Titre de page

(UNIQUE SIMPLE DESIGN)

To keep the design as simple as possible - main part of the overall design goal - the Sky Ranger has no welding, uses only straight main tubes airframe members, and has no composites for structural components. Sabre Aircraft boss Richard Helms says, "People compare the Sky Ranger to the RANS S-6 Coyote Il. They say its a knockoff, but Phillippe didn't take anything from the Coyote. It's built completely differently (technology,sizes,aerodynamic) "The Coyote is typical general aviation construction, using welded steel, mostly dope-and-fabric covering, and a style of design that is différent from common ultralight construction.

"The Sky Ranger is more typical ultralight construction with tubes bolted together," says Helms.It use channels and gussets, all straight tubes (which are less costly and stronger than bent ones), and no weldments ;

Ultralights have always been easier to build and repair than those models coming from the homebuilt movement. Ultralight enthusiasts tend to prefer hundreds (or lower) to thousands of hours of build time, and self-repair to A&P repair. The Sky Ranger accommodates that desire (2 persons and 2 weeks to mount a basic kit with rotax 503/582).

The overall airframe design is based on patented triangulation from the center line of the fuselage. The design is sufficiently unique to have earned a French patent for its fuselage structure. Helms says the award relates to the (extremely simple geometry) front tubing airframe structure and its lack of any bent members.

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. Look around; you won't allways find that in (other) ultralight structures, especially those that don't rely on welded steel.

Again addressîng 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 other goal of the Sky Ranger bears noting. The designer says two people can fold (take out) the wings in 20 minutes, however, 1 did not witness the-effort required. Folding wings have become a marketing plus for many designs and the Sky Ranger has also found this.

Checking fuel quantity in the Sky Ranger is quite easy, at least so long as you're looking at the tank in the opposite side. Owner Tony Berman had hooked the tanks up incorrectly so only the aircraft's right tank could feed, however, since that was the side i wanted to see, this caused me no problems. If it feeds equally from both tanks this sbould also provide plenty of low-fuel warning to the pilot.

The Sky Ranger's standard equipment flap lever is tucked almost out of sight between seats and has a squeeze handle to allow movement between three positions of flaps plus a neutral position. At the back of the seat frames between pilots, Philippe located the in-flight trim. A small lever adjusts tension on the elevator linkage in a manner common to ultralights.