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Adventure aircraft company taking off in Scottsdale

Imagine taking your ATV to the sky.

PHOENIX — Arizona is one of the top places for off-roading in the world thanks to our vast desert terrain. 

But imagine taking your ATV to the sky. This adventure sport is taking off and the people building this unique aircraft are doing so right here in the Valley.

 “It’s like riding a motorcycle in the sky,” a Buckeye Air Show attendee said.

And this unique aircraft is becoming more popular in the adventure sports community.

"Some people call it a power hang glider, the FAA says it’s a certified aircraft so it’s actually called a weight shift control or we just call them trikes, like short for tricycle," Wild Sky owner Denny Reed said.

Reed, an engineer, learned about the light-sport world while on a trip to Europe and decided to start building the trikes right here in Arizona.

“We wanted something more of ATV enjoy what we do hunting, fishing, exploring," Reed said. "We are based out of Scottsdale we are actually the only aircraft manufacturer in the city of Scottsdale."

He’s hoping to continue to grow aviation manufacturing here in the Valley but says recruiting talent can be an uphill battle because tech graduates don’t always think they can stay local to pursue a career.

“We have 27 of these planes on order and we are struggling to find people and help,” Reed said.

Steve Ottosen, an ASU graduate, was on hand at the Buckeye Air Show this weekend to help recruit.

"Being able to code and do that kind of stuff and what’s incredible is we do a lot of that in the design and engineering in the planes itself,” Ottosen said.

Trikes can range in price from $30,000 to more than $100,000. 

Wild Sky is looking for tech graduates to join their team for more information, you can check out their website here

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