Rans S-7S Courier
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-7S Courier is Rans' tandem two-seat high-wing bush kit, a steel-tube-and-fabric taildragger with doors both sides and a 29 ft 3 in wing. Rans' figures with the 100 hp Rotax 912 ULS are 110 mph cruise, a 33 mph flapped stall, 325 ft of ground roll, 850 fpm and 572 miles on 26 gallons at 5 gph, with 588 lb useful on a 1,320 lb gross.
It sits between a Cub replica and a Kitfox: more cabin and payload than most Rotax tandems, slower than the four-cylinder Lycoming Cubs, and far cheaper to run on a 912 that burns five gallons an hour of mogas. Rans also builds it as the factory S-7LS, so a buyer can choose between a consistent S-LSA maintained under LSA rules and an amateur-built example whose builder chose the engine, propeller, gear and panel; the two can look identical and weigh a hundred pounds apart, and only the aircraft's own documents say which it is. Tailwheel insurance and a transition are the usual requirements. The kit is in current production with strong factory support, which keeps parts and resale healthy.
Variants of the Rans S-7 Courier
- S-7S Courier · 329 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Rotax 912 ULS |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 96 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 497 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 850 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 29 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 588 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb |
| Empty weight | 732 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $80,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $115,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 397 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 329 |
| Median year built | 2009 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 14 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 42.551 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 42.552 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 77 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 23.43 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 329 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 329 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 329 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 4.2 of 101 |
| Severity | 4.7 of 102 |
| Access | 8 of 103 |
| Support | 8.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 32.4 out of 506 |
- 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