The Rans S-4 Coyote and Rans S-5 Coyote are a family of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

single-engined,

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 ...

, single-seat, high-wing

monoplane 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 con ...

s designed by Randy Schlitter and manufactured by Aero-Max and later by

Rans Inc 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 ...

. The Coyote was available in kit form for amateur construction as an

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

or amateur-built aircraft.Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 65. Primedia Publications. Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 238. BAI Communications. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003–04'', page 157. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. Taylor, John (ed): ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1984–1985'', page 711. Jane's Publishing Company, 1984. Taylor, John (ed): ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1986–1987'', pages 701-702. Jane's Publishing Company, 1986. Taylor, John (ed): ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1987–1988'', pages 698-699. Jane's Publishing Company, 1987. Taylor, John (ed): ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988–1989'', pages 592-594. Jane's Publishing Company, 1988. Production of both designs was completed on 1 June 2006 after having been available for 23 years.

Design and development

The Coyote single seat was designed by Randy Schlitter in 1982, as a result of his dissatisfaction with existing ultralight designs at the time. Construction of the first S-2 Coyote prototype was started in November 1982, with the first flight following in March 1983. Originally the design was to be manufactured by a new company Aero-Max, which was a partnership between Schlitter and a friend of his. The partnership failed over financial issues and kit manufacturing was passed to Schlitter's company, Rans, which was at that time building sailtrikes. Both models of the family feature a welded

4130 steel 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common va ...

tube cockpit, with a bolted

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 ...

tube rear fuselage, wing and tail surfaces all covered in pre-sewn

Dacron Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods ...

envelopes, which shorten construction time. The reported construction time is 211 man-hours. The Coyote S-4 has

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 ...

, while the S-5 has

tricycle 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 ...

. Both can be equipped with floats and

ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...

s. The original basic engine was the

Rotax 277 The Rotax 277 is a , Single-cylinder engine, single-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, that was built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge ...

of , with the

Rotax 447 The Rotax 447 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. Design and developme ...

of and the

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke engine, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pp. 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1 ...

of available later as options. The Coyote II two-seater was later developed from the S-5.

Operational history

There were 246 S-4s and S-5s built and flown by December 1998. Many S-4s are flown as unregistered ultralights in the US, but in November 2010 there were four registered along with four S-5s. In November 2010 there were four S-4s and one S-5 registered in Canada. In December 2010 there were nine S-4s and three S-5s registered in the United Kingdom.

Variants

;S-2 :Prototype first flown in March 1983 ;S-3 :Improved prototype flown in September 1983, entered production as the S-4 ;S-4 :Conventional landing gear version intended as a

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not air ...

compliant design when equipped with the standard

engine. No longer in production. ;S-5 :Tricycle landing gear version for the US ''Experimental amateur-built'' category with options such as brakes. Engines include

of and the

of . No longer in production.

Specifications (S-5)

References

External links