No License Required Ultralight Airplane! Badland Aircraft - Oshkosh 2023

[@TheeAthis]

Spoke to Chris at the show. Just a super cool down to earth guy. His aircraft are top notch!

[@travismartin936]

I wish there was a lot more footage of these birds flying!!

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

We will work on that in the future with Chris! Thanks for watching!

[@tomcoryell]

You just keep making them better Chris! Hey Bryan, thanks for featuring this cool plane!

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

You are welcome. Thanks for stopping by!

[@johnschnettler8747]

Woo! Minnesota!

[@georgewashington1621]

Man, ha ha, i love the combination of the Fieseler Storch look and the Messer paint scheme! Just looks great!

[@DaveWrightKB9MNM]

I could literally keep this in my garage, then tow it with my Prius to the field! Awesome!

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

Correct. And that is the MISSION for this design! :-)

[@mr.perfect1er]

All you rich guys lol Godspeed and Blessings for you and yours.

[@gastrofile]

Yeah, but then you'd have to drive a Prius

[@frydemwingz]

lets not get carried away

[@DaveWrightKB9MNM]

@@frydemwingz 🤣

[@paulg.yarger8797]

Great Job! Really Cool Aircraft!!! I gotta have a Talk with Santa again now!!!

[@joshduff8989]

This looks outstanding. Great looking plane with easy folding wings.

[@JimPfarr]

I know Chris personally, he's a tremendous individual and a super hard worker. Total respect!

[@NonEuclideanTacoCannon]

If I'm ever able to retire, I'm planning to build a 3/4 J-3 Cub from scratch. Part 103 would be quite the challenge, but this thing is almost a mini J-3 already. It would definitely be more economic with time and money to do a kit instead.

[@LiveLNXgaming]

been waiting for the new 4 stroke they have been talking about for a long time. nice to see that working and while im not sure if ill go for their aircraft due to cost, i may go for that engine and see about mounting it to an Ultracruiser.

[@morrisdennis]

Well worth it!😊

[@trdasset]

Chris -- That's a really good-lookin' paint job -- the black on white.

[@aarontrotter5188]

When I get one it will be a bad lands. Awesome design and looks great

[@Robert67909]

So a go kart engine with all billet internals! 😅 That's awsome!

[@DavidTolbert-r1h]

Awesome!!!!!!

[@dcmanno4]

Dude, that is so cool!

[@MrJeep75]

Sweet little set up

[@DeereX748]

What is flight performance like with the 40hp 4 stroke and 3 blade prop? Assume 200 pound load. Avg takeoff roll, cruise speed, stall speed. How big is the fuel tank, so what kind of range could you expect?

[@ahashdahnagila6884]

5 gallon fuel tank maximum (if flying as an ultralight) Three hours flight duration, close to 200 miles... Get an "N number" and it's a different story.

[@Brad-sh2wn]

Cruise speed 64 nautical miles an hour

[@RabbitHoleAdventures]

I would love to have one of these! Would it fit inside of an 8' wide enclosed trailer?

[@Taboloncawonthemasters]

What kit/company did he buy the rights to this aircraft from?? I remember seeing a video of him saying he bought the rights and upgraded/modified to make badlands aircraft

[@trdasset]

It was Kitfox.

[@bostonbudz4616]

NICE ONE👍👍

[@shekhargaidhani1618]

It's nice ultralight

[@bliglum]

So the skeletonized example there is 103 compliant. But will it still be compliant with the fuse covered, cowling added etc?

[@ryanrevis827]

Yes. The website gives a better breakdown. But since you put it together you have to be careful and mindful.

[@MichaelGolpe]

12:46 Sweet!

[@regdor8187]

I have to hear that engine running at 39 Hp on 420 cc's where most 720 cc two cyl can't make 35 Hp reliably....Could it be that it is something like a B&S, "Animal" Go Kart basis....

[@glenmel78]

It looks very similar to the engines on my pressure washers. Both are 420cc pushing about 16hp. I wouldn't dare try to push one to 40hp. Even with forged parts.

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

regdor would have been nice if he had a little more info on the engine !!! Who makes it , where whats it based on !!!

[@murrayhelmer8941]

I’m shaking my head over that too.

[@jakebudde3967]

​@@glenmel78website says that number happens at 8000 rpm.. making power is possible with rpm but I agree with you, who knows how long that remains assembled

[@owenmilner9700]

​@@glenmel78all of these engines are based on the honda gx390 "13hp" industrial engine, typically used in cement mixers, it's the big brother of the gx200 6.5hp. I have all the parts to build a reliable 35-40hp on pump gas for go kart use in the shed from before I had kids, all the billet parts, big valve ported head etc. One of the big issues with these motors is vibration, they run a balance shaft from factory which is a big failure risk at high rpm. My crankshaft is rebalanced with tungsten at 58% balance factor from memory to permit high rpm without a balance shaft. I know mine is 390cc not 460cc but there is no way I would consider it suitable for continuous duty use much above 4000rpm. It's a bit like vw engines, I used to have one in a buggy 2300cc with 200hp, so how come all the VW engine aircraft don't have 200hp?

[@Bass.Player]

Nice plane, base kit is 16K

[@samj1185]

really nicely designed. love the pivot wing design. $5k for the engine alone is pretty darn fair considering a quality rebuild of a Rotax 503 will cost you about $2500 and then it wants to burn 3.5 gph. a little surprised that the Thumpair has a 200 TBO compared to 300 for a Rotax 503. Wonder about overhaul cost for the Thumpair?

[@danlovett3697]

Hey Chris ,,,, Don't know where your interests lie as far as the style of aircraft you gravitate towards ,,,but have you ever thought about designing a WW2 replica fighter that was part 103 compliable ? I've wondered for years why no one has come up with one , especially with the technology and materials we now have available . It has to be doable ! Bert Howland designed an aircraft years ago that could be made as an ultralight (or close , i believe) and painted to resemble a P40 . No one has carried that torch since . Loehle makes models that are nice , WW2, and WW1 , but they are all LSA or experimental .... I think there would be a great market for them , and it's a niche that is untouched in the ultrlight world . The yellow/silver paint scheme in this video looks nice and reminded me of the observation aircraft of Vietnam era and early trainers ...Concessions would probably have to be made in regard to flight characteristics and meeting part 103 requirements for cruise and stall , but why has no one tried ..... Just thought id put a bug in your ear and add my 2 cents. Dan ....

[@raymondborkowski4290]

My brother and I build the same engines for mini bikes here in Detroit. Always wondered if this was doable.

[@hermanopalencia7126]

❤saludos y bendiciones desde Venezuela Trujillo me fascina ese diceño es hermoso felicidades me gustaría realizar una réplica en versión flap 😮

[@laxplayer99]

neat little 103, but 5 grand for a v twin. lol, I'm doing sport pilot school next summer. I'm gonna build a mini-max, and get hours with that. The motor they recommend is 2 grand.

[@vg23air]

its not a twin

[@693tanner]

what was that od green plane behind??

[@liamwinter4512]

Goals

[@jimjaeger8968]

Can you add floats?

[@TheRCcoupleNH]

My wife needs this

[@billquillin1952]

That's a Sweet Little Bird!!! Is 300hp an option? LOL

[@tomcoryell]

Only in the Steve Henry model.

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

I do believe 300HP would make this Aircraft a dangerous Helicopter. Not an Aircraft. Honestly... 100HP would be INSANE! (Someone will try it one day)

[@samj1185]

FAR 103 does not limit HP. Stall speed of 24 knots stall speed and 254 lbs dry are your main design limits. If you can get a 300 HP engine flying under those guidelines then do it.

[@andycraig7734]

Marty, where we're going, we don't need roads.

[@Turk-tf6vp]

Would have been cool if you picked up all of the avid aircraft jigs and materials that were for sale a while ago.

[@BruceTGriffiths]

Love this kit but I weigh 315 pounds. Any way to change something to get the plane to handle a little more usefule load? Heart issue so need to stay 103.

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

BruceTGriffith LOSE some weight or go to a larger plane !!!!!! DUUUUUHHHH!!!!

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

Only so much you can do to keep an Airplane LIGHT. And that has been done to this design already. Like most of us, the only thing we can do if we WANT to fly a specific Aircraft, is adjust our own personal "Weight and Balance." Looking to drop about 30lbs myself before my Aircraft is complete. And that one is Experimental. How bad do you want to FLY? :-)

[@BruceTGriffiths]

@@ExperimentalAircraftChannel , Thanks for the reply, The weight limit seems arbitrary and unfair. Those of us born 6'5" and 300 + lbs are just SOL when it comes to the numbers decided in 103. Aerolite 103 seems like one of the only airframes that can handle larger pilots. Unfortunate if you like the Badlands design but have my body.

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

@@BruceTGriffiths would love for the Part 103 rules to add ones "Note" into it stating something like "254lbs empty WITHOUT THE ENGINE" which would pave the way for MANY future options and give a pretty good weight increase to the Airframe.

[@Logan4661]

Yes, you could change the construction materials in some key places to say, titanium, magnesium, and carbon fiber. Then add as much wing area as possible until you have the plane back to 253.5 pounds, but remember to into account the chanes to the tail due to the larger wing. That will likely change the CG, so a moving the motor location may be necessary too. Now, since you've changed the materials, shape, flying characteristics, and price point, you might as well change the name of it too. Let's call it the "Something Else XL." There will always be a limit, and that limit will almost always seem arbitrary and unfair to those that are just a little outside of it.

[@ronalduphoff4591]

I noticed the thumper 4-stroke has vanished from the website, wonder what's going on with that? It was there a couple of weeks ago or less.

[@clyderanger]

interesting !!

[@ronalduphoff4591]

@@clyderanger Was just looking there over the weekend. Update, it's on hold for further R&D testing. I recall one owner talking about the vibration, so I'm going out on a limb and thinking that's the issue. Would love to hear Chris himself chime in. I also want to hear about an amphib option! With the foldable wings, I think this would be a great, with the additional weight under the rules.

[@karlwilliams8208]

Excellent video but no mention of cost for complete kit

[@greybeard5774]

Everything is up on their homepage .. 5 different options to choose from

[@karlwilliams8208]

@@greybeard5774 thank you for replying 👍🏻

[@yelyab1]

My question is on a nice calm day in Frozen Solid, MN, what additional panels does he recommend? I figure a -40F snow machine suit, heated socks and gloves with switchable battery packs, heated helmet including defroster for shield. I can’t move! Like the man says “it flys itself”. That’s nice but it’s not like an Amish horse that knows the way home when pops falls asleep after celebrating with God the excellent crop of grapes last year.

[@ahashdahnagila6884]

So ..maybe he doesn't promote winter flying? But, here in Florida, practically any day is a good day for flying...

[@driftlesshermit]

Well there you go. Invent a comfortable battery powered flight suit. Can't imagine you'd be in the air much longer than an hour in winter.

[@doncatchpole]

Nice bird

[@gabeplays9441]

How do the Flaperons function compared to the Ailerons and flaps?

[@dinofarina2639]

Flaprons are like flaps and ailerons. They slow you down. An ultra lights. You're not supposed to fly fast

[@michaelspunich7273]

Not as effective in strong crosswinds

[@jockwilson-b8d]

5k for gx390 or if its a chinese 420cc they are £500 to buy, billet flywheel etc you buy from kart shop,reduction you can get from ace avation

[@Pushyhog]

i like the stol landing rodeos.

[@fly-n-m9445]

What holds the wings in place when they are folded back? Is that demo’ed in the video?

[@Lrasm13]

Probably friction and angle

[@aeronutt]

The same strut that holds it up when flying. It pivots on a rod end bearing.

[@chaosensues1656]

Is that a customer airplane or is it for sale?

[@airsoftgodfather]

That chinese gokart motor is making me nervous. I know the internals are aftermarket billet but the cast cases on these are very brittle

[@dinofarina2639]

I am going to get one

[@coreypuck3295]

I want one.

[@MinhTháiTrần-o8i]

Kết cấu mô hình phi cơ trọng lượng có hạn chế, nhưng nhận thức thì rất dễ cất cánh, chất lượng tương đối tốt và chuẩn, OK, cảm ơn video chia sẻ của bạn rất hay chúc bạn sức khỏe và hạnh phúc.

[@JacobLNored]

Who knows about these? So With the pilot what could be the limitation of extra weight of any kind? As far as cargo however little

[@693tanner]

want a Badlands 103 over the others so bad

[@bendavis7647]

Oh man a Kaiserreich fan instasub

[@jjm2948]

I could literally fly this off my roof

[@robertrobertson-yg5wb]

Just waiting for someone to bend there's to buy it now

[@bennyhill5938]

safety pins? isn't there something a bit more aircraft grade to do that job?

[@23lkjdfjsdlfj]

Agreed. It just has to stop the nut from turning so it's probably fine, but there's just something about a critical part of the airplane looking like a flimsy toothpick ...

[@albergan3174]

I remember those kinds of pins safetying T/R valves and handles on DC-9's

[@tomcoryell]

I don’t think they are like the safety pins your mom used to temporarily fix the curtains…..😎

[@RPO767]

It would be a locking type pin like a reusable cotter pin and called a cowling pin by Aircraft spruce.

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

Chris uses all Aircraft Grade hardware.

[@TinyHouseHomestead]

HEY! We are Americans, ... we like AMERICAN FRIES! 😱😁😝🤪🤣👍👍🇺🇲

[@WokeInTruth]

Take my money!

[@lynwoodjones]

🤗

[@damienhumpherys8938]

Isn’t that a predator motor?

[@cameronrussell7397]

Structure looks like a copy of the aussie Aeropup.

[@yelyab1]

He gave the impression that the one engine option was an all internally designed and assembled. Where does a start up company with relatively low sales, albeit low overhead, get the $$$$ to afford the tooling to cast an engine block, cylinder head, and the support bracket to the prop is made out of a billet. At $5K for an aircraft engine, that’s a good deal. You can’t get a brake job on a BMW for 5$K. I’m gonna have to drive over there and report back. Stay tuned.

[@aeronutt]

It's a Honda engine assembled with a bunch of aftermarket go-cart racing parts that make lots of power without exploding. The cart racers have already done all the designing and durability testing. The work he mentioned in the video is really just selecting the right aftermarket parts and bolting them together plus their own design for the redrive to spin the prop at a sane speed. Redrive tech is simple and well understood so it's just a matter of some simple outsourced machining to make the parts. The $5k figure sounds almost too good to be true compared to some other airplane engines I've considered. A 50 HP 2-cylinder 2-stroke goes for more than twice that.

[@jpdurr]

I'll Send a Raven....

[@daviddavids2884]

?!?!?!? 2:14 a main wing is SUPPOSED to have a Load-bearing Main Spar, located at THIRTY percent of chord.!!!!!!

[@jacksamson5968]

Sparless wings are definitely possible

[@aeronutt]

A couple thousand flying aircraft must not have got that note. All the Avid, Kitfox, and their copy-cat clone airframes for the last 30 years are built with this exact wing structure. They use one aluminum tube at the leading edge, another at about the 70% chord point, and a strut brace connected to both tubes at about 2/3 of the span. This wing structure works very well with low speed lightweight wings. What you describe is only needed for wings with no strut brace taking the weight and bending moment.

[@captainbotbot2151]

how could that engine produces 40hp?

[@ChristianStout]

Why a carbureted engine? I thought carburetors were ancient history at this point. No complaints/criticisms, I just genuinely don't understand.

[@hadleymanmusic]

Motor glider wings?

Wow, no license needed? I can't wait to get one of these Tinker-Toy based flying coffins!

[@rob379lqz]

Nice, I’d pay $19,999.00 for this RTF.

[@a320nick]

You have to build them yourselves

[@MrGGPRI]

Need torque ? diesel torque is the answer; why spend $$$ on poor torque dangerous gasoline designs ?

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

Usually (and historically) Diesel engines are too heavy for Aviation use. (And specifically Ultralight Aviation due to their weight restrictions. We would love to see however, one come to market that was viable.

[@Archer441]

So they name a plane bad land….

[@anne-vn2gz]

Hahaha that's funny. Well you know what they say, if you can walk away from a bad landing it was a good landing.

[@rangaranga623]

It's Goodland , not Badland any more👍

[@michellearrington4846]

Looks like a deathtrap to me, like most private aircraft.

[@SnoopDougieDoug]

You picked an excellent place to leave a productive comment that so many are sure to benefit from. (Consider the audience most likely to land here and my sarcasm might seem more justified) I’m sorry you feel that way across the wide gamut of light private aircraft. I make it a point to try to educate that misconception away here in California as often as possible by teaching why the reality behind that perception isn’t as many think it to be, and then I show them. I retired flying search and rescue for the Air Force. Not too many folks less trusting of bad equipment or risky designs and/or categories than Rescue bubbas. We are the ones that respond to find people when it was their last day. But I know what is, and what isn’t. Comments broadly stated like the one I’m responding to don’t foster learning…they perpetuate fear. Knowledge slays fear. We should all slay fear. Anytime we possibly can. Wherever we find it.

[@kubalakhan2]

Ignorance is the mother of all fear

[@cybair9341]

I pity the ultralight pilots having to fly through I-90 turbulence on final.

[@MotoDUDEabides]

Cool but the 5k motor price is laughable.

[@vg23air]

the next better 4 stroke is 8500

[@hud86]

Lots of good pilots without licenses and bad licensed pilots. Read NTSB reports, licensed pilots are nuts!

[@suspectgaming8868]

"After reaching retirement age" 😂 stop...thats absolutely insulting to see and hear that said with a serious and straight face.

[@Polypeckerhead]

Keep away from controlled airspace and keep it remote.

[@ExtremeRecluse]

Did he just say $5,000 for that lawn mower engine?

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

YES. But all the internals are competition (racing) applications as Chris mentioned so low quantity batch production is higher costs.

[@NobleFellers]

5 k doesn't seem that unreasonable. It's a 4 stroke aircraft engine.

[@CharliesPurpose]

Ill put some turbo jet engines on that boy

[@fastmankim1]

5 gs for a predator motor

[@TheDustysix]

Deutschendorf.

[@wesm3915]

Five grand for a single cylinder air cooled engine, that's ridiculous.

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

Not in Aviation terms. But we agree with you... it would be great if more engine companies came on board so there would be more competition (and more innovation) in our space to provide more and more options.

[@boxlessthinker1973]

How much for the kit?

[@michaeljuliano8839]

I weigh about 10 lbs less than that aircraft.

[@libertywarrior22691]

OH HEY LOOK! another Kenny Shrader Skyrader knock off..

[@aeronutt]

Or, was the Sky Raider a knock off of the Kitfox that Dan Denny copied from Dean Wilson? Kenny borrowed the design as he left his job with Kitfox and "invented" the Sky Raider so your acusation holds no water. Who copied who? The Badland plane is built in the original Kitfox Lite jigs. It got a new name due to trademark protection, but it's a proven design that has stood the test of time and Chris is making them better than ever.

[@ryanmenke9554]

Need to get into the military drones!

[@dirtcop11]

I weigh more than the airplane.

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

There are OTHER Airplane options out there for YOU. :-)

[@JosephPeterson-qw7jr]

You mean to tell me that a corvette engine is cheaper than that little buullshit pull start lawn mower motor😂😂😂😂

[@tztz1949]

No formal training? No license? Idiotic. Gives aviation a black eye.

[@ryanmenke9554]

We could drop bombs with that! cool

[@daleyoung87]

I will be glad when that" no license required" statement is a thing of the past. There is simply too much to know about Aviation to just be turned loose in an aircraft.

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

No License Required does NOT mean that you shouldn't get training to FLY Light Aircraft. It is a true statement however. Part 103 FAA regs state this. You should (and we recommend when flying ANYTHING) get transition training into that Aircraft.

[@Alexandercarman97]

Hater just dont fly

[@s.eldenhall2938]

"No license required"......shocking! But there's no license required to travel in you own private property....even automobiles....but that doesn't stop the sheep from applying VOLUNTARILY to be licensed, does it....

[@shaetteb1272]

Oh god a sovereign idiot don't worry just keep saying legal stuff that was never adopted from the 1700's and I'm sure it'll work out fine. Licensing is for the safety of others to prove your competency with whatever the license is for. Next time you go to the DMV just show them your comment to let them know you shouldn't be allowed a license.

[@Ifelloutawindow]

I don’t understand what you mean

[@s.eldenhall2938]

@@Ifelloutawindow I mean, the right to travel is unalienable....God-given....all license is commercial, i.e. the regulation of commerce (interstate)...drive, traffic.....all commercial terms you admit to out of ignorance (how fast were you driving?) Bingo...you admitted to being in commerce out of ignorance, but the penalties are no less severe....

[@Gregoman89]

Yeah because normal people have jet planes

[@boobert69]

This guy is one of those sovereign citizen idiots. Yeah, right, no license need to drive on public roads