Carbon Cub UL

The CubCrafters Carbon Cub UL is an American light-sport and ultralight aircraft that is under development by Cub Crafters of Yakima, Washington, introduced at the Sun 'n Fun airshow in March 2023. The aircraft is intended to be supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.

Still under development in March 2023, the first customer deliveries are forecast for 2025.

Design and development
The design is a development of the CubCrafters CC11-160 Carbon Cub SS that has been lightened to improve performance, including the newly designed Rotax 916 iS engine, for which this aircraft is the launch customer.

It has been designed to fit the US light-sport aircraft category with a 1320 lb gross weight and also many other nations' ultralight aircraft categories, to facilitate exports.

The aircraft features a strut-braced high-wing with jury struts, a two-seats-in-tandem enclosed cockpit accessed by doors, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft is made from welded steel tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Use is made of pre-preg composite materials, lighter fabric and titanium components, including the firewall and landing gear, to reduce the empty weight. The standard engine used is the 160 hp Rotax 916 iS four-stroke, turbocharged, liquid and air-cooled powerplant, with FADEC, which can run on unleaded automotive gasoline or avgas. Due to its turbocharger, the engine can produce full power up to 17000 ft.

Regarding the choice of powerplants for the design, aviation writer Paul Bertorelli stated, "the 916 iS gives CubCrafters an uncharacteristic opportunity to shear away from driving increased performance with power loading to driving it with structural efficiency".

The development was forecast to be completed later in 2023, a demonstrator in 2024 and with the first customer deliveries forecast for 2025.

Operational history
The prototype was landed on the 88 ft diameter rooftop helipad at the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai on March 15, 2023, as a Red Bull sponsored stunt.