Sat, Apr 05, 2025
While ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, was stomping around EAA AirVenture 2016 on his “What’s New” rounds, he stopped to talk with Randy Schlitter, the founder and owner of RANS Designs, which is the company that produces the RANS line of kit-built airplanes. While RANS has been around for a long time, they still managed to come up with something new in the RANS S-21.
For those of you who are familiar with the RANS airplanes this truly is “Breaking News.” RANS has been noted for building tube-and-rag airplane designs, but the S-21 separates itself from their other models by being a combination of tube and metal.
In the video you’ll see the early workup of some of its structure which combines welded tubing with aluminum covering. This allows the front section of the airplane to provide the high structural integrity and crash protection of welded tubing, while the wings and aft section are the more standard aluminum construction.
Schlitter goes on to provide some details about the kit and the overall features of the airplane. It’s been designed to be powered by a 180 horsepower engine and provide cross-country performance. The conversation continues into the cost and other details that a kit builder would be interested in. This video works perfectly if you’re comparing kit-built airplanes.
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