What is a Skyotë?
Skyote N9297S David Novak
Bruce Moore photo pilot in Cessna 210 Shot between Hortonville and Lake Poygan.
The Skyotë is a single-place homebuilt biplane aircraft designed in the mid 1970’s by Mr. Otto E. "Pete” Bartoe, and marketed for years under the auspices of Skyotë Aeromotive Ltd. It is stressed for up to intermediate-level competition aerobatics, and combines the look of the classic Rose Parakeet with the handling and agility of the Bucker Jungmeister.
While originally designed for production, it has only been made available as an experimental homebuilt aircraft. Mr Bartoe and Skyotë Aeromarine Ltd have periodically offered wing rib and spar kits in the past, but interested parties should now contact Aircraft Spruce & Specialty for plans purchase, preformed wing rib sets, and other parts/materials. Plans are available for purchase for $595, as of August 2020. Prospective Skyotë builders should contact Aircraft Spruce with further inquiries regarding plans or rib sets. Prospective builders can also contact VR3 Engineering, Doane Precision Frames, and Pritchard Industries for information about availability and pricing for CNC-profiled steel tubing sets/TIG-welded components, as well as CNC-waterjet-cut steel and aluminum fittings. See the Skyotë Resources & Links page for online links.
Click HERE to learn more about the Skyotë's designer, Mr O.E. "Pete" Bartoe. In addition to the Skyotë, the Ball-Bartoe JW-1 Jetwing testbed aircraft he designed and built in the late 1970’s is also indicative of his highly innovative thinking - a Sept 2002 article from Aviation History magazine details this interesting aircraft. A 2021 Air Facts article also tells the Jetwing and Skyotë story.
Skyotë Aeromarine published a brochure describing the Skyotë biplane, posted below with their permission. Click on the picture below to view a PDF file of the brochure.
The article below, written by Howard Levy for the September 1986 issue of Kitplanes magazine, provides a short background and description of the Skyotë biplane. Click on the thumbnail below to see a PDF file of the article.
The next article, from the May 1979 issue of Air Progress, posted with the permission of author Budd Davisson, discusses the concept behind the Skyotë design and provides his assessment of the Skyotë’s flying and handling qualities. Click on the thumbnail to view the article.
The following two articles are posted with permission from EAA, they are also PDF files -- just click on the thumbnail to view each article.
December 1976 Sport Aviation article, “Pilot Report on the fully Aerobatic Skyote single-seat biplane,” written by Bob A. Hoover.
September 1979 Sport Aviation article, “Duane Burnett’s Skyote,” written by Duane L. Burnett.
