Rans S-21 Outbound
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The S-21 Outbound is Rans' 2016 all-metal two-seater, a side-by-side high-wing with a 46.5-inch cabin, folding or fixed wings and convertible tailwheel or tricycle gear, designed around the 180 hp Titan X-340. Rans quotes 155 mph cruise, a 40 mph flapped stall, 325 ft of ground roll, 1,500 fpm and 750 miles, with 815 lb useful at the 1,800 lb experimental gross weight.
It is the modern answer to the Cessna 170 question - a metal aeroplane with a real useful load that cruises at 135 knots and gets off in a few hundred feet - and the market has priced it accordingly, with every flying example read asking over $200,000. The 1,800 lb gross and 815 lb useful load are experimental figures; the same airframe registered at the 1,320 lb light-sport weight carries 335 lb, so check which weight the aircraft was certificated at. Builders fit the Titan 340 in several ratings and some use Rotax 915/916s, and the panel and finish of an example are the builder's; the aircraft's own weight-and-balance and logs govern. A factory-built S-21LS exists and is maintained under LSA rules. Design and kit are current with a large active builder base.
Variants of the Rans S-21 Outbound
- S-21 Outbound · 2016 · 194 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 20 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
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Put Rans S-21 Outbound side by side with up to three other models.
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Continental Titan X-340 |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 2016 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 135 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 652 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,500 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 35 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 815 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 985 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $220,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $279,900 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 198 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 194 |
| Median year built | 2023 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 20.621 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 15.462 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 36 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 18.563 |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 194 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 194 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 194 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 7.9 of 103 |
| Support | 7.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 20 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30