Several vendors were on hand including SteinAir, Garmin, Rotax, Edge Performance and Stewart Systems (water-based paint for aircraft) to answer questions and participate in seminars.
On display was a RANS S-21 Outbound under construction with a special surprise under the cowling: the turbocharged Rotax 915. It also featured an AirMaster prop and Garmin instruments.
There was always something going on, including Eddy Gil in the shop working and answering questions on kit builds in addition to conducting rudder build classes—some nine rudders were built over the weekend. Plus demo flights in the S-21, or just wandering around talking aviation with other members of the RANS family that you have met online and could finally put a face to the name and chat with which is that part that Mike liked the most.
I enjoyed seeing the other airplanes and how their interiors are finished off because that’s where we’re headed next with our build—after Phase I flight test is concluded, of course.
Another bonus was that the 9th happened to be Michelle (Shelly’s) birthday and I had the pleasure of participating in the great “fill her office with balloons” prank that welcomed her on the morning of her birthday!
All in all, the RANS fly-in was great fun—along with lots of great food. And RANS managed to sell a few kits as well. Pretty much just what you want from a factory fly-in. Needless to say, I’m eager to fly our S-21 to next year’s event.
