Badland Part 103 Pilots and Builders Forum

Allen, looks like this is what you described doing with a Badland. This appears to be in the Czech Republic as best I can tell. A Kitfox Lite but of course out of US 103 specifications. Get that Badland and register it as an experimental and you get this:



Really nice plane.

A kitfox lite is not as good an aircraft as the Badlands. Chris has took the Kitfox lite to another level. I could live with it being registered and having an N #. Conditional inspections aren't an issue as being an A&P plus private pilot. BFR's are getting a little harder to get and it being a single seat, you have to find an instructor with a 2 place bird. Hence the big advantage of a true Pt 103 for me. The Badlands, the RidgeRunner, and SkyRaider are in the 1, 2, and 3 as the best of the best. A single seat bush machine is icing on the cake for somebody like me. I've had several GA birds including a Stinson 108-1 and 2 Kitfoxes, so a Badlands type is right up my alley. Most of our strips here in the mountains have a big "H" in the middle of them.

Yes I realize the Badland is better than the Kitfox Lite. I was just using it as an example of what can be done if someone wanted to. Plus the Kitfox Lite hasn't been available for years. I do agree with you, I like the less restrictive nature of 103 over LSA and experimental. Some believe that 103 is too restrictive. OK, so fuel and speed are pretty restrictive, but those don't bother me. I can work around those issues. I've looked at the RidgeRUnner and SkyRaider, liking both of those as well but don't know enough to compare. I'm originally from out west, flying a little in Northern California but mostly Western Nevada out of Fallon. Fallon is where I was learning to fly. I loved flying over the Sierra Nevada's on some cross country runs to my home town in California. Tahoe was a challenge to fly in/out of, but fun. My CFI lost his 152 there when a student of his did not fly the planned and filed VFR he was supposed to. He went into Tahoe (wasn't supposed to be even in that area. On the way out he wrapped the 152 around a pine tree. That's when I graduated to flying my instructors 182. I might have seen a Stinson 108 at some time but don't recall. Glad to hear the Badland is #1 on your list. I'll be moving to Florida when I retire in 2023, so lots of flat and only mountains to the north if you can call what's in Georgia and Tennessee mountains. After growing up 45 minutes from the Sierra Nevada range, everything else seems sort of small (excluding the Colorado Rockies). I had ranch property up there, base was at 7,000 feet. Not many places to land a plane, even STOL. I'm hoping to hear from Chris soon on my kit build. I doubt I'll have the plane ready by the time I move to Florida, but at least I'll have some time in on the build. Lots of things to prep around my house to get it ready to sell it. April 2023 will be here before the blink of an eye.