By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The founder of RANS Aircraft of Hays has handed over the reins of the day-to-day operations to a new president.
Randy Schlitter, who founded the company in 1973, stepped down as president on May 10 in favor of Tony Dopita. Schlitter, 68, remains the company's CEO and will continue to direct research and development.
"We needed a definite sign that the company was going to live beyond me," Schlitter said.
RANS started as a bicycle manufacturer and moved into airplanes in 1983. Today, it manufactures both ready-to-fly and kit airplanes in its plant at 4600 U.S. 183 Bypass in Hays. The Hays site, which employs 27, includes a small airstrip.
Dopita, 38, has worked for RANS for 20 years. He came to work for the company right out of high school as a sandblaster. He learned to weld and welded bike frames. He continued to work his way up in the company and was the productions manager when Schlitter tapped him to be the next president of RANS.
Dopita, a native of Plainville, lives in Hays with his wife and two children.
Dopita's love for aviation started early with him flying in RANS aircraft with his dad when he was just a boy.
"Aviation is one of my passions," Dopita said. "It's great to work in an industry that you have always enjoyed anyway."
Dopita said the company is looking for growth but not at a fast pace. The demand is strong for RANS aircraft despite an otherwise shaky U.S. economic outlook.
The company is booked a year out on airplane kits and through the first quarter of 2026 on its ready-to-fly aircraft.
The company has strong demand for the S-21 Outbound, which is a ready-to-fly, as well as a kit, aircraft that was introduced in 2018. It has a useful load of 815 pounds and a cruising speed of 155 mph.
Schlitter said new products are always in the works. Dopita added the company is constantly improving its existing products even when new products are not being launched.
"We're just very confident that Tony will lead the company into a bright future," Schlitter said. "It has already had a positive effect on our buying audience. They see me as the aging founder, and it gives them the security that the company is more than just me."
Although Schlitter said the company has a young and viable staff, Dopita said the company is looking to hire and has capacity to train new employees.
"If you are able-bodied and willing to learn, we can definitely teach the skills that result in building airplanes," Schlitter said.
"One of the things we do like to point out here is that we are very family oriented. We have a lot of features to our company that make it very attractive to work for us."
Schlitter said he is very appreciative of the Hays community. RANS Hays location in the center of the United States, a half-mile off of Interstate 70, allows the company to service its customers with greater ease.
Although increased international competition has led the company to focus more on domestic sales, RANS has sold planes and plane kits all over the world, Dopita said.