By Martt Clupper, EAA 57138
I admit I didn’t even know there was an A-model Super Cub when I met my half-brother, Marr, in Arizona in July 2016 to look at a 1959 Super Cub for sale. I thought a Super Cub was a Super Cub. I was wrong. That’s the day I learned about the flat-top fuselage and the hopper door.
The airplane we looked at was completely intact but hadn’t been annualed in 10 years. It even still had the original cotton fabric on the wings and most of the original cotton on the fuselage. I learned the PA-18A is different from a standard Super Cub in several ways, one being that it has the capability of removing the rear seat and replacing it with a small hopper for light-duty crop dusting. Interesting!
To fill that hopper, a hinged door assembly was incorporated on the fuselage top, above the baggage area, and the fuselage was built with a flat top to make that door work well. The door also includes a large, round, removable cap for ag liquids filling. As it turns out, over the years, most A-model Super Cubs have been converted by eliminating all of the hopper door assembly and then modifying the fuselage stringers and giving it the familiar center spine that Cubs and Super Cubs normally have.
The airplane was in great shape with just 2,000 hours’ total time on the airframe, and that unique hopper door assembly was in nearly new condition. This airplane also has removable aluminum belly panels, which showed us that the fuselage was in really great condition, too. Plus, the airplane is a 1959, and Marr was born that year, so he was motivated to make this work. A deal was made and the airplane was disassembled and delivered to Indiana, where I live. The plan was for me to restore it for Marr, who lives in California. He soloed in a Citabria 40 years ago, but he never got his private certificate. This Super Cub is his entry back into aviation.
The project began, and we agreed the hopper door was a unique vintage element and should be retained. I was able to work full time on the project, with pay for my work, with the hope I could turn it around in six months. Of course, that was a bit too optimistic. I had re-covered a Citabria back in the ’90s, but a Super Cub — especially a deep restoration — is a lot more work. Plus, after I got started, the decision was made to add eight STC mods to the airplane, including the Wipaire 2,000-pound gross weight upgrade, an oversized baggage door, extended baggage, and moving the battery under the front seat. There were also several areas of minor damage that required repair, adding to the project duration.
Most of the work was done in the loft of an old corporate hangar, in a space the size of a two-car garage. I did the work alone, which created some challenges, and the space was just barely big enough for the airplane, but I made it work. I decided to cover the wings with them hanging with the leading edge down so they wouldn’t need to be flipped at any time. This unique process worked really well for covering, stitching, and all the way through to final color coats.
While the paint scheme is based on the 1959 Piper factory scheme, nearly every reference point and detail has been altered to improve the look. I wasn’t trying to be highly accurate to the original factory airplane, but rather trying to capture vintage elements together in a package that’s not only beautiful, but also relevant to today’s graphic styles.
Work began in October 2016, and after 20 months on the calendar — with about 13 months of actual labor during that time span — the project was completed and first flown on June 24, 2018. It’s covered in Ceconite with the Stewart Systems process, using EkoPoly in Daytona White and Santa Fe Red, with the maximum amount of flattener added to give a vintage satin finish.
I’m really pleased with how everything turned out, and while it’s definitely not perfect, it sure has some serious curb appeal!
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