The Southern Aeronautical Renegade is an American

Formula V Air Racing Formula V Air Racing is an American motorsport that involves small aircraft using engines up to in displacement. History The proposal for Formula V has its roots in the 1964 Reno Air Races. In 1969, Air racer, Steve Wittman presented at the ...

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that was designed by Charles Lasher and produced by

Southern Aeronautical Corporation Southern Aeronautical Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, founded by Charles Lasher and based in Miami Lakes, Florida Miami Lakes is a suburb of Miami, an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade Cou ...

Miami Lakes, Florida Miami Lakes is a suburb of Miami, an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. US Census, 31,628 people live in Miami Lakes. History The development was constructed by Sengra (now the ...

. The aircraft was supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction, but the plans are apparently no longer available.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 151. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977.

Design and development

The aircraft features a cantilever

mid-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 enclosed cockpit under a

bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; so ...

, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

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 aircraft

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

is made from welded steel tubing, which Lasher chose for its superior crash survivability. Its mid-mounted wing has a wooden structure covered in doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

and spans . As the Formula V class demands, the aircraft is powered by

Volkswagen air-cooled engine The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and co ...

, which gives it a top level speed of and a cruise speed of . The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload is .

Specifications (Renegade)

References

{{Southern Aeronautical aircraft

Renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *'' Comman ...

1970s United States sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft