Rans Incorporated

It was cool but abundant sunshine provided good conditions for an excellent event at the tenth Sebring. Morning winds died down and allowed plenty of demo flying opportunities and even for those who didn’t go aloft, the Manufacturer’s Showcase allowed visitors to see numerous aircraft doing low fly-bys. The combination of readily available demo flights […]

Rans designer Randy Schlitter is one of those restlessly creative types. Many aviators are aware he’s created twenty airplane designs and these are not all variations on a theme. While a few are based on another, several are completely fresh approaches. Way back when, we used to joke about the Rans design-of-the-month club, so often […]

After losing the trim tab on the elevator of his Rans S-6, John Pederson of Lombard, Illinois grappled with a violent shaking and executed an emergency landing on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive. He was flying very early so traffic on the multi-lane route was light. Pederson reported timing his landing to avoid any traffic, though […]

Since AirVenture 2012, I’ve been part of several discussions about the way — and reasons why — aircraft become certified. Sound boring? Yes and no. One way this might get your interest is to consider if Icon could join Cessna in going Primary Category instead of LSA. Disclaimer: I have no info about any such […]

Pilots seem to love more power. All other things being equal, a more potent engine is preferred to one with less power. Pilots also like sweet-handling airplanes. So, put 20 more horses in front of the S-19 Venterra and you’ve really got something. *** At the recent Mt. Vernon Midwest LSA Expo, I got to […]

I had some fun today talking with Jim Sweeney, guest host of Roy Beisswenger’s Ultraflight Radio Show. *** Our first topic was the state of the LSA industry. I first picked my pal Dan Johnson’s satellite-view brain of the LSA Big Picture to glean we’re looking at an industry that is weathering the economic storm […]

Rans Aircraft seems determined to reverse the trend in ever-higher SLSA prices with a new package for its long-popular (2000 flying worldwide), constantly refined bird: the S-6ELS Coyote II. *** The 26 year old Kansas company, highly successful purveyors of more than 4,500 kit and ready-to-fly aircraft (and a thriving bicycle builder as well) offers […]

Much lamenting has been heard regarding the price of Light-Sport Aircraft. It isn’t hard to understand given prices that now exceed $140,000. Was such inflation supposed to happen? I’ve explained how this occurred, and the biggest culprit, by far, is the exchange rate difference between dollars and euros. (Other factors include the time value of […]

As the challenging year for aircraft sales grinds on, Light-Sport Aircraft continue to hold their own. In tough times, when cash is tight, small enterprises may fare better than large companies. Their low expense structures, modestly compensated managers and employees, and lean manufacturing — as allowed by industry-standards certification — become strengths. *** But we […]

After three days of Sebring 2009, the upbeat mood has mushroomed. I heard zero negative comments and dozens of positive statements defining the Fifth Annual Sebring Expo as an unqualified success. As cleverly keyboarded by aviation writer, Jim Lawrence (LSA Editor for Plane & Pilot magazine — read his blog on Sebring): “Take that, bad […]