CubCrafters of Yakima, Washington delivered its 1000th aircraft to Bridger Aerospace of Belgrade, Montana. Bridger operates, among other aircraft, a fleet of six Canadair CL-415 ‘Super-Scooper’ turboprop aerial tanker fire-fighting aircraft and four piston-powered CL-215s. CubCrafter’s CC19-215 XCub was painted in Bridger’s eye-catching red and yellow livery.
A 215-hp Lycoming IO-390 piston engine powers the FAA-certified XCub, which comes with a Garmin glass cockpit and autopilot. With a range of around 800 miles, it has a useful load of 1,084 pounds and can carry it at up to 160 mph.
“This is CubCrafters’ top-of-the-line flagship model,” Bridger founder and CEO Tim Sheehy said. “We will definitely put it to good use in support of our mission of protecting the American West from the threat of wildfires.”
Bridger Aerospace was founded in 2014 and would often base fire-fighting aircraft at the Yakima airport, where CubCrafters is based. “We frequently base near their factory in Yakima, Washington, during fire season, and I have always admired the passion the entire CubCrafters team has for aviation,” said Sheehy.
“Jim Richmond, our founder, would have been extremely proud of this moment,” said CubCrafters’ vice president Brad Damm. “Although we lost Jim in 2021, this was exactly his vision, a strong American company continuing to design and manufacture fun and safe backcountry aircraft with amazing performance.”