Something Old, Something New…Light Sport Aircraft
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Tecnam P92 and the Piper J-3 Cub – brothers from different mothers
There are plenty of articles that talk about the very specific niche that is the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), but I thought it would be fun to discuss it from a little different perspective.
One of the interesting things to look at is the extreme differences between the old and the new LSA aircraft. When I say “old” I would like to go back to 1946, the year after WWII ended. Back then dozens of neat little personal airplanes were built to address the predicted post-war boom in light aircraft. I guess they thought all those warriors coming back to the States would need something to do. The boom didn’t really happen, but the airplanes were built and are still proudly serving us today.
The “new” LSA aircraft is predominately purpose-built for this class or they are repurposed from Europe’s equivalent to Light Sport. Most are modern construction (aluminum or composite) and many have glass cockpits. For this discussion, I’m purposely excluding the experimentals that fall into the LSA category, although there are several really fun airplanes in this group.
It’s really not a fair comparison, but the regulators have created an unlikely marriage with this new class of aircraft. Both airplanes are great at their particular mission, but they are very different animals.
- Cost: This is the first major difference. I found a 2008 Tecnam for $108K and generally you can pick up a nice used ’46 Cub for $40K. I know it’s apples to oranges to compare a 4-year-old airplane to a 67-year-old one, but my wallet doesn’t care.
- Paperwork: The flight manual is 65 pages on the Tecnam and 16 pages with the Cub – ok it was simpler times.
- Construction: The Tecnam line employs a more modern monocoque tail cone section with the forward fuselage using sheet aluminum over steel tubing. Our Cub is just tube and fabric with wooden floorboards.
The checklists – Tencam P92 (left) and J-3 Cub (right)
Performance Specifications
| Tecnam | J-3 | |
| Top Speed | 118 | 76 |
| Cruise Speed | 114 | 65 |
| Stall Speed | 41 | 33 |
| Takeoff Distance | 388 | 370 |
| Landing Distance | 388 | 290 |
| Rate of Climb | 1200 | 450 |
| Horsepower | 100 | 65 |
| Fuel Capacity | 18.49 | 9 |
| Gross Weight | 1320 | 1220 |
| Estimated Used Price | $108,000 | $49,000 |
I’m all about the cool factor so it’s J-3 Cub all the way for me. But if you are in the market for an LSA, the choice to go with modern or vintage is completely up to you and you can’t go wrong either way.
Enjoy!
The Cub has other advantages too — the Reed clipped wing mod, the ability to fly with open doors, etc. It’s a tough act to follow that’s for sure!
Great point Ron! I have lusted after a clipped-wing cub for years. Alas, so many airplanes and so little time and money…
Brent
Great Post Brent, As always. Wanted to make sure the viewers understood the checklist illustration. The one on the left is not what is in the Tecnam POH. Overall they are not much different in complexity. This was a personal exercise for me in how I want to fly the (specific) aircraft or give instruction to a budding aviator. So it’s a blend of my personal style / experience, essential items, good to know when operating type and toss in a few of the expectations as you grow. It was a fun challenge building and encourage everyone to give it a try.
Mike,
Thanks! Great point on the checklist.
For those reading this Mike is a contributor to the blog and worked up this spiffy checklist for the Tecnam that he flies. Excellent stuff!
Brent
As I’ve said for years now, it’s just freakin’ hard to beat a Cub flying low and slow with the door open on a warm summer day…
Steve,
You got that right! I’d love to own one some day.
Brent