One Of The First Airplanes Designed From The Start For The New MOSAIC Rules
The Affordable Flying Expo was created around a fairly straightforward premise: affordable personal aviation deserves an event where it isn't relegated to a corner of somebody else's show.
So that is a reason to join Aero-News.net in Lakeland, Florida November 13–15 at the SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo campus so you can see the Ranger and many others.
Come see Vashon Aircraft at their booths N-53 and N-54 in the regular exhibit area, and see a Ranger on display in the Affordable Flying section.
Both Rangers on display will be owner aircraft based in Florida. Kurt Robertson Vashon's sales, customer experience and training manager, invites Ranger owners to the show every year. Many of them spend time in the booth talking with prospects, so visitors can hear about the airplane straight from the people who fly it.
"The number one thing we hear when folks sit in the Ranger, or fly it as part of a demo flight, is that this is a real airplane,” Robertson said. “Pilots and their passengers are always surprised by how roomy and ergonomic the aircraft is, with room to take stuff. When pilots have the opportunity to fly the aircraft, they always appreciate the ease and intuitiveness of the Dynon HDX avionics, the tried-and-true Continental O-200 engine, as well as how responsive the aircraft flies without being twitchy. With all of the design and technology features built into the Ranger, it truly is the best value for money on the market today.
"The Ranger R7 is designed and built in the USA as a rugged metal Technologically Advanced Aircraft that is ideal for flight training, as well as off-airport operations on grass, dirt, sand, etc. It is a little Jeep with wings. It is an ideal trainer that will give a student pilot at any certificate level the room to learn, grow, explore, and then rein them in before anything becomes critical. All that with an operating cost of about $50 per hour," Robertson said.
"What people will see is a Ranger R7 that can now truly fulfill its potential. The Ranger was a square peg in a round hole, since it could always do better than what it was restricted to under the previous LSA regulations. Now with MOSAIC, and our increased Maximum Gross Weight, increased Useful Load, and ability to fly in IMC, it is truly the little airplane that can!"
The Ranger is one of the first airplanes designed from the start for the FAA's new MOSAIC rules, and the FAA signed off on Vashon's package this month. Vashon is taking orders now with deliveries starting in the first quarter, while much of the light-sport field is still re-engineering to qualify.
The Ranger carries 570 pounds of useful load, among the most in its class. A two-axis autopilot and dual Dynon displays are standard, not options. It's all-metal on a Continental O-200, so any A&P can work on it, and owners report annual inspections around $700 against $5,000 to $8,000 for a 50-year-old Cessna. It sells for about $50,000 less than its closest competitor.
Vashon makes more than 90 percent of the airplane in-house in Washington State. The aluminum comes straight from the mill, gets painted before it's cut, and every rivet hole is pre-punched and dimpled on a CNC machine. That's why it can be built in about 1,000 hours and why it's so simple to maintain.
Founder John Torode helped write the operating system behind the first personal computers before he started Dynon Avionics. President Scott Taylor came from Boeing. Vashon has been building Rangers since 2018.
File photo of the Ranger courtesy Vashon Aircraft
