![]() The designer says two people can fold the wings in 20 minutes, however, I did not witness the effort required. One other goal of the Sky Ranger bears noting. However, since patents are only good in the country issued, this legal detail may never have been tested. Look around you won’t always find that in ultralight structures, especially those that don’t rely on welded steel.Īgain addressing the fact that the Sky Ranger strongly resembles the S-6 Coyote II, it is actually significantly different in basic structure or else a patent wouldn’t have been issued, Helms feels. One identifying quality of this unique design is that there are no conflicting aircraft components that make entry harder in other words, you don’t need to slide behind or step over any tubes to enter the Sky Ranger. Helms says the award relates to the tubing airframe structure and its lack of any bent members. According to Helms, the design is sufficiently unique to have earned a French patent for its fuselage structure. The overall airframe design is based on triangulation from the center line of the fuselage. Ultralight enthusiasts tend to prefer hundreds (or lower) to thousands of hours of build time, and self-repair to A&P repair. Ultralights have always been easier to build and repair than those models coming from the homebuilt movement. Use of channel and gussets, all straight tubes (which are less costly than bent ones), and no weldments make the Sky Ranger more like ultralights from the 1980s than newer designs of the 1990s. “The Sky Ranger is more typical ultralight construction with tubes bolted together,” says Helms. “The Coyote is typical general aviation construction, using welded steel, mostly dope-and-fabric covering, and a style of design that is different from common ultralight construction. It’s built completely differently though it does look a lot like the Coyote,” he admits. They say it’s a knockoff, but Phillippe didn’t take anything from the Coyote. Sabre Aircraft boss Richard Helms says, “People compare the Sky Ranger to the RANS S-6 Coyote II. To keep the design as simple as possible – part of the overall design goal – the Sky Ranger has no welding, uses only straight main airframe members, and has no composites for structural components. Clubs can handle more of their own work if the ultralights they operate are simple. ![]() Parts will be damaged by hard landings and easy repairability is another desire of flight schools who want to teach, not repair. Instructors want to teach, not build, so an ultralight optimized for fast building would be a great benefit to the primary goal of flight instruction.įlight schools and aero clubs are full of pilots with less experience. We can explore the reasons.ĭesigner Phillippe Prevot (fill-LEAP pre-VOH) created very broad design goals for the Sky Ranger: “develop an airplane| performance but with the possibility of being built by two persons in a week, to be inspected and maintained by a person without special or technical knowledge.” Does that sound like a formula for success with clubs? importer Sabre Aircraft says, “It’s the most popular ultralight in France, especially with the flight schools.” In more than just 6 years, the company claims deliveries of about 500 aircraft. ![]() The Sky Ranger arrived in the mid-1990s at French ultralight aero clubs that dot the landscape, and has done very well. Ultralight enthusiasts have followed this example. This has worked especially well with sailplanes Europe has more than twice as many sailplanes as the United States and several times the pilot population. Clubs also own and maintain aircraft – lots of them. Virtually all aero clubs provide instruction, often through associated flight schools. Run a little differently in each location, they provide common ways for average pilots to fly and for newcomers to be introduced to flight. In France, as with much of Europe, many ultralights are owned by aero clubs which frequently manage recreational airfields throughout the continent. Now we welcome the Sky Ranger to North American skies. One of the most popular club planes in France is widely used by instructors in that country. Four-point seat belts at both positions are appreciated. SIMPLE & SECURE – The seats are reasonably comfortable, are light, and tilt forward for access to a cargo bag.
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