Ready for takeoff

Published 9:00 pm Friday, January 21, 2005

YAKIMA – Visitors to the Yakima Air Terminal are often surprised to find an airplane manufacturer hidden away in a cluster of buildings off the east end of the main runway. That could be because Cub Crafters Inc. has historically produced only two airplanes a month, and its advertising is aimed at pilots, not the general public.

“We’ve ducked under the radar for a while,” said Nathan Richmond, son of Jim Richmond, who started the company in a garage in 1980.

Now, Cub Crafters is poised to become a bigger blip on the region’s economic radar. The company plans to hire 100 people this year in a $4 million expansion that will involve assembly lines for two new airplanes. When it gets up to speed, Cub Crafters will produce about one airplane a day.

“That’s a big increase for us, in terms of volume,” Nathan Richmond said, publicly detailing the expansion for the first time.

For most of its history, Cub Crafters was in the business of repairing, rebuilding and modifying the Piper PA18-150 Super Cub, a two-seat aircraft favored by pilots for its simplicity, versatility and performance.

Piper discontinued production of the Super Cub in 1994 as it went bankrupt. The New Piper Aircraft Inc. did not resume production when it emerged from bankruptcy.

Since 1999, Cub Crafters has been building new PA18s to original Piper specifications from new spare parts under an obscure provision in Federal Aviation Administration rules.

In December, more than two years after the company made its application, the FAA granted Cub Crafters a “type certificate” to build its own version of the PA18 from the ground up. This certificate, which is essentially a blueprint for a new airplane, incorporates all the design changes and improvements Jim Richmond absorbed through more than 20 years of working on the Super Cub.

“It really builds a much safer, much better system for us to manufacture under our own design,” Nathan Richmond said.

The first CC18-180 Top Cub sits atop burly black tires, waiting at the closed doors of Cub Crafters’ hangar. The stout plane, in “Cub yellow” with a signature black lightning bolt painted on the fuselage, is the first of 50 the company wants to build this year.

Its 180-horsepower engine and light fabric-over-metal design enables the Top Cub to take off and land on minimal surfaces.

In addition to a host of updated safety features, the Top Cub can carry about 450 pounds more cargo than its predecessor, a desirable feature for bush pilots traveling to remote locations.

The average Top Cub sells for about $175,000.

Cub Crafters is designing a smaller version of the Top Cub. This 100-horsepower Cub Light or Sport Cub (they haven’t settled on a name yet) will meet the specifications of new FAA rules, which make it easier for pilots to register and operate small planes.

Producing the plane in large volumes will allow Cub Crafters to lower the price to about $89,500, Richmond said.

In addition to bush pilots, Cub Crafters sells to the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Academy – which uses Cubs as trainers and to tow gliders – flight schools and aviation purists.

“People recognize the idea of a simple, yellow airplane, getting back to the roots of flying,” he said.

Associated Press

Cub Crafters Inc. in Yakima is ramping up the production line of its version of the legendary Piper Super Cub.