Super Cub Photo Gallery - Plane & Pilot Magazine

The J-3 Cub is a classic. The PA-18 Super Cub is downright iconic.

Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 11:44 AM ET

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The Piper PA-18 Super Cub has been around for almost 70 years, and while it's the current darling of a new set of backcountry flyers, it's been a staple of bush flying pretty much since the get got. Photo by Bill Brine - CC by 2.0: Flickr

Key Takeaways:

The Piper PA-18 Super Cub has been a versatile and enduring bush plane for nearly 70 years, serving as a staple for backcountry flyers.
Renowned for its exceptional short-field capabilities, it can operate from diverse and challenging terrains—including rough fields, gravel, water, and snow—especially when equipped with specialized large tires, floats, or skis.
Evolving from earlier designs with increased power and ruggedness, the Super Cub's utilitarian design and operational adaptability continue to inspire modern aircraft.

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This last Super Cub in our gallery, you might have noticed, isn’t a Super Cub at all, but a Cub Crafter’s Sport Cub. The PA-18 is not only still with us in great numbers, but it has influenced a generation of aircraft designers to come up with their own versions of new and in many ways improved super planes. From the Aviat Husky to the Legend Cub and Cub Crafter’s X-Cub, the genius behind this classic utilitarian design lives on.

Photo by Cory W. Watts – CC by-SA 2.0/Flickr