I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Clint and Crystal and kids when I ordered my Vetterman exhaust for my RV-14. I went back to pick it up a few weeks later and had enjoyable conversations both times. Clint’s brain is pretty amazing to me. Seeing the Badlands Traveler here is such a treat. A bucket list item for me to get to the Hot Springs fly-in. I’m proud of my Clint-built Vetterman exhaust for sure. Congrats on your new build!
Seriously excited for you Todd! I am really interested in watching your build and I predict it will do great things for GFK, which is still the single most underrated channel on RUclips! I was completely blown away by how fast you cruised right on by the Traveler in slow flight. I know the S-7 isn’t the absolute slowest STOL plane ever but it’s no slouch, and you are pretty hot in slow flight node, yet the closing rate was crazy! Did Clint have this plane at Oshkosh this year? I am 98% positive that he was part of the STOL demos in the evening. Unfortunately everyone was so blown away by Steve Henry (surprise surprise) that it was hard to stand out but I remember seeing that Cessna wing on what I thought was a Cub fuselage and shook my head at the incongruity of it. One of the things I LOVE about Oshkosh is the amazing ingenuity you see displayed.
Thank you my friend!! I believe he was there. I know he competed in the STOL event right before Oshkosh, and I think he did the stol demo at osh? I believe Doug was there as well with the 172 wing version that is painted the same color scheme (Doug put on the STOL event right before Osh). I know Clint took 3rd in that pre-osh event and the top 3 were within feet. The planes he lost to were no joke, big engine, custom cubs with slats. The Traveler landed a few feet longer, but would have blown them away in cruise speed. Interesting stuff.... agreed about slow flight, that really puts it in perspective for me! -T
Todd, now that its progressed to this point, we need to talk again about landing lights, Dan at XeVision I already spoke to Kevin Looks like Beringer brakes too. I should have made it to the Hot Springs fly-in.
Nothing like the thrill and anticipation of getting a new ride! I'm excited for you! After owning 30 plus different airplanes, always searching for the perfect airplane (slow and fast) we just went the other direction with a Savage cub and a Rans S7. They can do 90% of what a cub/cub-type can do at 50% of the cost. We found we don't need to carry the kitchen sink with us and going slow and short effectively is more about pilot skills than a wing or a special wing gadget. You prove that every day Todd with your S7. That 10% of extra slowness or speed can be very costly. We think about that every time we fill up with $3.00 auto fuel rather than $8.00 av-gas, or buy 8 ROTAX spark plugs for the cost of 1 Lycoming plug. and the list goes on.
In that compartment you could roll piuece if fabricate in a u shape and with some micro pulleys you could make it to where you can drag the bottom if the u towards the front and pull the other end to reset the fabric. This way you can bring any small luggage right ti the front if the opening for easy retrieval. Patent pending!
This airplane is amazing. If I were to get one I would want this kind of performance. I have a commercial, multi, inst and ATP. However, had a bit of a kerfluffel with my medical in 2018, walked away from aviation. Maybe this mosaic thingy will allow me to come back. I miss it so much. Thank you for your videos, not sure if I’ve watched them all in the last 5 days but I have to be close! Blue skies and tailwinds!
Always felt the landing gear of back country planes should extend to the bottom center of the fuselage which the shock on the outside exactly as you have done ... It causes less splay outward and less jolt straight up into the frame like with the gear bolted to the sides ... The geometry of this makes far more sense and Im amazed how many people dont understand this concept ... Also love the extended fuse and rigid well thought out tail ... And the huge improvement over cub wings and struts .. You built a bush plane as I envisioned it should be
I agree. I snapped my SuperSTOL gear 30 hours after the builder snapped the first set. This plane’s gear is more like Berlinger gear on a Highlander. Much stronger.
Excellent work. Sweet, cub-like performance with wing and fuselage improvements that actually improve performance rather than just add weight and drag. I love America and creative, hard working people. Hat’s off to you fellas! Hope you prosper and thrive. Tom
Hell yeah brother! Scratching my head trying to figure out what engine you’ll end up with for yours, but I predict it will have Twin Turbski’s!! Haha! Or maybe a Jet A diesel with compound turbskis!
Will whatever engine you put in it still be turbocharged? You seemed to fall in love with not worrying about loss of horsepower taking off and landing at higher altitudes.
I wonder how a four place cub frame similar to the Airframes Alaska cub with 180 wings with reasonably hot engine would do? It may not land super short, but it would likely do well enough that moose guides would take notice.
So I watched about half of this before I put it together, a couple of years ago I was watching Flying Doodles on RUclips, he was in Texas flying what they called the Badlands travleler ...and was talking about the guy that built it, so now I get to see the real guy that designed and built the bad lands travler...I always thought it was a cool idea, for me, I wish somebody besides Maule and Airframes Alaska would build a four place that converts to a hauler like Maule does..and I doubt Im alone...many of us old tailwheel types have grandkids now and would love to take them along....and besides, sometimes you need a place to put your bears and moose to get them home..
I really miss the Maule barn doors my old M7. Sold her because I hate having a steering wheel in a bush plane. I was at Maule last week trying to talk Brent into building an M9 with a stick. He didn’t say Yes, but he didn’t say He’ll No, either.
@@backcountyrpilot I wish they would at least offer that as an option, I, like many folks, learned on the old piper products with a stick, then in the Military flew mostly with a stick...I guess for some of us its just the way it should be
I will be yes.. Clint was kind enough to allow me to wait until the traveler is about done, then sell mine and buy it and make a quick swap. So I will hang onto it until next year sometime.
Titan to start....... and we'll go from there. There will be some pros and cons with that setup... after flying it, I was more sold on the idea than at first,
Appears that Erik Johnsons Badlands Traveler evolved from the 152 wing to the 172 wing. Is this still the 172 wing or will it be a custom and will it still be metal?
Experimental is the only part of GA that is growing. Good to see more options in the market place. For those that complain about cost, the engines are really the reason for the massive inflation. Lycoming and Continental engines cost as much as the kits being sold. A lot of partially completed Vans kits get sold because the kit buyer was blindsided by the engine costs. A new continental O200 now lists for $45K, ridiculous! A Bearhawk kit costs $50K, the engine will cost you more. You can put in a glass panel for under $10K. I wish there were more alternatives to the Rotax.
@@danielb516 those are boutique auto engine conversions. Viking and Aeromentum don’t manufacture their engines, they are auto conversions. They will be around a short time then when the owners decide to quit, so will there conversions.
I'm betting you can buy it with a 915 or Edge motor, but don't quote me on that.. Kevin can answer that. Might take a little longer to get an engine mount / cowling change? I know Kevin is open to other ideas than just the titan (lycoming) setup.
will start out with a titan.... wasn't my first choice, but I have changed my tune after flying his.. but there are some other reasons as to why as well... I'll make a video on the whole situation... -T
2 people total in current config, useful load should be approx. 850lbs (to be split among fuel, passengers, gear etc.) the 170/172 wing version can actually haul more weight (around 1000 lbs)
I understand why aviation is expensive but I don't think I'll ever be able to "comfortably" afford an airplane and the variable costs. I keep flirting with this kit and I'm wondering more and more if I'm just daydreaming about how "affordable" can this kit can be, because it looks like an amazing design. But here I am watching. LOL
The community has several aircraft that preforms very similar but the cost is crazy . 150k plus starting price .. . If it doesn’t come in under 100k. It’s a no brainer
I think this bird will provide two advantages over other machines in the same category. Wider flight envelope, and a cheaper price. And maybe even a few other little things like faster aileron roll etc. I believe the Chimera Cessna wing option will be very affordable! Kevin will have those details but the numbers I've seen are far more realistic than trying to buy a CC, Legend etc. that are all way out of most of our ballparks.
@@GravityKnightFlying if it isn’t priced under a 100 k. It will fall.. it’s just another cub knock off .. I’m not saying it’s a great aircraft.. but in reality…. Do we need another high cost aircraft?
@@bryanspayde8688 I wouldn't call it a cub knock off with a single strut, metal wing, long travel gear that doesn't use a cabane etc. It's fairly far removed from a traditional cub. But point taken that it's in the same class. In the end, it takes a lot of work to build an airplane kit, and materials cost has skyrocketed, so it costs what it costs. I don't think anyone involved with this project is being unrealistic with costs or trying to make it big doing this... with a small time operation there is less overhead in a lot of ways so I would bet the cost is about as competitive as it can get for a plane this capable. It doesn't have all the frills and fancy nonsense that jacks up the price. I know it will be MASSIVELY cheaper than a carbon cub. In fact, regardless of what the number comes out to be, my guess is that it will be one of the cheapest birds to build in this category, if not the cheapest.. and has better performance than anything else I've seen in the same class. I'm not sure what else someone could expect.
@@GravityKnightFlying I wasn’t trying to be negative I own a jabiru and a luscomb. . If I want long legs I fly my jabiru. If I’m just going up to play. Key less than 3 gallons an hour .. it’s the cost . If you or I feel the desire to spend 150k plus. Just buy a carbon cub . Bring this aircraft in at under 75k. You got something.
@@GravityKnightFlying The engine cost is the killer. Maybe Clint should look at Edge Performance's Yamaha conversion, becoming more popular with STOL segment.
For now the plan is a Titan 340, and hopefully before too long fuel injection, cold air sump of some kind etc. Nothing crazy on this one (no budget for anything too wild to get started).
Remember this is all coming together as we speak… no investors, no big financial backing… just some normal guys trying to make a go of something pretty cool. Call Kevin if you need more specs beyond what the video shows
I put what specs have been nailed down in the video… but more importantly, I showed a lot of what it can do. Instead of numbers on paper which often times are inflated by manufactures, you can see it in action…But I guess that’s not good enough for you, which is great - they have enough orders already to keep them busy for quite a while.
It seems to me there is nothing special about this one. Just a regular cub with modifications in suspension. I think that the most unique is still superstol xl
Regular cub? Single strut metal wing, faster cruise and lower stall than a cub or a super stol xl… way higher gross than a super stol xl, faster roll rate than a cub or xl, Highly modified tail vs a cub, more efficient cruise vs an xl with slats. Very little about this is plane is like a regular cub
@@GravityKnightFlying Sorry, I'm not a pilot, I dream about having a bush plane. And as a person who wants a plane I would definitely prefer that passenger seat was to the right or left to me, but definitely not behind) speaking about the numbers I didn't find it outstanding, maybe because I was not watching the video really attentively 🤷🏼♂️
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm ready to pull the trigger on one!! I just hope they offer 50 year financing, with 0 down and no payments for 5 years!
Don't forget the very late balloon payment.
I would prefer no payments for the full 50 years, then I could totally afford one!
Where do I sign, I’m in on this deal!
Let us know where you find that kind of deal 😂😂
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Clint and Crystal and kids when I ordered my Vetterman exhaust for my RV-14. I went back to pick it up a few weeks later and had enjoyable conversations both times. Clint’s brain is pretty amazing to me. Seeing the Badlands Traveler here is such a treat. A bucket list item for me to get to the Hot Springs fly-in. I’m proud of my Clint-built Vetterman exhaust for sure. Congrats on your new build!
Love that - great plane and children and dog playing in the background...while you build a plane in the garage!! My kinda dream.
Exciting times - this is going to get interesting. And thanks for all those great flying shots!!
Seriously excited for you Todd! I am really interested in watching your build and I predict it will do great things for GFK, which is still the single most underrated channel on RUclips!
I was completely blown away by how fast you cruised right on by the Traveler in slow flight. I know the S-7 isn’t the absolute slowest STOL plane ever but it’s no slouch, and you are pretty hot in slow flight node, yet the closing rate was crazy!
Did Clint have this plane at Oshkosh this year? I am 98% positive that he was part of the STOL demos in the evening. Unfortunately everyone was so blown away by Steve Henry (surprise surprise) that it was hard to stand out but I remember seeing that Cessna wing on what I thought was a Cub fuselage and shook my head at the incongruity of it. One of the things I LOVE about Oshkosh is the amazing ingenuity you see displayed.
Thank you my friend!! I believe he was there. I know he competed in the STOL event right before Oshkosh, and I think he did the stol demo at osh? I believe Doug was there as well with the 172 wing version that is painted the same color scheme (Doug put on the STOL event right before Osh). I know Clint took 3rd in that pre-osh event and the top 3 were within feet. The planes he lost to were no joke, big engine, custom cubs with slats. The Traveler landed a few feet longer, but would have blown them away in cruise speed. Interesting stuff.... agreed about slow flight, that really puts it in perspective for me! -T
Awesome video Todd! I flew Doug Jackson's at Sodbusters and loved it. Kevin is going to do great with this. Yee Haww!
Thanks Levi!! Appreciate that feedback on Doug's .. haven't flown that one, but flown next to him several times and was always very impressed by it!
Todd, now that its progressed to this point, we need to talk again about landing lights, Dan at XeVision
I already spoke to Kevin
Looks like Beringer brakes too.
I should have made it to the Hot Springs fly-in.
So exciting to see an amazing design progress and be available to all. Way to go everyone!
Nothing like the thrill and anticipation of getting a new ride! I'm excited for you!
After owning 30 plus different airplanes, always searching for the perfect airplane (slow and fast) we just went the other direction with a Savage cub and a Rans S7.
They can do 90% of what a cub/cub-type can do at 50% of the cost. We found we don't need to carry the kitchen sink with us and going slow and short effectively is more about pilot skills than a wing or a special wing gadget. You prove that every day Todd with your S7. That 10% of extra slowness or speed can be very costly. We think about that every time we fill up with $3.00 auto fuel rather than $8.00 av-gas, or buy 8 ROTAX spark plugs for the cost of 1 Lycoming plug. and the list goes on.
In that compartment you could roll piuece if fabricate in a u shape and with some micro pulleys you could make it to where you can drag the bottom if the u towards the front and pull the other end to reset the fabric. This way you can bring any small luggage right ti the front if the opening for easy retrieval. Patent pending!
This airplane is amazing. If I were to get one I would want this kind of performance. I have a commercial, multi, inst and ATP. However, had a bit of a kerfluffel with my medical in 2018, walked away from aviation. Maybe this mosaic thingy will allow me to come back. I miss it so much. Thank you for your videos, not sure if I’ve watched them all in the last 5 days but I have to be close! Blue skies and tailwinds!
Always felt the landing gear of back country planes should extend to the bottom center of the fuselage which the shock on the outside exactly as you have done ... It causes less splay outward and less jolt straight up into the frame like with the gear bolted to the sides ... The geometry of this makes far more sense and Im amazed how many people dont understand this concept ... Also love the extended fuse and rigid well thought out tail ... And the huge improvement over cub wings and struts .. You built a bush plane as I envisioned it should be
I agree. I snapped my SuperSTOL gear 30 hours after the builder snapped the first set.
This plane’s gear is more like Berlinger gear on a Highlander. Much stronger.
Nice to put a face to our phone conversations Clint!
Todd, I’m anxious to see your build. As I’ve stated before, living in Grand Junction I’d love a shot at your 7 when the day comes!😊
Nice video, caught my attention with the title-flight instructor up in Aberdeen SD
Wicked Cool Plane. Just be sure to make the paint as cool as your current plane!!
Yah Man!! me excitted too!!! Great Video Todd!
Congrats on your new plane
Exciting to see this aircraft company come together, I want one,
Nice job Todd. Really exciting to see this become a reality!
Excellent work. Sweet, cub-like performance with wing and fuselage improvements that actually improve performance rather than just add weight and drag. I love America and creative, hard working people. Hat’s off to you fellas! Hope you prosper and thrive. Tom
Thanks Tom!!
Whole lotta NOICE,Todd!
IF I was looking for a bigger plane then my S-7S, this would be it for sure!
Cool video Todd. I’m still hiding out for the 4 place.
Hell yeah brother! Scratching my head trying to figure out what engine you’ll end up with for yours, but I predict it will have Twin Turbski’s!! Haha! Or maybe a Jet A diesel with compound turbskis!
nothing that exciting...... sadly.. I love the way you think though!! haha 🤣
How. Many passages and carrying weight
Awesome aircraft and backstory with all involved! Would love to see this aircraft with a Verner 7 or 9 cyl radial! Would be a show stopper!!
Will whatever engine you put in it still be turbocharged? You seemed to fall in love with not worrying about loss of horsepower taking off and landing at higher altitudes.
Good question!, at first (maybe permanently?) no..... I will make a detailed video about all this and why etc.
I wonder how a four place cub frame similar to the Airframes Alaska cub with 180 wings with reasonably hot engine would do? It may not land super short, but it would likely do well enough that moose guides would take notice.
Looks like a new wing, as they used to have Cessna wings on them!!
15:15 min into this video , I love the system on the super stol ( tail wheel assembly) mention it! yah?
So I watched about half of this before I put it together, a couple of years ago I was watching Flying Doodles on RUclips, he was in Texas flying what they called the Badlands travleler ...and was talking about the guy that built it, so now I get to see the real guy that designed and built the bad lands travler...I always thought it was a cool idea, for me, I wish somebody besides Maule and Airframes Alaska would build a four place that converts to a hauler like Maule does..and I doubt Im alone...many of us old tailwheel types have grandkids now and would love to take them along....and besides, sometimes you need a place to put your bears and moose to get them home..
I really miss the Maule barn doors my old M7. Sold her because I hate having a steering wheel in a bush plane.
I was at Maule last week trying to talk Brent into building an M9 with a stick.
He didn’t say Yes, but he didn’t say He’ll No, either.
@@backcountyrpilot I wish they would at least offer that as an option, I, like many folks, learned on the old piper products with a stick, then in the Military flew mostly with a stick...I guess for some of us its just the way it should be
I hate to see you leaving the S7 behind, but that Badland Traveler looks fantastic!
I love this setup!
Great aircraft, glad you're able to work with badlands!
Then does that mean you're selling the S-7?
I will be yes.. Clint was kind enough to allow me to wait until the traveler is about done, then sell mine and buy it and make a quick swap. So I will hang onto it until next year sometime.
I want the ultimate bush plane 200-250kt cross country cruise 20kt stall when playing, sorta like Drayco
Hey Todd,
Do you think you'll still run behind a turbocharged powerplant on your new plane? Or stick with the NA titan system?
Titan to start....... and we'll go from there. There will be some pros and cons with that setup... after flying it, I was more sold on the idea than at first,
Appears that Erik Johnsons Badlands Traveler evolved from the 152 wing to the 172 wing. Is this still the 172 wing or will it be a custom and will it still be metal?
You have a choice, the Traveler uses a custom metal wing, the Chimera uses the cessna wing (with the Sportsman STOL cuff).
Experimental is the only part of GA that is growing. Good to see more options in the market place. For those that complain about cost, the engines are really the reason for the massive inflation. Lycoming and Continental engines cost as much as the kits being sold. A lot of partially completed Vans kits get sold because the kit buyer was blindsided by the engine costs. A new continental O200 now lists for $45K, ridiculous! A Bearhawk kit costs $50K, the engine will cost you more. You can put in a glass panel for under $10K. I wish there were more alternatives to the Rotax.
there are . viking and areo momentum
@@danielb516 those are boutique auto engine conversions. Viking and Aeromentum don’t manufacture their engines, they are auto conversions. They will be around a short time then when the owners decide to quit, so will there conversions.
@@dieseldan5189 thats the thing , you will always be able to get honda parts. Even if the owner leaves.
Great plane! You should consider installing Rotax inside, or Edge Performance unit. And I will be the first to buy!
I'm betting you can buy it with a 915 or Edge motor, but don't quote me on that.. Kevin can answer that. Might take a little longer to get an engine mount / cowling change? I know Kevin is open to other ideas than just the titan (lycoming) setup.
What is ballpark pricing?
Very cool! What engine will you put in yours, Todd?
will start out with a titan.... wasn't my first choice, but I have changed my tune after flying his.. but there are some other reasons as to why as well... I'll make a video on the whole situation... -T
@@GravityKnightFlying I’m looking forward to it!
How many passages can it carry. How much extre weight can it carry in the form of supplies
2 people total in current config, useful load should be approx. 850lbs (to be split among fuel, passengers, gear etc.) the 170/172 wing version can actually haul more weight (around 1000 lbs)
will the wings be foldable?
No, too wide to be street legal.
This answer doesn't make sense. Could you please explain. Thx
Due to the chord length of the wings, plus the fuselage width the Badlands would be well over 8'6" which is the legal limit in most states.
@@wheelswingsothercoolthings3853 thank you
I understand why aviation is expensive but I don't think I'll ever be able to "comfortably" afford an airplane and the variable costs. I keep flirting with this kit and I'm wondering more and more if I'm just daydreaming about how "affordable" can this kit can be, because it looks like an amazing design. But here I am watching. LOL
The community has several aircraft that preforms very similar but the cost is crazy . 150k plus starting price .. . If it doesn’t come in under 100k. It’s a no brainer
I think this bird will provide two advantages over other machines in the same category. Wider flight envelope, and a cheaper price. And maybe even a few other little things like faster aileron roll etc. I believe the Chimera Cessna wing option will be very affordable! Kevin will have those details but the numbers I've seen are far more realistic than trying to buy a CC, Legend etc. that are all way out of most of our ballparks.
@@GravityKnightFlying if it isn’t priced under a 100 k. It will fall.. it’s just another cub knock off .. I’m not saying it’s a great aircraft.. but in reality…. Do we need another high cost aircraft?
@@bryanspayde8688 I wouldn't call it a cub knock off with a single strut, metal wing, long travel gear that doesn't use a cabane etc. It's fairly far removed from a traditional cub. But point taken that it's in the same class. In the end, it takes a lot of work to build an airplane kit, and materials cost has skyrocketed, so it costs what it costs. I don't think anyone involved with this project is being unrealistic with costs or trying to make it big doing this... with a small time operation there is less overhead in a lot of ways so I would bet the cost is about as competitive as it can get for a plane this capable. It doesn't have all the frills and fancy nonsense that jacks up the price. I know it will be MASSIVELY cheaper than a carbon cub. In fact, regardless of what the number comes out to be, my guess is that it will be one of the cheapest birds to build in this category, if not the cheapest.. and has better performance than anything else I've seen in the same class. I'm not sure what else someone could expect.
@@GravityKnightFlying I wasn’t trying to be negative I own a jabiru and a luscomb. . If I want long legs I fly my jabiru. If I’m just going up to play. Key less than 3 gallons an hour .. it’s the cost . If you or I feel the desire to spend 150k plus. Just buy a carbon cub . Bring this aircraft in at under 75k. You got something.
@@GravityKnightFlying The engine cost is the killer. Maybe Clint should look at Edge Performance's Yamaha conversion, becoming more popular with STOL segment.
What engine are you going with on yours
For now the plan is a Titan 340, and hopefully before too long fuel injection, cold air sump of some kind etc. Nothing crazy on this one (no budget for anything too wild to get started).
Whats the risk of having a snappey wing at low speeds
Dude , you need to hang a Yamaha on the front of it , a 998 t
Wish the website was better. Would love to know more about the model options and specs etc???
Remember this is all coming together as we speak… no investors, no big financial backing… just some normal guys trying to make a go of something pretty cool. Call Kevin if you need more specs beyond what the video shows
@@GravityKnightFlying thanks!
I love aviation too
👍
Seems like a lot of hype for an aircraft that they will not even publish any specs for
I put what specs have been nailed down in the video… but more importantly, I showed a lot of what it can do. Instead of numbers on paper which often times are inflated by manufactures, you can see it in action…But I guess that’s not good enough for you, which is great - they have enough orders already to keep them busy for quite a while.
It seems to me there is nothing special about this one. Just a regular cub with modifications in suspension. I think that the most unique is still superstol xl
Regular cub? Single strut metal wing, faster cruise and lower stall than a cub or a super stol xl… way higher gross than a super stol xl, faster roll rate than a cub or xl, Highly modified tail vs a cub, more efficient cruise vs an xl with slats. Very little about this is plane is like a regular cub
@@GravityKnightFlying Sorry, I'm not a pilot, I dream about having a bush plane. And as a person who wants a plane I would definitely prefer that passenger seat was to the right or left to me, but definitely not behind) speaking about the numbers I didn't find it outstanding, maybe because I was not watching the video really attentively 🤷🏼♂️
Yawn. It’s a wonderful aircraft can it be built for under 75 k. ? Just a ?
Boring talks no action in vid
Don't you like the Bearhawk Patrol?
Nice airplanes but they don’t fly as slow as this by a ways. Not knocking them though- i do like the 2 seat version.