The Striplin Lone Ranger is 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 ...

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 ...

that was designed by Ken Striplin. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-22. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US

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 ...

rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a

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 single-seat, open cockpit,

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 ...

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 Lone Ranger was designed to overcome pitch stability problems found in the earlier Striplin FLAC

tailless aircraft In aeronautics, a tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft with no other horizontal aerodynamic surface besides its main wing. It may still have a fuselage, vertical tail fin (vertical stabilizer), and/or vertical rudder. Theoretical advanta ...

. Stability was increased with the addition of a conventional tail unit, including conventional

elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...

and a

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

for control. Because they were no longer needed the FLAC's

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

rudders were deleted. The landing gear is of tricycle configuration and features a steerable nosewheel. The engine is mounted above the wing, with the propeller above and in front of the windshield. The design spawned a family of variants featuring one and two seats, as well as

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 ...

and cantilever wings.

Variants

;Striplin Lone Ranger :Initial version for US production. Early versions have dual wing struts, while later models have just one strut. Engines used include the Zenoah G-25B of and the Yamaha KT-100S of . ;Aero and Engineering Services Lone Ranger :Cantilever wing version produced by Aero and Engineering Services of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The wing was redesigned and has a span of . The engine used is the Zenoah G-25B of . Empty weight , gross weight ,

glide ratio In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficiency under give ...

of 17:1. ;Silver Cloud :Improved version with a cantilever wing and full-span

flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of '' flap'' and ''aileron'') on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufactur ...

s. Engines used include the Cuyuna 215R of . ;Sky Ranger :Two seat version of the Lone Ranger. ;Silver Cloud II :Two seat version of the Silver Cloud.

Specifications (Silver Cloud)

References

External links

Image of Aero and Engineering Services Lone Ranger
{{Ken Striplin aircraft 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...