It has been several decades since Piper’s PA-18 SuperCub set the bar for bush flying. Since then a series of technological and design innovations have enhanced the off-runway performance of cub-like aircraft with more power, lower weight, added lift, better control and braking.

But one vital component—suspension—is too often overlooked.

The Outback Shock gets it right with custom hydraulic, side mounted shock absorbers (12” travel) and suspension geometry integrated into main and tail landing gear, virtually eliminating the problems of touchdown rebound and ground hop that are all too common with traditionally sprung cabane landing gear. The gear position is also moved forward to enhance braking capacity with less risk of overturning. As a result, the Outback Shock lands and taxis with remarkable control and stopping power.

Command of a vehicle on the ground depends upon constant contact between the tires and the surface. Race cars and off-road competitors go to elaborate lengths to balance weight, spring rate and shock damping in order to keep the tires on the ground no matter how rough the surface, or how strong the offsetting forces. Springs, bungee cords or polymer buffers alone will not do this. They may be adequate for light GA airplanes operated on maintained runways, but landing on river banks, mountain slopes and ultra-short fields demands more, and the Outback Shock delivers.

And more beef, please.

The airframe is reinforced and refined, with more headspace and elbow room, easier ingress and ergonomic design. The forward airframe is beefy to handle 180hp and outboard shock mounts.

Zlin super-sized the elevator and rudder, fundamental elements in ultra-slow flight.

The stabilizer’s vertical travel, with its new jack screw trim system, is increased to balance the angle of incidence of the hyper-STOL wing.

Thin composite seats are tough and comfortable.

More up-sizing is at work in the wing (longer chord than a SuperCub), flaps (70% more area) and extended aileron chord (40% more).

There is a reason why more than 90% of the two-seater aircraft in Alaska are tube and fabric taildraggers with tandem seats, the traditional decades-old construction.

Bush flying is not about getting there fast, it is about getting in and out of places where fast planes dare not go.

Imagine having to land in extreme circumstances in an airplane designed for well-kept runways, and constructed of materials that are difficult to repair in the field. In the bush, simplicity is a virtue.

The Outback Shock preserves this winning tradition of bush plane design while pushing the boundaries of technology to improve performance where it counts.

How does a fabric and tube taildragger presume to set speed records? By flying slow, so slow that a descent in a headwind can appear to be almost vertical.

With its low stall speed the slat-winged Outback Shock is a whole new experience in low/slow flight.

Tested performance of the Savage Outback Shock equipped with the Rotax 912ULS (100hp) and and with the 180hp Titan O-340.