39-414: The Rutan Model 54 Quickie is a lightweight single-seat taildragger aircraft of composite construction, configured with tandem wings . The Quickie was primarily designed by Burt Rutan as a low-powered, highly efficient kit-plane . Its tandem wing design has one anhedral forward wing and one slightly larger dihedral rear wing. The forward wing has full-span control surfaces and is thus similar to
78-594: A canard wing , but is considerably larger. The aircraft has unusual landing gear, with the main wheels located at the tips of the forward wing. The Quickie Aircraft Corporation was formed to produce and market the Quickie in kit form after 1978. Two years later a two-seater variant of the same layout followed as the Q2 . The original Quickie (Model 54 in Rutan's design series) is one of several unconventional aircraft penned by Rutan for
117-401: A 70 lb (32 kg) engine that would deliver 18 hp (14 kW) at 3,600 rpm. Rutan was then involved with the design; Sheehan and Jewett suggesting a scaled-down Vari-Eze . After a preliminary pusher canard configuration design (Rutan Model 49) had been discarded, his solution to the design issues of low drag without retractable undercarriage and a workable center of gravity travel,
156-411: A conventional aircraft, the tailplane mostly provides negative lift. The Quickie has fixed (non-retractable) main wheels faired into spats located at the tips of the forward wing. The absence of separate landing gear helps to reduce both weight and drag , such savings allowing a smaller engine and a smaller fuel tank. Even though the propeller is of small diameter, propeller clearance remains limited and
195-415: A conventional geared aircraft can be accomplished in two ways. Normal landings are done by touching all three wheels down at the same time in a three-point landing . This method does allow the shortest landing distance but can be difficult to carry out in crosswinds, as rudder control may be reduced severely before the tailwheel can become effective. The alternative is the wheel landing . This requires
234-416: A hot wire before covering, and the fuselage made up of 1 inch-thick (25.4 mm) foam slabs. The forward wing provides around 60% of the lift. The full-span control surfaces on the forward wing serve as combined elevators and flaps . Ailerons are located inboard on the rear wing which is shoulder-mounted just aft of the pilot. The tandem layout provides positive lift from both pairs of wings; whereas on
273-571: A long time employee, was president of Scaled from Oct 31, 2015, until April 2019. Cory Bird, another long-time employee, became president of Scaled in April 2019. Before forming Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan had designed several aircraft for amateur builders, including the VariEze , often considered one of general aviation's most innovative designs. He also designed the Beechcraft Starship , which
312-473: A single wheel, retractable or fixed, centered under the fuselage, which is referred to as monowheel gear or monowheel landing gear . Monowheel gear is also used on some powered aircraft, where drag reduction is a priority, such as the Europa XS . Monowheel power aircraft use retractable wingtip legs (with small castor wheels attached) to prevent the wingtips from striking the ground. A monowheel aircraft may have
351-639: A tailwheel (like the Europa) or a nosewheel (like the Schleicher ASK 23 glider). Taildragger aircraft require more training time for student pilots to master. This was a large factor in the 1950s switch by most manufacturers to nosewheel-equipped trainers, and for many years nosewheel aircraft have been more popular than taildraggers. As a result, most Private Pilot Licence (PPL) pilots now learn to fly in tricycle gear aircraft (e.g. Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee ) and only later transition to taildraggers. Landing
390-622: Is also used on some tricycle gear aircraft, with the nosewheel being the freely castering wheel instead. Like the steerable tailwheel/skid, it is usually integrated with the rudder pedals on the craft to allow an easy transition between wheeled and aerodynamic control. The tailwheel configuration offers several advantages over the tricycle landing gear arrangement, which make tailwheel aircraft less expensive to manufacture and maintain. The conventional landing gear arrangement has disadvantages compared to nosewheel aircraft. Jet aircraft generally cannot use conventional landing gear, as this orients
429-403: Is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail. The term taildragger is also used. The term "conventional" persists for historical reasons, but all modern jet aircraft and most modern propeller aircraft use tricycle gear . In early aircraft, a tailskid made of metal or wood was used to support
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#1732845558711468-576: Is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman . It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California , United States. Founded to develop experimental aircraft , the company now focuses on designing and developing concept craft and prototype fabrication processes for aircraft and other vehicles. It is known for unconventional designs, for its use of non-metal, composite materials , and for winning
507-593: Is impressive for its engine power, the rate of climb is "modest". The flight test program was completed in mid-April 1978, five months after its first flight. In June 1978 a Quickie prototype was flown to the Experimental Aircraft Association 's annual gathering at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh at Oshkosh, Wisconsin , where the aircraft drew intense public interest and won the Outstanding New Design Award. In June 1978, only two months after
546-602: The Ansari X Prize with its experimental spacecraft SpaceShipOne . Scaled Composites was established in 1982 and purchased by the Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1985, as a result of the collaboration on the Starship project. In 1988, Beech's parent company, Raytheon, sold Scaled back to Rutan, who then sold it to Wyman-Gordon . After Wyman-Gordon was acquired by Precision Castparts Corp., Rutan and ten investors re-acquired
585-508: The Camel fighter) were equipped with steerable tailskids, which operate similar to a tailwheel. When the pilot pressed the right rudder pedal — or the right footrest of a "rudder bar" in World War I — the skid pivoted to the right, creating more drag on that side of the plane and causing it to turn to the right. While less effective than a steerable wheel, it gave the pilot some control of the direction
624-599: The Federal Aviation Administration 's Office of Commercial Space Transportation , which has backed licenses for more than 150 commercial launches of uncrewed launch vehicles in its 20 years, but never a license for crewed flight on a sub-orbital trajectory. The Mojave Airport , operating part-time as Mojave Spaceport , is the launch point for SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne performed the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. Flight 16P on September 29, 2004, and Flight 17P on October 4, 2004, won
663-428: The general aviation market. The Quickie followed from Jewett and Sheehan's intention in 1975 for a low-cost, low-power, single-seat homebuilt aircraft. The first element to be found by Jewett and Sheehan was the engine, which – although low-powered (they had anticipated 12 hp) – had to be reliable for aviation work. With the help of Onan, a manufacturer of industrial four-stroke engines, they were able to procure
702-635: The British Supermarine Attacker naval fighter and the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-15 . Both first flew in 1946 and owed their configurations to being developments of earlier propeller powered aircraft. The Attacker's tailwheel configuration was a result of it using the Supermarine Spiteful 's wing, avoiding expensive design modification or retooling. The engine exhaust was behind the elevator and tailwheel, reducing problems. The Yak-15
741-497: The Model 311. Although their role was not widely publicized, Rutan and Roncz, who had provided aerodynamics support to a number of previous Rutan projects including Starship, helped design, and Scaled Composites manufactured, the double slotted wing mast for the Stars & Stripes catamaran for Dennis Conner 's entry in the 1988 America's Cup . The company announced in April 2003 that it
780-526: The Quickie is rather vulnerable to ground strikes. Pilot controls include a side-stick on the right and a throttle on the left. Rudder pedals are linked to the steerable tailwheel. The rather crude cable-operated brake comprises a cockpit lever operating steel tire-scrubbers on each main wheel. Construction of the prototype commenced in August 1977 at the Rutan Aircraft Factory ; Gene did the majority of
819-512: The VariViggen SP. This model utilized a slightly longer fuselage, larger span and winglets in order to increase efficiency. Within 8 years after its founding, this company became one of the world's important aircraft design and prototyping companies. The Rutan Aircraft Factory sold over 600 plan sets for the VariViggen to homebuilders, and eventually about 20 of the aircraft were built. Following
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#1732845558711858-545: The X-Prize for Scaled Composites and SpaceShipOne. Scaled Composites Model 351 (nicknamed the "Roc") was built for Stratolaunch Systems to provide a platform from which air-launch space missions can be staged. In August 2015, Scaled Composites president Kevin Mickey stated the company has so far assembled "roughly 200,000 pounds of composite structure" for the vehicle and if put on a football field, "its wingtips would extend beyond
897-433: The company as Scaled Composites, LLC. Northrop Grumman, a major shareholder in the company with a 40% stake, said it would acquire the company outright on July 20, 2007. Both companies said Northrop Grumman's acquisition would not affect Scaled Composites' strategy or involve replacing Burt Rutan as senior manager. The acquisition by Northrop Grumman was completed on August 24, 2007. Rutan retired in April 2011. Ben Diachun,
936-521: The construction work and the prototype was completed in about 400 hours. The prototype Quickie registered "N77Q" (77 for 1977, Q for Quickie.) started its flight test program in November 1977. All three of the designers flew it on the first day. The prototype was modified during its test program. The span of both the canard and main wing were increased to improve lifting ability. These reduced stall speed and shortened takeoff and landing distances; its attitude on
975-434: The craft was moving while taxiing or beginning the takeoff run, before there was enough airflow over the rudder for it to become effective. Another form of control, which is less common now than it once was, is to steer using " differential braking ", in which the tailwheel is a simple, freely castering mechanism, and the aircraft is steered by applying brakes to one of the mainwheels in order to turn in that direction. This
1014-490: The design drawings over the next two months with construction beginning in August After the first flights, Rutan spent more time with his Defiant design and other projects, and it was Jewett and Sheehan who continued development of the design and market it for home-build use. An agreement was reached that Rutan would fund the development and testing and once the design was complete they would pay Rutan back from future sales of
1053-476: The designs and kits. The Quickie is a tandem wing taildragger, having one forward wing and one rear wing (instead of the more usual main wing and tailplane). According to Rutan this layout was not new, having previously been used in aircraft such as the Mignet "Flying Flea" . As with other Rutan designs, the Quickie is constructed of glass fibre and resin over a foam core. The wings are foam blanks cut to shape with
1092-510: The engines at a high angle, causing their jet blast to bounce off the ground and back into the air, preventing the elevators from functioning properly. This problem occurred with the third, or "V3" prototype of the German Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. After the first four prototype Me 262 V-series airframes were built with retracting tailwheel gear, the fifth prototype was fitted with fixed tricycle landing gear for trials, with
1131-443: The goalposts by 15 feet on each side." Each of the twin fuselages of the aircraft is 238 feet (73 m) long and will be supported by 12 main landing gear wheels and two nose gear wheels. It will require 12,000 feet of runway to lift-off. Burt Rutan created Rutan Aircraft Factory to market a commercial variation of his Model "VariViggen" prototype" he began building in his garage in 1968 which he called The Model 32, also known as
1170-412: The ground was also adjusted for optimal takeoff and landing. Originally designed with a fixed fin and only the faired tailwheel acting as the rudder, a conventional rudder was substituted. The steerable tailwheel allows directional control up to the point of liftoff, as the Quickie does not lift its tail during the takeoff run. Although it takes off at around 55 mph and its maximum speed of 126 mph
1209-646: The pilot to land the aircraft on the mainwheels while maintaining the tailwheel in the air with elevator to keep the angle of attack low. Once the aircraft has slowed to a speed that can ensure control will not be lost, but above the speed at which rudder effectiveness is lost, then the tailwheel is lowered to the ground. Examples of tailwheel aircraft include: Several aftermarket modification companies offer kits to convert many popular nose-wheel equipped aircraft to conventional landing gear. Aircraft for which kits are available include: Rutan Aircraft Factory Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled )
Rutan Quickie - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-827: The prototype's first flight, Jewett and Sheehan formed the Quickie Aircraft Corporation to produce and sell complete aircraft kits. Production began in June 1978, and by 1980 the Corporation had sold 350 kits. Other firms were granted marketing rights, and ultimately some 1,000 Quickie kits were sold. The Corporation closed its doors in the mid 1980s. Data from Flight International The Canard Pusher No. 16 General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear , or tailwheel-type landing gear ,
1287-601: The sixth prototype onwards getting fully retracting tricycle gear. A number of other experimental and prototype jet aircraft had conventional landing gear, including the first successful jet, the Heinkel He 178 , the Ball-Bartoe Jetwing research aircraft, and a single Vickers VC.1 Viking , which was modified with Rolls-Royce Nene engines to become the world's first jet airliner. Rare examples of jet-powered tailwheel aircraft that went into production and saw service include
1326-443: The tail on the ground. In most modern aircraft with conventional landing gear, a small articulated wheel assembly is attached to the rearmost part of the airframe in place of the skid. This wheel may be steered by the pilot through a connection to the rudder pedals, allowing the rudder and tailwheel to move together. Before aircraft commonly used tailwheels, many aircraft (like a number of First World War Sopwith aircraft, such as
1365-478: Was a commercial failure. These aircraft were distinctive because of their canard configuration, winglets and pusher propellers. In 2005, the single-jet GlobalFlyer was flown by billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett on the first solo non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world, and later in the longest flight in history: 41,467.53 km (25,766.73 mi). It had been designed by Rutan, with aerodynamics by John Roncz , and built by Scaled Composites. as
1404-461: Was a tractor engine/ tandem wing layout. Conversely to canard layout, the conventional front engine location put the pilot close to the center of gravity, a key point for a light aircraft. The wheels were incorporated into wingtip fairings without much drag penalty and the tandem layout gave safe stalling characteristics. Rutan produced the first drawings in May 1977 and thereafter the three of them worked on
1443-519: Was based on the Yakovlev Yak-3 propeller fighter. Its engine was mounted under the forward fuselage. Despite its unusual configuration, the Yak-15 was easy to fly. Although a fighter, it was mainly used as a trainer aircraft to prepare Soviet pilots for flying more advanced jet fighters. A variation of the taildragger layout is the monowheel landing gear . To minimize drag, many modern gliders have
1482-516: Was taken aloft by the White Knight carrier aircraft. On the same day, Paul Allen , one of the founders of Microsoft , confirmed publicly the rumors that he was the angel investor behind the SpaceShipOne venture. On April 1, 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued the company what it called the world's first license for a sub-orbital crewed rocket flight. The license was approved by
1521-472: Was working on a privately funded spacecraft , in an attempt to win the Ansari X PRIZE for the first private crewed spaceflight. This experimental rocket-powered spacecraft was given the name SpaceShipOne . On December 17, 2003, they announced SpaceShipOne's first supersonic flight, the first flight of its kind by a privately funded aircraft. SpaceShipOne successfully made this flight, reaching 68,000 feet (21,000 m) and 930 mph ( Mach 1.2). The craft
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