When Piper designed the Vagabond they essentially took the Piper Cub, widened and shortened the fuselage, moved the back seat up beside the front seat, and shortened the wings slightly.
I chose the Wag-a-Bond for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the Cub heritage. A big driver for choosing the Wag-a-Bond over the Wag Aero Sport Trainer, which is an almost exact copy of the Piper Cub, was that I harbored a hope that my wonderful wife, who is very supportive of my aviation activities, would, herself, develop a love of flying in small aircraft. That has not happened and is not likely to happen.
So I have re-evaluated the comprises I made in choosing the Wag-a-Bond. The Vagabond, and the Wag-a-Bond are great airplanes. The main reason for choosing the Wag was the side-by-side seating. Getting in and out of the Cub back seat is a bit of a chore. My wife actually had the opportunity of flying in a friend's Cub and found entry and exit to be difficult.
However, by shortening the fuselage in designing the Vagabond, Piper changed the ground handling characteristics of the airplane from quite docile to what is usually described as "quick". By shortening the wings the airplane was made faster, but changed the flight characteristics that make the Cub such a good low and slow airplane. The side-by-side seating, while friendlier, actually reduces the visibility for both the pilot and the passenger.
The upshot is that I have decided to switch from building Wag Aero's Wag-a-Bond to their Sport Trainer (Cub-a-like). Fortunately all the work I have done on the Wag-a-Bond translates directly to the Sport Trainer. I will not have to start all over. Wag Aero, like the old Piper company, uses as many common components in it's aircraft as possible.
Another consideration is that the Sport Trainer fits more easily into the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) designation. The effort necessary to maintain an LSA certificate is less than for the Private Pilot certificate, especially as it relates to the medical requirement.
The plans for the Sport Trainer are on their way. After I build a couple more ribs and compression struts (longer wing) I will be off and running again.
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