Photo above – A Summit Ski equipped Carbon Cub FX-3 explores the wintertime backcountry in Washington State (Photo credit: Courtesy of CubCrafters)
CubCrafters, a designer and manufacturer of Part 23 Certified, Light-Sport, and Experimental backcountry aircraft, has announced the acquisition of Summit Aircraft Skis, including the company’s design and manufacturing assets, unique patents and related intellectual property, from the Summit Aircraft Corporation of Sandpoint, Idaho.
Summit Aircraft Skis are favored by Carbon Cub aircraft owners and preferred by the owners of many other types of non-CubCrafters manufactured backcountry capable aircraft. The unique ski design allows pilots to quickly and easily configure their aircraft to fly to many remote and primitive areas that would otherwise be inaccessible in winter when runways are not maintained.
“We are very excited and pleased to welcome Summit’s customers and products into our family here in Yakima,” said Patrick Horgan, CubCrafters President and CEO. “It has been a joy for our team to work together with Mike Custard, Summit’s founder, to coordinate a smooth ski manufacturing transition. Adding Summit Skis to the CubCrafters product lineup allows us to better meet our customers’ needs and adds a new profit center. We see a great potential for growth with the Summit brand that we want to be a part of going forward.”
Horgan went on to explain that the strategic acquisition brings together the talent of CubCrafters and Summit Ski to promote a robust patented design that significantly improves value for consumers. Manufacturing of skis has already begun in Yakima and going forward Summit Skis will continue to be available on both CubCrafters aircraft and competing aircraft from other manufacturers as well.
“Summit Skis, when combined with the outstanding wintertime defrost and cabin heater technology used on our FX-3 model, makes that aircraft the ultimate ski airplane.” stated Brad Damm, CubCrafters’ vice president. “The acquisition is part of an ambitious growth and business development strategy that has been supported by the outstanding early success of our recently announced public stock offering.”
CubCrafters has recently been qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission to make a $50 million public stock offering under Regulation A+, which allows investors at all levels to purchase stock in the company for the first time in the 42-year history of the company. Interested investors can go to www.manhattanstreetcapital.com/cubcrafters for more information on the investment process.
Mike Custard, founder of Summit Aircraft Corporation, observed that unlike other more traditional industry products, the innovative Summit Ski design utilizes a patented bolt-on attachment bracket that completely eliminates the need to weld skis to the landing gear. The Summit ski design also offers lower weight and lower profile aerodynamics than most competitors’ penetration skis.
“Our like-minded drive for high quality innovation is one of the main reasons we chose CubCrafters as our successor,” stated Mike Custard, founder of Summit Aircraft Corporation. “CubCrafters’ leadership, its people, and facilities are all outstanding. The tooling and construction techniques are familiar to the CubCrafters’ composites facility and staff.”
“I will remain onboard for some time to ensure that the transition is smooth and that this is a great move for both our customers and the future of aircraft ski development and manufacturing,” Custard added.
According to Bob Breeden, an Alaska backcountry flying expert who uses Summit Skis on his Super Cub airplane, “I’ve been using Summits’ skis for some time now and they have enabled me to adventure further afield and discover and land in new, fresh places. I really love these skis and I’m very pleased to hear that they will be in CubCrafters’ capable hands going forward. I know the team there will keep the innovation going and will ensure the skis are supported in the future.”
