Photograph:
Australia’s first Rans S-19 Venterra 19-7443 (c/n 120800056) at Holbrook, NSW in November 2014 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Two-seat light sport monoplane
Power Plant:
One 75 kw (100 hp) Rotax 912ULS four-cylinder horizontally-opposed liquid-and-air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 8.53 m (28 ft)
- Length: 5.98 m (19 ft 7 in)
- Height: 2.43 m (7 ft 11½ in)
- Wing area: 11.78 m² (126.9 sq ft)
- Cruising speed at 75% power: 206 km/h (128 mph)
- Cruising speed at 65% power: 193 km/h (120 mph)
- Stalling speed clean: 82 km/h (51 mph)
- Stalling speed flaps down: 72 km/h (45 mph)
- Rate of climb: 274 m/min (900 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 4,420 m (14,500 ft)
- Endurance: 4.55 hours
- Range cruising at 65% power: 982 km (610 miles)
- Fuel capacity: 91 litres (20 imp gals)
- Landing run: 99 m (325 ft)
- Empty weight: 340 kg (750 lb)
- Useful load: 259 kg (570 lb)
- Loaded weight: 599 kg (1,320 lb)
History:
The S-19 is a high-performance, all-metal, two-seat, high-wing, light, side-by-side configuration monoplane with a tricycle undercarriage produced in kit form by Rans Aircraft of Hays, Kansas, USA and designed by Randall Schlitter in 2006 as a purpose-designed aircraft taking advantage of the recently, at the time, new regulations relating to the United States light sports aircraft category. It was introduced to the Company’s range of aircraft and became available in kit form. Unlike earlier Rans aircraft, it was constructed of 4130 steel tube cockpit section and a bolted aluminium tube rear fuselage. It featured a constant chord wing with no taper or twist, and the horizontal tail was one moving surface. It was of semi-monocoque design with stressed skin construction supported by bulkheads, formers and stringers. It was fitted with flaps and a tricycle undercarriage, this having a fully castering nosewheel and steering by differential main wheel braking.
Power was provided by a Rotax 912ULS engine driving a two-blade ground adjustable Sensenich propeller. Baggage could be carried in a 0.368 m³ (13 cub ft) compartment behind the seats with a capacity of 32 kg (70 lb). Construction was of monocoque stressed skin with pop-type rivets. All parts are produced on CNC machines. Two variants were available, the initial kit-built aircraft designed to meet experimental amateur-built categories around the world, and the S-19LS being a factory completed variant to meet US LSA regulations. It has been usually fitted with the Rotax 912ULS engine but examples have been completed in the United States fitted with the Australian-built Jabiru 3300 engine.
Three examples were imported by the Australian distributor, Holbrook Light Aircraft of Holbrook, NSW in mid-2007, two being completed under RAA regulations as 19-3668 and 19-7443, both being based at Holbrook. A further partially complete aircraft was also imported to Australia for an owner but was not completed and eventually was exported. First example of the type completed in New Zealand was completed and became ZK-MBX (c/n 51100102) but was destroyed in an accident on 25 June 2017 near Welshmans Creek, NE of Middlemarch, Otago. Another example was imported and registered ZK-JAD (c/n 050900071), registered in January 2011 to RD McIntyre of Whangamata.