The Rans S-21 Outbound is an American

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

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 Randy Schlitter and is produced by

Rans Designs Rans Designs, previously called Rans Inc. (styled all in capitals as RANS), is an American aircraft and, formerly, a leading American recumbent bicycle and tricycle manufacturer, based in Hays, Kansas, United States. The company name is a portmant ...

Hays, Kansas Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 21,116. Hays ...

. It was introduced at

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at the Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wiscon ...

in 2016. The aircraft is supplied as a quick-build kit for amateur construction or ready-to-fly.

Design and development

The S-21 Outbound features a

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 struts, which act in ...

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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

, a two-seats-in-

side-by-side configuration Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

enclosed cabin accessed via doors, fixed

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

or optionally

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...

. The aircraft is made from

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

sheet, with both

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

and

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

extruded spars. The sheet metal parts employ final-size matched holes to reduce builder errors and speed construction. Its span wing mounts flaps and has a wing area of . The standard engine used is the Continental Titan X-340 powerplant.

Tundra tire A tundra tire (UK: ''tundra tyre'') is a large low-pressure tire used on light aircraft to allow operations on rough terrain. A common variant of tundra tire is the bushwheel brand. These tires include an integral inner tube with the valve man ...

s up to may be fitted. The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the crew/pilot, passengers and baggage is . The S-21 competes with the

CubCrafters Carbon Cub EX The CubCrafters Carbon Cub EX (EX - Experimental) is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed and produced by Cub Crafters of Yakima, Washington. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit ...

and the American Legend Super Legend HP in the kit aircraft market. The prototype, registered N215RD, first flew on 17 December 2017, it gained special light-sport aircraft approval in March 2018 with the

Rotax 912 ULS The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

, Rotax 912 iS,

Lycoming YO-233 The Lycoming IO-233 is a non-certified four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engine that produces between and . The IO-233 is a development of the Lycoming O-235, which is itself a derivative of the older Lycoming O- ...

and

Titan OX-340 Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

engines.

Operational history

In a review for ''KitPlanes'' magazine writer Dave Prizio stated that aircraft amateur builders, "seem to want a high-wing utility plane they can use to knock around the backcountry. It's nice to be able to get from here to there at 180 knots, but if there ends up being a 1200-foot dirt strip, an RV-8 doesn't look like the best choice for the trip. The point is that the utility plane is the hot ticket right now, and RANS seems to have come up with just the right plane at just the right time. And if the S-21 with a 100-hp Rotax is a good plane (it is), it is a better plane with 180 hp—a much better plane. This S-21 with the big engine and big tires was a hit at Sun 'n Fun 2019. Everyone wanted a demo ride in this popular new configuration of what is proving to be a very popular plane."

Specifications (S-21 Outbound)

References

External links

* {{Rans aircraft Rans S-21 Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2017