Rans Aircraft S-20 Raven

If you want to get the full experience, you need the kind of backcountry flying machine that knows how to do it right. On a recent trip I flew out to the Knik Glacier in Jon Kotwicki’s Rans Aircraft S–20 Raven. It is now my favorite aircraft. In many years as an aviation writer and editor, I’ve flown in a lot of aircraft—Kodiak, seaplanes, helicopters, Cubs—so to make this statement says something. That Raven simply leaped off the ground as we charged down the gravel runway at Kotwicki’s flight school in Big Lake, Alaska; the interior was spacious for a two-seater; the visibility was endless; and the landing on the glacier bar was soft and bouncy. Just delightful.

Rans is one of the oldest continuously operating light sport aircraft companies. It is predominantly a kit-build company but manufactures about six to eight aircraft each year in its Hays, Kansas, factory (compared to about 100 individual kit builds a year). Company owner Randy Schlitter started out building bicycles (hey, this sounds familiar) in the 1970s when he was studying to be an airframe and powerplant mechanic. He also built sailplanes and hang gliders before transitioning to airplanes. The S–4 Coyote was his first design in 1983. Since then, Schlitter has designed 18 different aircraft, concentrating specifically on light sport since 2010.

“It’s a very light airplane with excellent performance,” said Kotwicki. “It burns car gas at 5 gph, so it’s very affordable to operate, light and responsive on the controls, inexpensive to maintain compared to something like a Cessna 172 or Piper Super Cub. All these experimental airplanes are a compromise, and none of them are perfect, but for a 250-plus-hour pilot these are great airplanes.”

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