your opinions plz

P

PACoalMiner

Filing Flight Plan
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Brian
Hello and good afternoon,

I am in the process of getting my Light Sport license and my uncle ( my instructor) asked me the following question and i was dumbfounded for a bit..

he said.

" if your going to fly an LSA why wouldn't you pick a J3 over the JustAircraft Highlander?"

I said i was looking for something that could go 100+ mph with electric start..

Something that could land in my back field and something i could put electronics in such as a spankin new Garmin aera 500 that was given to me by a friend that i did some work for.

He laughed and said " go ask your friends what they think "
So here i am..

Your thoughts please.
 
Not familiar with the second aircraft, but I agree with your reasoning.

You should just do PPL though.
 
PACoalMiner said:
Hello and good afternoon,

I am in the process of getting my Light Sport license and my uncle ( my instructor) asked me the following question and i was dumbfounded for a bit..

he said.

" if your going to fly an LSA why wouldn't you pick a J3 over the JustAircraft Highlander?"

I said i was looking for something that could go 100+ mph with electric start..

Something that could land in my back field and something i could put electronics in such as a spankin new Garmin aera 500 that was given to me by a friend that i did some work for.

He laughed and said " go ask your friends what they think "
So here i am..

Your thoughts please.
Click to expand...

I am just about the only pilot on the planet that holds a dim view of the J3 Piper Cub. I found the plane uncomfortable and slow, with an incredibly inconvenient and dangerous starter mechanism. (Me!) I landed wondering what all the nostalgia was about for this ridiculously over-priced, poor-performing aircraft.

Personally, I would go with a modern design.
 
The JustAircraft models are modern STOL bushplanes. The J-3 is an antique trainer.

I'd prefer to have one of each! :D

(BTW, I'd rather have the SuperSTOL instead of the regular Highlander model due to the awesome shock-absorbing main gear and leading edge auto-slats)
 
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you can get the highlander with all the ss goodies. :)
 
i honestly grew up around a PA-12 ( supercruiser )
id do a supercub in a heartbeat.. But that requires a ppl.
I dont mind flying under VFR.
The spl is much easier to obtain
 
I don't think that slow vs. slower will make much difference in your use of the plane. Most cubs start on the second or third pull, so that's not a big deal either. Is $30-some thou for a good one still the number?

PACoalMiner said:
i honestly grew up around a PA-12 ( supercruiser )
id do a supercub in a heartbeat.. But that requires a ppl.
I dont mind flying under VFR.
The spl is much easier to obtain
Click to expand...
 
One other thing to consider is the Cub is a certificated aircraft with all the accompanying FAA restrictions on mods, repairs, inspections, etc, the JustAircraft is an experimental which gives you much more freedom for mods, maintenance, repairs and inspections. Of course, there are experimental Cub clones available too.
 
PACoalMiner said:
Hello and good afternoon,

I am in the process of getting my Light Sport license and my uncle ( my instructor) asked me the following question and i was dumbfounded for a bit..

he said.

" if your going to fly an LSA why wouldn't you pick a J3 over the JustAircraft Highlander?"

I said i was looking for something that could go 100+ mph with electric start..

Something that could land in my back field and something i could put electronics in such as a spankin new Garmin aera 500 that was given to me by a friend that i did some work for.

He laughed and said " go ask your friends what they think "
So here i am..

Your thoughts please.
Click to expand...



He's right, the J3 is WAY more airplane and if given the option probably 99.9% of experienced pilots would choose it over the experiential.

That said, I would also include the 7AC Champ (the J3s competitor), the Chief which is a side by side champ, or the luscombe, all of which will normally be less expensive yet the same or more plane for the buck.

There are also plenty of these types of planes with electrical systems and starters.

The above mentioned planes will also hold their value better then the highlander.

QUOTE=dans2992;1245888]

You should just do PPL though.[/QUOTE]

That too
 
I'd take the Highlander any day, I never saw the allure to a Cub, besides, the Cub needs an &P to work on it an an IA to do the annual every year and you are stuck with an antique engine, **** that, besides, the Highlander performs better, you don't have to solo from the back seat, and your passenger doesn't need to be a contortionist to get in or a midget to not need to chew on their kneecaps the whole time. Then there is the issue of folding wings which allows the Highlander to be trailered for bot travel and storage.
 
PACoalMiner said:
i honestly grew up around a PA-12 ( supercruiser )
id do a supercub in a heartbeat.. But that requires a ppl.
I dont mind flying under VFR.
The spl is much easier to obtain
Click to expand...

The SPL is SLIGHTLY easier to obtain, the only reason you should go that route is if you have a medical condition that prevents you from getting a Class III medical.
 
Jay Honeck said:
I am just about the only pilot on the planet that holds a dim view of the J3 Piper Cub. I found the plane uncomfortable and slow, with an incredibly inconvenient and dangerous starter mechanism. (Me!) I landed wondering what all the nostalgia was about for this ridiculously over-priced, poor-performing aircraft.

Personally, I would go with a modern design.
Click to expand...

Nope, I spent an hour in the front seat of one getting across town one day, I'd rather ride a bus.
 
Henning said:
Nope, I spent an hour in the front seat of one getting across town one day, I'd rather ride a bus.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm glad to read that I'm not alone.

Cubs are like a religion. People absolutely worship them, and that's reflected in the insane price they command.

Maybe if I was 5' 6" tall, which was the average height in the 1930s, that plane would make more sense to me. At 6', I found getting in and out to be not at all fun. And once inside, accommodations were, er, spartan at best.

I did enjoy flying with the door off, though. That was a LOT of fun. :D
 
I would go with the highlander more modern technology,roomier and a little better performance than the cub . After a while you would find the cub cramped and a little uncomfortable if you fly it more than an hour or two.
 
Neal Howard said:
One other thing to consider is the Cub is a certificated aircraft with all the accompanying FAA restrictions on mods, repairs, inspections, etc, the JustAircraft is an experimental which gives you much more freedom for mods, maintenance, repairs and inspections. Of course, there are experimental Cub clones available too.
Click to expand...

The above is a good point that I didn't initially consider. But could be an important factor depending upon what you intend to do with the plane. I did see that strobes and wingtip lights are options in the Highlander so not sure if that means an electrical system is an option.

I believe we also have a highlander builder on the board, David Krall. I'm pretty sure it was a highlander he was building in his garage. He was going to put floats on it.
 
AdamZ said:
The above is a good point that I didn't initially consider. But could be an important factor depending upon what you intend to do with the plane. I did see that strobes and wingtip lights are options in the Highlander so not sure if that means an electrical system is an option.

I believe we also have a highlander builder on the board, David Krall. I'm pretty sure it was a highlander he was building in his garage. He was going to put floats on it.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's done and flying, I already steered the OP to him in a previous thread.
 
I am in the group that doesn't understand the attraction of the Cub. They are difficult ingress/egress. There are a lot (in my opinion) of other like vintage aircraft that are much more capable. I have no input on the Highlander, though.
 
I would vote Highlander assuming I didn't have to build it. :D Just for the space and the capabilities (at least in the videos I have seen) are pretty impressive.

I love simple planes. The Cub is iconic and I love the looks of them. I only flew in one once and it was in the front seat and I am a big guy and it was not at all comfortable. Sitting in the back was not too bad. Having said that I loved flying low and slow with the door open.

If I had the money for about the same money or perhaps a little less I would more likely buy a Champ for more room and being able to fly from the front seat. Having said that, I would not hesitate to buy a Cub if I stumbled on a good one for a great price but we all know that rarely happens anymore. :no:
 
I've had more fun in a J3 than almost any other airplane. Having said that if I could only own one airplane it would not be a J3. The Highlander is a MUCH more capable airplane and not a difficult build if you have good basic mechanical skills. Don
 
The only good thing about a cub is the inflight door. Shame that didn't catch on.
 
The J3, Aeronca, Taylorcraft, Luscombe are all made for the 5 ft 7 in 160 pound pilot -- which I left behind int he 7th grade. I trained in an Aeronca with human starter, and decided that I would not fly until I could afford a plane that had electric start.

Most of the time an engine will start on the first, or second, or third ... or 100th pull. I planned then, and I do now, to land at unattended airports, where propping a plane to start it must be done with a single person available and that is not something I want to do -- oh, yeal, show me how easy it is to tie it down, or use a tail hook, or start it at near idle and run around to catch it, and I'll show you a video of a pilotless plane flying off into the sunset.

Get a plane with electric start.
 
After over a year and 100 hours flying the J3...

Starting is never an issue. Its very easy to hand prop and will fire up on the first flip every time when cold. I've had maybe 5 difficult hot starts in my year of flying. Never took more than 5 minutes in any case. If you have starting problems, you either have a technique issue, or maintenance issue.
 
NineThreeKilo said:
He's right, the J3 is WAY more airplane and if given the option probably 99.9% of experienced pilots would choose it over the experiential.
Click to expand...

:confused: You may not be familiar with the Highlander. How is a Cub, Champ, or Chief "way" more airplane than the Highlander? Highlander cruises faster, has more payload, and will t/o and land shorter. You will have a lot more money in a Highlander by the time you build one, though. You do not see many for sale yet.
 
I don't fit in Cubs, so I haven't had the opportunity to fall for them. It's weird to me that some pay as much as for $40-$60k for them. I just don't get it. Highlander for sure. Not only can it carry me, a buddy and a bunch of fishing gear, it can do this.
 
RoscoeT said:
:confused: You may not be familiar with the Highlander. How is a Cub, Champ, or Chief "way" more airplane than the Highlander? Highlander cruises faster, has more payload, and will t/o and land shorter. You will have a lot more money in a Highlander by the time you build one, though. You do not see many for sale yet.
Click to expand...

Well for me, if you build it it's going to cost a bit, if you buy one you need to be concerned with build quality.


Next, it aint a full international plane, I move around a bit and have debated shipping or adventuring my plane overseas. Now if you're only a sport pilot this probably doesnt matter to you anyways.

Resale is not the same.

And what seals the deal for me, you it can't make money with it, can't give someone flight training, or even a scenic flight, no photo work, nada!




For the minor performance difference it just ain't worth it IMO
 
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