The RS Aero – 10 years on
by RS Sailing 28 Aug 03:00 NZST
RS Aero sailing © RS Sailing
The RS Aero celebrates its tenth birthday this year. It's been quite a decade for the iconic British-built single-hander and it's inspiring to see a new RS dinghy be the catalyst for creating one of the most vibrant single-handed classes in the world.
The boat
With a 33kg weight hull, durable carbon rig, 4 rig sizes and enticing handling, the RS Aero is still as much of a pleasure to sail as she was 10 years ago - Pure exhilaration and beautiful simplicity.
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would challenge the fact that Jo Richards and the RS Development team nailed the design of the RS Aero. Perhaps the biggest testament to the performance of the RS Aero was from the 2024 Olympic Men's and Women's One Person Dinghy Equipment trials back in 2019.
Within the final report, the Evaluation Panel's summary on the RS Aero was: "The boat was described as fun, fast and appealing with simple and well executed concepts which were appreciated by the MNA sailors. The light hull requires sensitive boat handling and was considered by the sailors as having the potential to reward higher sailing skills. The design is simple and well thought out for shipping, saving space when stacking hulls for transport. Its light weight and its size make it attractive and suitable for the youth pathway. The hull is engineered with modern materials and production methods. All fibre is CNC cut, the quantity of material is optimised and proven to be effective and there are strict controls on the building processes monitoring the production to a high level of standardisation. Mass production is already established with a high-end quality product. Quality was recognised by the MNA sailors and considered among the highest in terms of value for money".
The lack of developments over that period emphasises the one design nature of the RS Aero: control lines were flipped to over-deck to aid ease of control tweaking, and RS Sailing added a new rig size, the RS Aero 6, to empower middleweight sailors in the fleet. The lack of development testifies RS's unwavering commitment to true one-design racing; sailors can be confident they are investing in a class that isn't an arms race, and they can race a 10-year-old boat with the same confidence about its performance and durability as when it was fresh out of the wrapper.
The class & wider community
With 3,600 boats sold worldwide in over 60 countries, the RS Aero community is thriving due to their Corinthian spirit and the shared passion for fantastic racing and endless fun on shore.
From single digits to well into their eighties, 40kgs to 110kgs, the RS Aero Class really does call on racers of all ages, sizes and abilities across the globe. The perfect single-handed class to transition into as a junior sailor or a sidestep as an adult looking for a new challenge. The RS Aero Class is committed to running world-class training and clinics to ensure its sailors are continually developing their boat-handing skills and racing prowess.
The flexibility of the Class allows seamless transitions between rigs at events, and the lightweight hull gives a platform for smaller sailors to be as effective dynamically whilst pushing the boat in a breeze as heavier sailors would. As a result, sailors find the RS Aero a joy to sail, slick boat handling, great fitness and clever racing are rewarded.
The RS Aero isn't just for racing, with the likes of Ken Fowler and Magne Klann choosing to embark on awe-inspiring adventures with the RS Aero due to its weight, performance and most importantly, with utter trust in its durability.
As you can expect, any RS class wouldn't be complete without a thriving social scene on shore, boat parks are buzzing with friendly chatter, socials are always a sell-out, fancy dress nights are taken incredibly seriously, and yacht club bars have been kept open into the small hours as a result. It is clear from the inception of this Class that everyone is welcome and sharing knowledge and friendship is fiercely advocated.
The future
After 10 years of the RS Aero being built by MTAG, production is now coming in-house. The RS Aero is being manufactured by the RS Marine Group's skilled team at their facilities in Cowes, Isle of Wight, alongside the RS21, RS400, and RS500. MTAG's fall into administration gave RS Sailing the opportunity to invoke change. The move will ensure even tighter quality control, outstanding final products, a lower carbon footprint and decreased build costs which will be passed onto the customer. New hulls will start being manufactured from Cowes in the autumn of this year, ready for delivery in early 2025.
Alex Newton Southon, Co-CEO, RS Marine Group commented, "I've been lucky enough to spend time racing in the RS Aero fleet, be on the ground at the Olympic Trials and be a part of the team that designed the boat from the outset, it's been humbling to watch the RS Aero go from strength to strength over the last decade. Manufacturing moving to Cowes is a proud moment for RS Marine Group and presents us with an opportunity to reinforce the qualities that the RS Aero build is famed for: performance, durability and modern building techniques".
Looking into 2025, the RS Aero Class has a full winter of training ahead. Specifically in the UK, a packed Youth Program has been created, made up of seven weekends of coaching and two online sessions, this programme will be a game changer for junior sailors joining the class and has been heavily subsidised by the Class Association which proves their commitment to developing the youth sailors within our sport.
As we look to next year, the 7th RS Aero World Championship and Youth World Championship are set for 28 July to 2 Aug 2025 in France on the Quiberon peninsula, hosted by Ecole Nationale VSN. The RS Aero UK National Championship will follow on later from the 28 to 31 August at the home of British dinghy sailing and hosted by Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy.
Let's celebrate
Join RS Sailing on their stand E045 at Southampton International Boat Show on Saturday 14 September as they celebrate 10 years of the RS Aero. The RS Aero will be pulling out her usual party trick of being picked up fully rigged one handed by two impressed showgoers. Who would have known that ten years on that simple, yet compelling first moment with the RS Aero would summarise everything that makes her so special.