AVweb Video on Vashon Ranger + Aviation Consumer Article

[Hambone]

I reckon the Continental choice is a combination of "Made in the good ol' U S of A", air-cooled simplicity, economy of scale, and an attempt to keep the final cost down by minimizing options.

If Vashon can deliver at the advertised cost, I think they're still on to a winner.

[Warmi]

Call me old fashioned, but I like the "keep it simple stupid" KISS.

Call me old fashioned, but when I heard them extolling the level of “integration”, it made it sound quite complex to me.

Driving today, I had a thought: someone could buy a Ranger, take it Experimental LSA, sell the Continental for good money and buy one’s ROTAX of choice and hang it on the front. Voilá! Problem solved! Were it truly a KISS aircraft, it would be relative straightforward. But then I remembered the level of “integration” in the instruments and electronics and airframe, and suddenly it sounds like a Herculean task.

But still a fun thought exercise!

I think electronics would be easy to switch since most EFIS setups ( including Dynon's own ) can interact with multiple engines out of the box - you just need matching probes etc ...
IMHO the real issue would be the new firewall and managing CG changes - much bigger task without explicit support from the factory.

[drseti]

but many "geezers" (video's term, not mine!) Have no tolerance for anything that doesn't say Continental or Lycoming on the rocker covers.

Speaking as the Geezer in Charge...

It's a simple matter to remove the Rotax rocker box covers, and replace them with ones that say Lycoming or Continental. Problem solved!

[TimTaylor]

I would be happy with a Rotax engine in the Vashon Ranger. With the Contential, it is on the verge of being too heavy to be practical for most people.

[MrMorden]

I reckon the Continental choice is a combination of "Made in the good ol' U S of A", air-cooled simplicity, economy of scale, and an attempt to keep the final cost down by minimizing options.

If Vashon can deliver at the advertised cost, I think they're still on to a winner.

Minimize cost? An O200D is $7k more than a Rotax 912ULS and weighs 75lb more. Hard to see what it brings to the table beyond the “geezer factor”...

[FastEddieB]

Minimize cost? An O200D is $7k more than a Rotax 912ULS and weighs 75lb more.

Not to mention the price of spark plugs!

[ShawnM]

It is too heavy for sure.
Even for your typical pattern work is not good enough if both , your CFI and the student, are at around 200 lbs.

I agree, at 882 pounds it's by far the heaviest LSA I'VE seen. As he stated it's only 8 pounds shy of the max limit for LSA.

It needs a Rotax engine. Then the BEW becomes around 807 (+/- a few pounds if Andy's calculations are correct)

And if you lowered the price by $7k they'd sell like hotcakes. Of course they lose the "geezer factor".

[Hambone]

I reckon the Continental choice is a combination of "Made in the good ol' U S of A", air-cooled simplicity, economy of scale, and an attempt to keep the final cost down by minimizing options.

If Vashon can deliver at the advertised cost, I think they're still on to a winner.

Minimize cost? An O200D is $7k more than a Rotax 912ULS and weighs 75lb more. Hard to see what it brings to the table beyond the “geezer factor”...

I was thinking more the “deal” Vashon may get buying a low-demand US engine in volume.

[MrMorden]

I reckon the Continental choice is a combination of "Made in the good ol' U S of A", air-cooled simplicity, economy of scale, and an attempt to keep the final cost down by minimizing options.

If Vashon can deliver at the advertised cost, I think they're still on to a winner.

Minimize cost? An O200D is $7k more than a Rotax 912ULS and weighs 75lb more. Hard to see what it brings to the table beyond the “geezer factor”...

I was thinking more the “deal” Vashon may get buying a low-demand US engine in volume.

The volume will not be high if they can’t sell them because they are too heavy...

[TimTaylor]

What is the demand for a single place S-LSA?

[TimTaylor]

I flew the Remos GX yesterday for a $300 BBQ plate. While it's a fun little aircraft, there is NOTHING about it that I prefer over the SkyCatcher. The more the Vashon Ranger resembles a SkyCatcher and the less it resembles a Remos GX, the more I will like it.

[jetcat3]

Just curious, how many of y’all have flown in a Tecnam P2008?

[Wm.Ince]

Just curious, how many of y’all have flown in a Tecnam P2008?

At $220,000+, I'd say not many.
Heard many nice things about it, but it is too expensive for my mission. YMMV.

[Warmi]

Same here. When I was looking for a plane , Tecnam was not really on the list - lovely looking planes and high end but ultimately it is still Rotax 9xx , still 1320 lbs max gross and really nothing there justifies 60-80k premium over other similar LSAs -and frankly, same goes for Bristells.

Btw. Not that their dealers care anyway ... the LSA market is so small that they can make decent living selling a few planes every year to a few very wealthy individuals who don’t really care about the price in the first place and want everything top of the line.

[drseti]

the LSA market is so small that they can make decent living selling a few planes every year to a few very wealthy individuals who don’t really care about the price in the first place and want everything top of the line.

You can delete the words "LSA" and it's still true. In a world of $350k Skyhawks, half million dollar Cherokees, three quarters of a million dollar Cirruses, and million dollar Bonanzas, it's a wonder any of these companies are still in business.