The Badlands STOL Kit (leading edge cuff) - RANS S-7S installing / testing!

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[@SEALwannabe100]

Best Backcountry Aviation Channel on KZbin..

[@divergentfuryan3546]

So badass to see you innovate and have mad flying skill , plus high quality filming and video creation !!!

[@jimecee]

Perfect timing for a video drop, on my way to a flight lesson right after. About ten hours in and getting my landings polished. Keep up the inspiration Todd!!

[@prof.heinous191]

Glad this experimental leap paid off for you - that's what experimental is all about. It'll be interesting to have a good impartial look at the Traveler, also looking forward to the fly-in!

[@rjthomasindyusa]

Best aviation channel on KZbin! Thank you for the content.

[@HookedOnUtah]

So cool. I've got the Steve Henry Cuffs on my Highlander and i'm about to install my leading edge slats. Keep up the great flying and videos

[@GravityKnightFlying]

awesome!!!!

[@davidspeyers5740]

Thanks for sharing. Ingenious idea for attaching the leading edge.

[@Captndarty]

Sick video. Brushed aluminum on the leading edge would look awesome👍🏻

[@marcoperez7553]

Dude. Love the color

[@badlandaircraft9504]

I'm thinking I gotta hang out with you fellas! 🤠

[@portnuefflyer]

That "brake", with the roller, THAT'S how it's done, sweet! Easy now, getting it setup correctly would be the trick. Paint, smaint, I would do it if I wrecked and had to rebuild, but wouldn't mess with it otherwise. Unless I vinyl wrapped it.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Agreed! and yea.. vinyl is an interesting idea.. kind of kicking that around too. Could look nice, be light, easier to replace than paint etc.

[@portnuefflyer]

@@GravityKnightFlying If you do, it may be worth it (but cost more of course) to get a local sign person who works with the stuff all the time, to knock it out right in your hangar. There are some tricks to working with it I'm told.

[@WingAndAPrayer-RedBird]

Great Vid Todd. Thanks!

[@DIYPackraft]

Intuitively I would expect the stall to break more suddenly with a sharper leading edge and be more likely to drop a wing with those lifting wingtip mods - it’s really interesting that the stall is still nice and docile. Cool!

[@GravityKnightFlying]

I was surprised as well, hoped it would just be similar, pretty surprised it ended up even more docile!

[@SEALwannabe100]

You could try vinyl wrap on the leading edge of the new cuff? With the raw AL it'll eventually start to pit an corrode with moisture impact and bug hits. Vinyl is cheap, easy tom install, and allows you to change color easily if you don't like it. 3M 2080 is good stuff and has a lot of color options. I have a fully polished AL plane and even with constant vigilance of polishing and cleaning I wrapped the LE of the wings and HS to slow down corrosion and pitting.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Not a bad idea for sure. Where would you end the vinyl? Right on the edge of the alum, or actually bring it past the edge onto the existing fabric? Or would it have been better to wrap it around the alum before it was all riveted down etc.? I've worked with it a little, but I'm not very experienced.

[@SEALwannabe100]

@@GravityKnightFlying You can lay it over rivets no problem, My plane is primarily pop-rivets. I would lay it down to fit each panel/skin section. When you reach an edge where one skin lays over another, id cut it there and lay it down flush. That way the vinyl isn't stepping down or up over the skin edges. When it come to the edges, vinyl is sort of meant to stretch around the edge, but you can always lay down and stretch it how you see fit, then cut with a razor to the dimension you'd like. It doesn't really become "permanent" until you warm up the vinyl adhesive with a heat source. Prior to that heating, you can lay it down and peel it up as much as you'd like. It kind of feels like applying a big sticker when you're working with the stuff. I know you dont really do sponsored content, but id be willing to bet that some vinyl supply company would be willing to not only supply you the material, but also help you lay it down just right for a discount or even free. Your channel is the one of the best out there and really high viz so they may be willing to help. I used a website called "Rvinyl" to source my 3M 2080 but you may be able to find a local shop with better deals.

[@stetsonpowers5589]

So it would be ideal to install these on a wing that's not covered yet, cool to see it can be done on a finished wing though. On a fresh build a guy could replace the factory leading edge wrap with these and it would be the cats meow...

[@leeadams5941]

So darker paint shows more mistakes as a general rule, gloss/shiny does the same, I'm thinking the lighter aluminum color plus scotch bright will show fewer imperfections, just my thoughts....while Im at it, the flying you do would benefit greatly with a set of better flaps, I flew KC130s most of my adult life and the fowler flaps they had were awesome, the same thing would apply to light aircraft IMHO

[@scottcummings8074]

I like the bare aluminum look best.

[@BellyUpFishGarage]

Imagine these in a Mike Patey carbon layup!

[@binker4848]

Hi Todd, any chance you’re heading to High Sierra this year, I’m doing my best to make the 5000miles to shake some hands of those who inspired me into aviation….👍👍

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Hey Binker, I don't see it happening. Too much dust, and too much commotion there for me. Don't get me wrong, it looks like a blast! But I tend to steer clear of the bigger gatherings these days. And I hear its almost impossible to get that dust out of everything. Also hard to get away from work this time of year. With that being said, I hope you know I appreciate the notion hat you would like to meet and shake my hand. I've met some neat folks due to having this channel, and that means something to me.

[@portnuefflyer]

@@GravityKnightFlying Same.....I'll fly local instead.

[@binker4848]

@@GravityKnightFlying yeah I hear that - not sure how the rental RV’s going to look by the time it’s done, I’ll have to owe you that one for the next trip 👍

[@danielforde-pogson]

Personally, I like the plastic spoon wingtip mod the best. Is that kinda a mini flap or something?!? Loving these videos.

[@sergiomendoza1979]

You still working on the plane?

[@janetcrosby9274]

Todd Another great informative video! Wondering if he has an one for a Zlin Savage Cub? Wing should be close to the Rans S7, just with a round tip. Also, what's the cost running with installation? Thanks again.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

I bet it would work? Like you said the wingtip pieces might need to be a little different… he was throwing around 1200 bucks installed as the number I heard going forward (but don’t quote me on that). Thanks!! -T

[@SimjetAU]

What about a metal wing on the RANS S-21

[@GravityKnightFlying]

We may have one that wants to try it and test. I think the 21 wing profile is closer to this cuff profile than the 7, so probably less change... but the extra wing area could help for STOL ops regardless. I'm hoping he will try it so we can see what happens.

[@whosyourcaddy]

Hey, our Highlander kit was delivered last week. We’re looking at prop options for our 912STi. What do you run?

[@portnuefflyer]

I'll butt in! He's running a 78" Luga prop I sold him.

[@GravityKnightFlying]

@@portnuefflyer 79" I thought ;) .....

[@GravityKnightFlying]

it's marketed as an NR prop..... good prop, but it requires so much pitch to soak up the STi motor that I think it cavitates off the line. It doesn't pull off the line properly until it gets rolling, then you can feel it kick in. Once moving, it climbs like crazy and retains good cruise speed. I think maybe the 80" version would be better as you could take some pitch out and it might behave better off the line. Jason (Badass Powersports) tested a lot of these, and he told me the 3 blade version of this same prop will pull 100ft lbs harder static thrust. Probably because it's not cavitating. It won't crusie quite as fast. I would even consider a 77" 3 blade version of it... I'm also pretty curious about running the 4 blade e-prop in the 77-80" flavor.. it has very thin blades, and some guys with 915's have run them with good results. Very light, smooth with all the blades, but still fairly efficient being so thin.

[@whosyourcaddy]

Thanks GK. My dad went to Arkanstol this year and saw an E-Prop on a 915(?). We’ll check it out. We’ve also been talking to Hal/Jay about getting an NR.

[@thompsonjerry3412]

Looks as though he needs to anneal the aluminum to eliminate the spring back.

[@TheMrmax00000]

Is Badlands producing these now for sale for the S7/S20?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

they are, I believe they have shipped a few

[@lilianamalusardi4026]

increases flap surface

[@jakemikek]

Do these changes noticeably affect Vx and Vy?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

Good question, I don't have the exact answer, my guess is VX might happen at a bit slower speed. VY, maybe not much change? VX and VY were kind of weird in my plane (the two speeds are fairly close together, it likes to climb steep)

[@jakemikek]

@@GravityKnightFlying We have a Horton STOL kit on a Cherokee, and it changes things dramatically!

[@86309]

Kitfox STI wing?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

rans s-7s

[@86309]

@@GravityKnightFlying copy, I meant is he doing kits for the Kitfox STI wing or does it not benefit from it?

[@GravityKnightFlying]

@@86309 gotcha! great Q on benefits.... if i could see your LE profile I might be able to give some thoughts on that. if you can get a picture from the side, email the address in my about section, I'm happy to look... if all else fails, give Clint a call, he might be more familiar with the STI wing than myself and have some thoughts on it.

[@86309]

@@GravityKnightFlying thanks for that, Im not at that stage yet, but will keep all this for reference! thank you.