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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Zlin Aviation's Savage Cub uses a lightweight braced high-wing airframe, tandem cabin and tailwheel landing gear for recreational flying. Its layout follows the familiar Cub pattern.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A first tailwheel lesson brings both encouragement and awkward moments
The Savage gave this new tailwheel pilot plenty to think about before leaving the ground. Taxiing demanded unfamiliar coordination, and reaching the flap handle from the chosen seat position proved awkward. Once airborne, the low nose attitude also took some adjustment, even as the aircraft’s direct feedback made the flying enjoyable. The first landing went surprisingly well with encouragement from the instructor behind.
Public blog handle · July 2009. Savage Classic with Rotax 912 ULS in Australia; related Savage-family variant, not an independently identified example of the simulated Cub.
CriticalAlpha · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Skywagon University · 16 min ·
Interview with a Savage Cub
Skywagon University meets a Savage Cub owner and takes a flight.
Real aircraft · Zlin Aviation Savage Cub
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Zlin Aviation Savage Cub
Zlin Aviation's Savage Cub uses a lightweight braced high-wing airframe, tandem cabin and tailwheel landing gear for recreational flying. Its layout follows the familiar Cub pattern.
The later Norden and specialised Shock Ultra share the family outline, with different wing, engine and landing-gear developments.
Savage
Zlin Aviation → · Explore the family →
Zlin Aviation Savage Cub
Wikipedia contributors · Zlin Savage ↗Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 →Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
An Italian design built in the Czech Republic
The Savage began production in Italy in 1997-98. Production moved to the Czech Republic in 1999 under Zlin Aviation, using a welded-tube fuselage and fabric covering intended to remain repairable in bush-flying service. The family subsequently expanded, with the Norden introduced in 2020. The Savage Cub and later specialist derivatives share a lineage, but their equipment and high-lift systems should not be treated as interchangeable.
Zlin Aviation · Savage family history ↗Zlin Aviation manufacturer history; model chronology and construction.
Pilot accounts
A first tailwheel lesson brings both encouragement and awkward moments
The Savage gave this new tailwheel pilot plenty to think about before leaving the ground. Taxiing demanded unfamiliar coordination, and reaching the flap handle from the chosen seat position proved awkward. Once airborne, the low nose attitude also took some adjustment, even as the aircraft’s direct feedback made the flying enjoyable.
The first landing went surprisingly well with encouragement from the instructor behind. Later attempts were less tidy, as judging height and the tailwheel sight picture remained new skills. The post keeps those successes and mistakes together instead of turning an introductory lesson into an effortless conversion.
Public blog handle · July 2009. Savage Classic with Rotax 912 ULS in Australia; related Savage-family variant, not an independently identified example of the simulated Cub.
Read the full account · CriticalAlpha ↗An Italian flying lesson continues around lunch and rain
Benny travelled to Brescia hoping to develop the skills needed for bush flying. The first step was learning the yellow Savage Cub with instructor Fabio Guerra. Repeated taxi practice led into an initial flight, where the aircraft’s feedback began to make sense through time at the controls.
Lunch at a local trattoria divided the day’s lessons. In the afternoon, worsening rain reduced visibility and prompted a go-around before a better attempt helped Benny make more use of peripheral vision. He and the instructor eventually stopped as the weather deteriorated further. The account ends with a tired but pleased student, with rough-field adventures still dependent on first becoming competent in the aircraft.
The Aeronaut · September 2017. Author’s public name; Savage Cub tailwheel instruction at Brescia with Fabio Guerra. Off-field bush flying was a later aim, not a completed part of this day.
Read the full account · The Aeronaut ↗An Italian purchase becomes a New Zealand building and test project
Retired commercial pilot Tony Baker’s plans for a Savage began with a visit to the Italian factory and a flight in its test aircraft. He ordered a quick-build kit with the intention of enjoying the aircraft in retirement around New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. Delays and changing circumstances eventually led him to commission Malcolm Savill to complete the project.
Savill’s work at Classic Aviation Designs took ZK-LAP through construction, certification and test flying. The finished Cub used a Rotax 912 ULS and an Italian wooden propeller, and the report relays his favourable handling assessment. By publication it was offered for sale. The story records both the owner’s original ambition and the builder-pilot’s work, without assuming those retirement flights took place.
KiwiFlyer report · 2020, pages 76–77. Savage Cub ZK-LAP: Baker flew a factory test aircraft in Italy; Savill built, certified and test-flew the New Zealand aircraft.
Read the full account · KiwiFlyer ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024Savage Cub
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Savage Cub
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020Savage Cub
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Savage Cub
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024Savage Carbon
Got Friends · Released
Savage Carbon
Got Friends · Released
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024Savage Grravel
Got Friends · Released
Savage Grravel
Got Friends · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 6.39 m (21 ft 0 in) |
| Wingspan | 9.31 m (30 ft 7 in) |
| Height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) |
| Wing area | 14.2 m² (153 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 288 kg (635 lb) |
| Gross weight | 560 kg (1,235 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Rotax 912UL Four cylinder horizontally opposed piston, 60 kW (80 hp) |
| Maximum speed | 188 km/h (117 mph, 102 kn) |
| Cruise speed | 170 km/h (110 mph, 92 kn) |
| Stall speed | 62 km/h (39 mph, 33 kn) |
| Range | 720 km (450 mi, 390 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 4,400 m (14,400 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 4.8 m/s (940 ft/min) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Pilot account
A first tailwheel lesson brings both encouragement and awkward momentsPublic blog handle · July 2009. Savage Classic with Rotax 912 ULS in Australia; related Savage-family variant, not an independently identified example of the simulated Cub.
The Savage gave this new tailwheel pilot plenty to think about before leaving the ground. Taxiing demanded unfamiliar coordination, and reaching the flap handle from the chosen seat position proved awkward. Once airborne, the low nose attitude also took some adjustment, even as the aircraft’s direct feedback made the flying enjoyable. The first landing went surprisingly well with encouragement from the instructor behind.
CriticalAlpha
CriticalAlpha · Read the source ↗An Italian flying lesson continues around lunch and rainThe Aeronaut · September 2017. Author’s public name; Savage Cub tailwheel instruction at Brescia with Fabio Guerra. Off-field bush flying was a later aim, not a completed part of this day.
Benny travelled to Brescia hoping to develop the skills needed for bush flying. The first step was learning the yellow Savage Cub with instructor Fabio Guerra. Repeated taxi practice led into an initial flight, where the aircraft’s feedback began to make sense through time at the controls. Lunch at a local trattoria divided the day’s lessons. In the afternoon, worsening rain reduced visibility and prompted a go-around before a better attempt helped Benny make more use of peripheral vision.
Benny
The Aeronaut · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
Savage Carbon — product listingSavage Carbon · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
Got Friends · Read the source ↗Savage Grravel — product listingSavage Grravel · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
Got Friends · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Zlin SavageWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1322580419 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoft MSFS 2020 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Product
Savage Carbon – Got FriendsGot Friends · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue Savage Grravel – Got FriendsGot Friends · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueAircraft documentation
Savage family historyZlin Aviation · Zlin Aviation manufacturer history; model chronology and construction.Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 3 profile choices
Got Friends Savage Carbon
Got Friends · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Got Friends Savage Carbon: The selected resistance accompanies the modified utility-aircraft configuration.
Got Friends Savage Grravel
Got Friends · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Got Friends Savage Grravel: The selected resistance accompanies the modified utility-aircraft configuration.
Zlin Aviation Savage Cub
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Zlin Aviation Savage Cub: The selected resistance accompanies the modified utility-aircraft configuration.
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