Badland Predecessor (Skyraider) on Floats

[Bruce_L]

Not sure that everyone knows that there are a few earlier cousins of the Badland F series out there. One in particular is named the Sky Raider, sometimes called Sky Raider 1 since they made a 2 seater later on. There are even a few mentions online of Sky Raider coming back with a 2 seater (Kitfox Clone)

Sky Raider shut down production a long time ago, but I think they sold about 50 kits altogether.

It is very similar to the Badlands aircraft and when I saw this video of the plane on floats, I could Imagine flying from a local river or small lake.

This guy has a Rotax twin for power, probably a 503????

Notice he is using the stock main gear legs for support followed by the lift strut mounting point.

I noticed his floats barely provide enough buoyancy because the nose of the float is almost submerged while he is not applying any power.

I know the mosquito103 class helicopter gets a weight limit increase if you buy the amphibious version, the FAA provides some margin for floats.

They look rather small in length but do get the job done. Watch how he gets the floats to transition to "the Step" then he builds up more airspeed and lifts off as smooth as ever.

Here is the youtube link for the plane --->

[Mountain Cat]

I've got a SkyRaider 1. It is the great-grandaddy to the Badland 103. Designed and built by Ken Schrader in 1994 and there was the SR 1 and the SR 2 which had a 1/2 jumpseat behind the pilot. Ken also built the fuselages for the Kitfox Lite and the Avid champion. Later to become the Belite Ultracub and finally the Badland. Though the SR 1 has ailerons and separate flaps instead of flaperons. And no discussion on which is better or worse. Ken's brother, Stace, carried on the design with the RidgeRunner 1, 2 and 3. All of which are out of production now. Very few actually met Pt 103 weight. Chris did some rework of the original and made the Badland a real Pt 103 bird. And a lot of parts of the Badland will fit the SR 1. SkyRaiders and RidgeRunners are getting very hard to find now days. A cheap bush plane that lets you play in the same sandbox as the 100K-200K bush planes at a tenth of the cost. As far as a single seat, bush flying is risky and no reason to put a passenger at risk, at least that is my opinion. The video you mentioned is Chad Morgan in S.C. flying a SR 1 on floats, and pretty darn good at it, also. The Badland is a newer improved version of the SkyRaider birds.

[Bruce_L]

What engine are you running in your Sky Raider? Are you the original owner of the airplane?

[Mountain Cat]

I ended up finishing it and completely redoing everything to new condition. I ordered a Polini 303DSDI engine from Chris and tried it. It was too light to bring the CG in to a reasonable range. So I let Peer steal it from me(LOL). I found a 503 with 50 hrs on it and installed it. The CG should be fine. Still fine tuning the carbs like I want as of now. I flew a 503 for over 200 hrs and never had a blip of trouble. I sold the Challenger and bought the SkyRaider for off airport flying. The challenger was a great STOL bird but the gear wasn't strong enough for this. The SR/Badland gear is ideal for rougher conditions, providing you have the proper tires. I have 15X6X6 on now but will go to 22X10X8 as soon as I get if flying the way I want. Anybody wanting a off airport new bird, the Badland is the only logical choice without taking out a loan on the house. Just for giggles, I'll have approx $11,000 in a new SkyRaider. Sure beats the heck out of 100K for a two seat bush plane. And I can promise you, it's just as much fun, maybe more since you don't have to worry about injury to a passenger. And as a few said about the Polini, I could have added weight to the nose to make it work, but why not make that extra weight into useable horsepower.

[LA F2 Flyer]

And a fine bit of thievery it was! I am still in the process of breaking it in, but the gauges are all connected and functioning. And it brought MY CG forward to where it more likely will suit me...win win!

[Mountain Cat]

Hey, if you are satisfied, I am tickled pepto pink!