Anybody have any experience with this kit? Looks like a nice option but I'm starting to wonder because I can find very little info about it on the web. Gonna give Skyraider a call later but wanted to check here and see if anyone has seen/flown one.
http://www.skyraiderllc.com/frontier.htm

Whee:

Price is right. Keep us posted on what you find out. Would be interested on how big an engine it is built to handle.

Thanks for the post.

Larry

That is one of the more affordable kits I've seen. But I don't know much about them.

Just got off the phone with the factory. The guy was real nice and spent 22 minutes answering all my questions. He said that there are several people putting O-360s on them but the majority of people are going with an O-320. Those building it for light sport are using the 912. The bigger engine planes come in around 900# and the 912 power planes are around 700. Huge difference there and he didn't really say why. I imagine it is because the big engine guys install a bunch of extra avionics and such. Currently the baggage door is a standard feature but because it adds weight, complexity and expense they are going to make it an option instead of standard. Fuel tanks are fiberglass and are approved for use with ethanol. They use the same tank supplier as kitfox. Tanks are 13 gallon. Baggage area is 6 feet long That huge baggage has me kinda excited. Sure you can't put heavy stuff back there but I can easily fit my kayak in there Bungee gear are standard but the grove spring gear are an option. The grove gear weigh almost twice what the bungee gear weigh. Standard kit does not come powder coated but it is an option. An elevator trim tab is an option, you don't have to use their electric trim that cost $350, they will weld in the trim for much less but you have to come up with the rest of the system.

This seems like a nice option. I'm going to try to get over there and check out their demo plane before they sell it. The recently sold the FWF off it and are selling the rest of the plane so they can build another one that is as light as possible.

It appears to be a kissing cousin to a Avid Magnum, but without the flaperons. Kenny Schraders old company, who used to employ Troy, who went on to branch out into the Highlander after Kennys death. All share the same wing planform with minor differences, so very well proven.

I built one and flew it for 45 hours, about 15 years ago, (??) partnered up with a guy with more money then time (the opposite of me back then, and still). Great performer behind that Lycoming, handled well also. I remember it had a roll neutral thing: once banked up and in a turn it would stay there without much attention at all. Not a bad thing at all, it just seemed like most will want to go back to straight this was happy to stay where you left it. It climbed great, well over 1,000 FPM, and easily cruised 115 or so. Used more then twice the fuel of a 912S while doing so. I remember this as I had a dead stick landing in it, something about having too much air in the full system We came in at 970 empty, with a full gyro panel.
Landed in the high 40's full stall, a lot of plane for the narrow chord wing, wasn't a Cub or a Rans S-7 as far as the slow end.

Louis up at Hart Aviation in Wrecksburg (Rexburg, an inside joke) flew it also, it was his brother-in-law's, fly on up there and pick his brain. I'm sure that the Frontier, while being different in details, is very similar, and I mean that in a good way.

You got a good eye CG.

Joe T. worked at Just Aircraft when they were in Caldwell and stayed with them for awhile when they moved to S Carolina. After that he worked at Skyraider. They use the exact same wings as a Highlander but made the fuselage bigger in all directions. It turned out to be pretty heavy.
I like the Caldwell brothers that own Skyraider and I hope they are successful with their business. I think that their smaller models that they have made a lot more of are a better plane. Just make sure and fly one before you buy one no matter what kind of plane it is.

Steve

I noticed the empty weight seemed pretty high for the wing which has me wondering how it actually flies when loaded. I figure when I head over to Boise I'll go checkout Kitfox, Skyraider, and go for a ride in a Highlander

If I was to go with a Sky Raider, I would probably go with the smaller bird, the Super. It appears to use the same wing as the Frontier and is a couple hundred pounds less weight. Although I like the cargo door and abundant cargo space of the Frontier, I'm sure a specially designed cargo compartment could be made for the Super, to fit under the fuselage right under CG.

My Dad stopped by the Skyraider hangar today. He was pretty impressed with the Frontier. It is too bad they don't have a flying plane, it's hard to make a decision when you can't fly the thing.

Cool looking plane. One thing I've kind of been thinking is the differences between the 100hp Rotax 912 and an O-320. 50hp different, but the Rotax is like half the weight, half the fuel burn. I think a light plane with an O-320 would be great for my altitudes, but the Rotax is sure tempting. Seems if I was just solo and kept the plane light, I'd still have no major problems. I hear more and more about Rotax powered planes flying around the Rockies. I'd like to hear more about this Frontier once they get their new one built.