Photograph:
Light Minitaure Aircraft LMA-5X-W ZK-CVB (c/n 1012) at Ashburton, NZ in February 2013 (NZCIVAIR)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Two-seat light training and touring monoplane
Power Plant:
One 48 kw (65 hp) Rotax 532 UL-2V two-cylinder two-stroke fan-cooled engine
Specifications:
Length: 6.91 m (22 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.1 m (6 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 16.53 m² (178 sq ft)
Cruising speed: 129 km/h (80 mph)
Stalling speed: 61 km/h (38 mph)
Rate of climb at gross weight: 259 m/min (850 ft/min);
Take-off roll: 107 m (350 ft)
Landing roll: 122 m (400 ft)
Ceiling: 3,048 m (10,000 ft)
Empty weight: 308 kg (680 lb)
Useful load: 204 kg (450 lb)
Loaded weight: 499 kg (1,100 lb)
History:
The LM-5X Super Cub was first introduced to the light aircraft market in 1993, being an 85 per cent scale copy of a Piper J-3 Cub, the aircraft being constructed of wood covered in dacron. It was a high-wing machine with a tractor engine and a tailwheel. Seating was for two in tandem and the aircraft was designed to be fitted with either the Rotax 503 or 582 engines. Plans were available. It could be built in 85 per cent scale of all-wood construction, but could also be built full scale with a steel-tube fuselage. For the LM-5X-W model, the W stood for wood construction. The prototype had a steel-tube fuselage but since then nearly all have been constructed from wood. The manufacturer’s structural limits are +4.5 and -3 G.
By mid 2012 two examples had been completed in New Zealand, both being full-scale replicas with a Continental O-200 engine, these being the Model LMA-5X-W which became ZK-CVB (c/n 1012) and ZK-OHS (c/n 1036). Both were built as Microlight Class 2 aircraft but the type could be built to LSA standards.
ZK-OHS was built at the instigation of Paul Morrison and was constructed by students of the Otamatea High School, Maungaturoto, NZ. The project was commenced in 2002 and completed with its first test flight on 9 April 2011. The construction of this aircraft has lead to the design of a further scale replica of the Piper Cub known as the Classic Aviation CubFlyer CA-18, construction of which commenced with students of the same High School in 2012 – 2013.