The Frontier MD-II was an American

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that was designed and supplied as a kit by Frontier Aircraft Inc of

Vail, Colorado Vail is a Home rule in the United States, home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the ...

, introduced in the 1990s.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 167. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The MD-II featured a

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

, a two-seats-in-

side-by-side configuration Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

enclosed cockpit accessed via doors, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

with

wheel pants An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

and a single

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

engine. The aircraft was fabricated from

2024-T3 aluminum 2024 aluminium alloy is an aluminium alloy, with copper as the primary alloying element. It is used in applications requiring a high strength-to-weight ratio, as well as good fatigue resistance. It is weldable only through friction welding, and h ...

sheet. Its span wing employed a USA 35B

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...

, mounted flaps and had an area of . The cabin width was . The acceptable power range was and the standard powerplant used was the

Avia M 332 The Avia M 332 (originally known as the Walter M332) is an air-cooled four-cylinder inverted inline engine. It was designed by Bohumil Šimůnek, of Motorlet Walter Aircraft Engines, as a more powerful replacement for the four-cylinder Walter Min ...

(LOM) four cylinder, inverted, air-cooled,

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically powered (usually by ...

, inline

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbin ...

. With the Avia engine the MD-II had a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for pilot, passenger and baggage was . The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit at 1500 hours.

Operational history

By 1998, the company reported two kits had been sold with two aircraft complete and flying. In December 2013, no examples were

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

with the US

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

Specifications (MD-II)

References

{{reflist MD-II 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft