The Striplin Lone Ranger is a family of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

that was designed by Ken Striplin. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-22. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not requ ...

rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a

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 planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, a single-seat, open cockpit,

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher c ...

. The Lone Ranger was designed to overcome pitch stability problems found in the earlier Striplin FLAC

tailless aircraft In aeronautics, a tailless aircraft is an aircraft with no other horizontal aerodynamic surface besides its main wing. It may still have a fuselage, vertical tail fin (vertical stabilizer), and/or vertical rudder. Theoretical advantages of the ...

. Stability was increased with the addition of a conventional tail unit, including conventional

elevators An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...

and a

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

for control. Because they were no longer needed the FLAC's

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

rudders were deleted. The landing gear is of tricycle configuration and features a steerable nosewheel. The engine is mounted above the wing, with the propeller above and in front of the windshield. The design spawned a family of variants featuring one and two seats, as well as

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 strut, which act in ...

and cantilever wings.

Variants

;Striplin Lone Ranger :Initial version for US production. Early versions have dual wing struts, while later models have just one strut. Engines used include the

Zenoah G-25B The Zenoah G-25 is a single cylinder, two stroke, carburetor, carburetted aircraft engine, with optional fuel injection, designed for use on ultralight aircraftCliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-8 Cybair Li ...

of and the

Yamaha KT-100S The Yamaha KT100 is a 100 cc two-stroke cycle kart racing, kart engine made by Yamaha Motor Corporation, Yamaha that has also been adapted for ultralight aircraft use.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pa ...

of . ;Aero and Engineering Services Lone Ranger :Cantilever wing version produced by Aero and Engineering Services of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The wing was redesigned and has a span of . The engine used is the

of . Empty weight , gross weight ,

glide ratio In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficiency under give ...

of 17:1. ;Silver Cloud :Improved version with a cantilever wing and full-span

flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of flap and aileron) on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, while s ...

s. Engines used include the

Cuyuna 215R The 2si 215 is a family of single-cylinder, fan-cooled, two-stroke, single ignition, aircraft engines that were designed for ultralight aircraft.Cuyuna Development Company: ''Cuyuna Engines'', Cuyuna Development Company, undated The basic engin ...

of . ;Sky Ranger :Two seat version of the Lone Ranger. ;Silver Cloud II :Two seat version of the Silver Cloud.

Specifications (Silver Cloud)

References

External links

Image of Aero and Engineering Services Lone Ranger
{{Ken Striplin aircraft 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...