Fifty years after the first flight of Burt Rutan’s Vari-Viggen and 40 years since the formation of Scaled Composites, STEPHEN BRIDGEWATER looks back at a designer who has changed the aviation landscape forever.
Looking back at the history of flight there have been some truly brilliant aeronautical designers, but very few who really changed the skies forever. Those forward thinkers – the aviation mavericks if you prefer – include the likes of Lockheed’s Tony LeVier, Frank Whittle, Joe Sutter and Igor Sikorsky. I would argue that the name Elbert ‘Burt’ Leander Rutan belongs in that top echelon of aviation pioneers, radical thinkers and sky-changers. Products
Complete with his trademark sideburns, Burt Rutan poses with SpaceShipOne. He must surely be one of the greatest aircraft designers of his day, if not all time. (Virgin Galactic)
Burt Rutan – now 79 years of age and still designing advanced aviation concepts – was born in 1943 and soon began experimenting with aeronautical design. In his online memoirs he recalls building new configurations from wrecked balsa wood models and this fascination to investigate new ideas led him to the legendary California Polytechnic Institute (Cal Poly) where he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Aeronautical Engineering in 1965.
In his Senior year at Cal Poly, Rutan won the AIAA National Student Design award, and in accepting it was thrilled to meet his hero - the Apollo moon programme architect Werner von Braun. Burt has stated many times that this encounter would prove to be one of the most inspiring moments of his life.
Following a brief career as a civilian flight test engineer at Edwards AFB and an even briefer period at Bede Aircraft as Director of Development, in charge of design and helping Jim Bede test the BD.5 kitplane, he moved to Mojave, California to set up his own shop.
Clearly demonstrating the type's Viggen influence a Vari-Viggen flies past the crowd at the 2019 AirVenture show at Oshkosh. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS)
The first design to bear Rutan’s name was his revolutionary Vari-Viggen. Inspired by the Saab Viggen and North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the small aircraft was designed while Rutan was still at Cal Poly and construction began in his garage.
During the development phase Rutan even tested a 1/5 scale version of the aircraft in a makeshift ‘wind tunnel’ constructed atop his station wagon. Once satisfied with the performance he began construction of what would he, correctly, predicted would be a simple to build and easy to fly aeroplane that was within reach of the amateur pilot. With a plywood slab-sided fuselage and flat-bottomed wings the aeroplane was also cheap to build yet featured an electrically retractable undercarriage.
Rutan’s choice of a canard configuration – something that would go on to become one of his trademark features – was his belief that this allowed a stall and spin resistant design. It came at the expense of take-off and landing speed and distance but was highly successful in creating a safe and easy to fly machine.
A two-seat delta aircraft with canard foreplanes and a 150hp Lycoming IO-320 engine mounted in a ‘pusher’ configuration, the Vari-Viggen first flew 50 years ago in 1972. When it appeared at the annual EAA Convention at Oshkosh that summer it stole the show and, fittingly, the prototype is now exhibited at the EAA Museum at the airfield.
The newly formed Rutan Aircraft Factory (RAF) sold plans for the Vari-Viggen and around 20 were eventually constructed by homebuilders across the US.
The VariEze, like the Long-EZ that followed have fixed main gear and a retractible nose leg. The aircraft are parked with the nose gear retracted to avoid the aeroplane sitting on its tail while empty. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS) Rutan considered producing an aluminium version of the Vari-Viggen but settled instead on developing the design further. The resulting VariEze (‘Very Easy’) debuted in 1975 and would become an international best seller with around 800 built and flown.
Unlike his first design, the VariEze was constructed of fibreglass covered foam cores and created to be a high-performance homebuilt all-composite machine. The prototype – registered N7EZ – used a Volkswagen Beetle engine and first took to the skies on 21 May 1975.
The VariEze also pioneered the use of winglets, which both decreased drag and increased the rate of climb and cruise speed. The theory had been developed in the 1950s but the VariEze put it to the test for the first time; Rutan even making the winglets double up as vertical stabilisers and rudders.
In lieu of a parking brake, the nosewheel retracted allowing the nose to rest on the ground. This prevented the aircraft sitting on its tail when unoccupied.
During the 1975 EAA Convention, Rutan piloted N7EZ to an under 500 kg class world closed-course distance record of 1,638 miles, flying for 13 hours, 8 minutes, and 45 seconds, on just 40 US Gal of fuel.
Although originally built as a research tool, Rutan agreed to sell plans and within four years 4,500 sets had been sold. Unlike the VW-powered prototype, the VariEze plans were optimised for a 100hp Continental O-200 engine and whereas N7EZ had canard elevons that controlled both pitch and roll control the plans version had conventional ailerons. Fittingly, N7EZ is also preserved at the EAA Museum at Oshkosh.
The Long-EZ was a long-range touring variant of the earlier Vari-Eze. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS)
In 1979, Rutan flew a larger, stretched version of the VariEz. The Long-EZ was created as a long-range touring aircraft and adapted to allow the use of a variety of Lycoming engines, which were easier to source than the Continental O-200.
As well as a longer cabin, the Long-EZ introduced a larger wing with a modified aerofoil section and increased fuel and baggage capacity. In addition to having an airbrake on the underside, the rudders on the winglets can be deflected outwards to act as auxiliary airbrakes.
The prototype flew in June 1979 and plans were offered the following year. More than 800 are now registered in the US alone and the aircraft has a cult following with pilots who enjoy both the manoeuvrability and ability to fly 1,600 miles on just 52 US Gal of fuel. The aircraft are comfortable too, with pilot and passenger sitting in semi-reclined seats and controlling the Long-EZ using side-stick controllers
The Long-EZ’s legacy goes much further than the Rutan Air Force, having been used as the basis and/or inspiration for kitplanes such as the Berkut, Cozy and Velocity. It also spawned a number of jet powered variants and the EZ-Rocket developed for the stillborn Rocket Racing league.
Although still highly classified, limited information has come to light regarding the one-off Task Vantage testbed built by TASK Research in 1982. Based upon the Long-EZ, the aircraft was slightly larger and fitted with a large canopy and an extra-long pitot tube.
Nicknamed "Sneaky Pete" by its pilots, aircraft was test flown from Mojave in July 1982 before disappearing. It is thought that the flight test programme took place at the remote Groom Lake test site in Nevada (commonly known as ‘Area 51’) but in 1993 it was acquired and rebuilt by Scaled Composites before being fitted with a Williams FJ107 turbofan engine. The data gathered is thought to have contributed to the Global Hawk, Predator and Northrop/Grumman X-47 Pegasus programmes.
Other military applications for the Long-EZ platform included Project Monkey Green, which saw two airframes developed as potential Threat Support Activity (TSA) covert operations platforms for the US Army in 1983. Others have been used to simulate cruise missiles and the Aeromet AURA (Autonomous Unmanned Reconnaissance Aircraft) is widely acknowledged as the ancestor to the modern UAV. Developed from a Cozy IV (itself a development of the Long-EZ) AURA was the first auto-landing, remotely-piloted air vehicle ever produced.
A single seat Quickie lands at Oshkosh. The range also included a two-seat Quickie Q2 variant. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS)
Independent of his own pusher-engined designs, Burt Rutan also assisted Tom Jewett and Gene Sheehan with the design of the Quickie homebuilt aircraft. This retained the canard principle but was, in effect, a staggered biplane.
The all-composite single seater had tandem wings with the front one boasting elevators and providing about 50% of the lift. This meant there was no need for a horizontal tailplane.
The first Quickie flew in November 1977 and Jewitt and Sheehan began marketing kits at the 1978 EAA Convention. By 1980 the Quickie Aircraft Corp had sold 350 kits! Eventually more than 1,000 were sold along with 2,000 of the later two-seat Quickie Q2 variant.
The Defiant was Rutan's first twin-engined design. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS) The EZ range was just one unusual design ethos explored by Rutan and the growing team of RAF designers.
The Defiant, which first flew in June 1978, was a ‘push-pull’ twin engine design that retained the same swept wings and canard planform as the Long-EZ. It also kept the characteristic retractable nose-leg and fixed main gear configuration but offered large cabin.
The inline engine configuration negated the asymmetric problems of conventional twins and pilots of the similarly configured Cessna 336/337 Skymaster declared it to be a much simpler machine to fly. It was also far more efficient with a wetted area only 56% that of normal twin and when winglets were added the drag was reduced by as much as 30% Around 20 were completed by homebuilders in the US and the UK.
The Starship aimed at revolutionising business aviation, but it was relegated to the pages of history. (Beechcraft) Although it was never a huge commercial success, the Defiant in part paved the way for one of Rutan’s most famous designs – the Starship.
Around the same time Rutan created the Defiant the Beech Aircraft Company (Beechcraft) began looking for a replacement for its successful King Air twin turboprop. Company executives approached Rutan, who had just formed Scaled Composites, to ask for assistance and he put pen to pair to create one of the most distinctive aircraft of all time.
The Starship stuck with Rutan’s canard concept, albeit on a much larger airframe. In order to reduce cabin noise the two turboprop engines were mounted on the wings in a pusher configuration and ‘tip-sails’ were fitted to the wingtips to act as vertical stabilisers and rudders. Crucially, the canard could be swept back in the cruise or forward for low speed flying. The entire airframe was built from composite materials in order to reduce weight.
Scaled Composites built an 85% scale proof of concept aircraft called SCAT-1, which first flew in August 1983 and Beechcraft then completed three full-size prototypes – the first performing its maiden flight in February 1986.
Unfortunately, the Starship programme was delayed several times by virtue of the complexity in developing a new design from what was then a new and relatively unproven composite construction. It would be April 1989 – and $300 million later – before the first production Starship took flight.
However, it soon became obvious that the new aircraft would miss its stated performance goals and when the US government started placing large taxes on luxury items like business aircraft and future did not look rosy for the Starship.
By the time the aircraft entered production Beechcraft had reportedly spent a billion dollars on the programme and the 1989 list price of $3.9 million was comparable with the much faster business jets. A global economic downturn didn’t help, neither did the notoriously conservative business aviation’s aversion to change. The Starship was just ‘too’ radical.
Beechcraft built 53 airframes but sold less than a dozen of them. Others were leased to owners but many were simply scrapped. In 2003, Beechcraft decided that it was too costly to support such a small fleet of aircraft and set about scrapping the aircraft it had leased to owners. It also attempted to buy back examples that it had sold outright and today just six remain airworthy.
With its canard whiskers and T-tail the Triumph was a stunning looking aircraft. It has often been said that it is Burt Rutan's favourite design. (Scaled Composites) Even while the Starship was under development Beechcraft, which acquired Scaled Composites in 1985, was already looking at a jet-powered variant. Officially named Triumph, but referred to by the Scaled Composites team as the ‘Tuna’, the aircraft was designed by Burt Rutan for Beechcraft and first flew in July 1988.
Powered by two Williams International FJ44 engines. The maiden flight took place at the Mojave Airport in July 1988 and it soon proved to be as fast as the Cessna Citation II but with 60% better economy. The eight-seater had Rutan’s characteristic canard design combined with a forward swept t-tail. There was also a large ventral fin to provide directional control at high angles of attack. The fuselage featured area-ruling to reduce drag and this gave the Triumph a cruise speed of Mach 0.7 at 35,000ft. It was claimed to fly 0.8 miles on each pound of fuel.
When Beechcraft sold Scaled Composites back to Rutan and a team of investors the Triumph programme stalled and although the company looked for an industry partner the aircraft never flew again.
With a forward swept wing and engines mounted at the base of a V-tail, the Williams V-Jet could only have been designed by Rutan. (Scaled Composites)
This was, however, far from the end of Rutan’s foray into the business jet world. In 1994, VisionAire launched its Vantage very light jet (VLJ) at the NBAA show and even to the casual observer it was obvious that the sleek machine was the handywork of Burt Rutan.
It had a forward swept wing to improve slow speed handling and intakes high on the fuselage for the single P&WC JT15D jet engine. The five-seater was aimed at owner-pilot operators and the proof-of-concept aircraft flew just two years later. Unfortunately, handling problems were identified and although the Vantage was redesigned this resulted in delays and cost hikes. Ultimately, VisionAire ceased trading and although the Vantage project passed through further owners nobody managed to put it into production.
By 1997, engine technology was changing and Williams International approached Scaled Composites to design a test bed and demonstrator aircraft for its new FJX-2 turbofan, which weighed just 100lbs but created 700lbs of thrust.
Rutan stuck with the forward swept wing concept but this time paired it with a V-tail that contained an engine nacelle at the root of each fin. The aircraft debuted at the 1997 EAA Convention at Oshkosh and proved a huge hit. Although it was never designed to enter production it would ultimately form the basis of the Eclipse 500 VLJ.
With the wing pivoting around the fuselage the AD-1 was a proof of concept aircraft for a potential supersonic cargo aircraft. (NASA) In 1975, Rutan sent an unsolicited proposal to NASA for a research aircraft with an oblique wing that pivoted around the fuselage. This slew-wing concept had the potential to create a transport-sized aircraft capable of speeds of up to Mach 1.4 yet be able to land relatively slowly.
To its credit the administration approved the programme and commissioned the NASA/Ames AD-1. The jet-powered machine had a wing that rotated from perpendicular to the fuselage for slow flight to angles of up to 60 degrees as aircraft speed increased.
First flying in December 1979, the aircraft flew 79 times to gather information on handling qualities and aerodynamics at various speeds and degrees of pivot. Although it provided useful information the AD-1 was limited by its fibreglass wing structure that resulted in it flexing under high load. The aircraft therefore exhibited aeroelastic and pitch-roll-coupling effects at sweep angles above 45 degrees but at least proved that a slewing wing was achievable.
Catbird was restored in 2011 to commemorate Burt Rutan's official retirement. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS) A Rutan one-off that showed much promise but never made it into production was the Catbird, which was designed in 1988 as a proof of concept for a high-efficiency five-seat single-engine all-composite GA aircraft.
Powered by a 210hp turbocharged Lycoming TIO-360 engine the Catbird had a very low drag wing along with a forward swept T-tail and a small canard near the firewall. During testing it established a world speed record averaging 413.78km/h over a 2,000km course and won the CAFE Foundation's California CAFE 400 air race in 1988 and 1993.
At the time, Scaled Composites was owned by Beechcraft (who had acquired it during the Starship programme) and the Catbird was envisaged as a replacement for the Bonanza, which had been in production since 1947 [and still is in 2022!]. However, financial restraints following the failure of the Starship programme meant just one Catbird was completed before Beechcraft sold the company back to Rutan and a team of investors.
The Catbird went into storage (hanging upside down from the rooftop in Scaled Composites' workshop) until 2011 when it was restored and returned to the air to mark Burt Rutan’s retirement. It is still flying to this day.
An attempt to avoid asymmetric problems in the event of an engine failure. the Boomerang had one boom longer than the other. (Scaled Composites) Perhaps one of the most distinctive one-offs from the Rutan drawing board is the Boomerang.
Built to meet the same specification as the popular Beechcraft Baron twin, the Boomerang was an attempt to create a multi-engined aircraft that would remain safe in the event of an engine failure. Traditional twins suffer from asymmetric problems if one engine stops producing power so Burt Rutan set about designing an aircraft that was asymmetric from the outset.
By having fuselages of differing lengths the Boomerang continues to fly straight and level if one engine is shut down. Power came from a pair of 210hp Lycoming TIO-360 engines with one unit derated to 200hp. These are similar to those fitted to the Baron but the Boomerang’s design means it can fly faster and farther while carrying the same number of passengers.
Boomerang flew from 1996 until 1999 and, like Catbird, was restored to fly in 2011.
The Grizzly was the world’s first practical three-surface aircraft. (Scaled Composites) While some Rutan creations were designed for production many were simply built to prove a concept. An example of the latter is the Grizzly, which first flew in January 1982.
The Grizzly was a tandem-wing STOL research aircraft with three lifting surfaces: a front wing that is approximately half the span of the main wing and then a standard cruciform tail. The two main wings were connected by wide struts that doubled up as fuel tanks and both wings were fitted with large Fowler flaps.
Rutan foresaw a need for a STOL bush plane that could carry passengers in comfort, so the Grizzly’s four seat cabin – which had bulged tear-drop shaped windows to enjoy the view – could be used as a camper with the seats folded flat to form a 6ft bed.
Notably, the Grizzly was the first Rutan design to use computational methods for aerofoil and wing-system design. It was also the world’s first practical three-surface aircraft. Today, the sole Grizzly can be seen at the EAA Museum at Oshkosh.
The ATTT was developed as a STOL demonstrator and flew with both a conventional tail and, later, this twin boom configuration. (NASA) Having a similar three surface configuration to the Grizzly, the DARPA Advanced Technology Tactical Transport (ATTT) was developed by Burt Rutan in the late 1980s and dubbed the Special-Mission Utility Transport (SMUT) internally at Scaled Composites
Created as a technology demonstrator to explore the performance of a tandem wing STOL transport, the ATTT was intended to meet a US special forces requirement for a long-range high-speed transport. In 1986, DARPA contracted Scaled Composites to build a 62% proof-of-concept aircraft powered by a pair of PT-6 turboprops. An usual feature was the addition of large Fowler flaps that would be quickly lowered to increase lift at the point of take-off.
The ATTT first flew in December 1987 and completed 51 test flights by the following November when it was stripped and rebuilt with a twin-boom configuration replacing the original single cruciform tail. This reportedly lowered the minimum single-engine safety speed and a further 13 test flights were flown before the SMUT was retired.
When the Rutan Aircraft Factory developed Raptor, its first UAV, it was unsure how the autopilot would handle so the first tests saw a pilot ride along! (Scaled Composites) In 1982, Rutan created the Solitaire in response to the 1982 Sailplane Homebuilders Association Design Contest for a homebuilt glider. It was a single seat, mid-wing motor glider and like many of his designs it featured a canard layout. Constructed from fiberglass on Nomex honeycomb and urethane foam the aircraft had a 12.7m wingspan and power came from a 22hp Zenoah G-25 lawnmower engine.
The same year, Lotus Cars founder Colin Chapman contacted Burt Rutan to instigate a study into a new microlight. A keen pilot himself, Chapman was convinced that a cheap and easy to fly two-seater would be very saleable. Out of nine designs submitted by Rutan. Chapman eventually commissioned an all-composite canard aircraft that he dubbed the Lotus Microlight.
It had a side-by-side enclosed cockpit, a pusher propeller and a retractable nosewheel with power coming from a 23hp two-stroke engine. Tragically, Chapman died on 16 December 1982, the day before the prototype’s first flight. Development continued regardless and Lotus even designed a 50hp engine for the machine but the aircraft never made it into production.
A decade later, technology was moving towards the UAVs and Rutan put his light aircraft design skills to the test creating a very early form of high altitude ‘drone’. Raptor (Responsive Aircraft Program for Theater Operations) was one of the first high-altitude UAVs and was created to test the technology to detect and destroy short-range ballistic missiles. It was envisaged that it would fly 48-hour missions at up to 65,000ft.
With UAV systems still very unproven in the early 1990s the decision was made to carry a ‘safety’ pilot on early flights and Mike Melville was the chosen individual. Powered by an 80hp Rotax engine the 66ft-span aircraft flew well and was ultimately transferred to NASA under the ERAST program, where it functioned as a high-altitude test bed.
Rutan’s links with the Toyota Motor Company dated back to the 1980s when the Japanese manufacturer tried to develop an aviation version of its liquid-cooled 250hp Lexus engine.
Scaled Composites tested the engine aboard a Piper PA-23 Aztec in 1990 (dubbed Lima 1) and the engine was then fitted to an experimental light aircraft called Toyota Lima 2. Little is known of the aircraft and only one image of it was ever published in the aviation press. It was a single-engined four-seater and reportedly first flew in October 1991.
The aircraft was later destroyed and while Toyota obtained FAA certification for the engine it was never placed into production. Meanwhile, in 2002 Scaled Composites test flew the Toyota Advanced Aircraft or TAA-1. This had been designed independently by Toyota but sent to Rutan’s boffins for evaluation and improvement. Although it reportedly handled well the TAA-1 project never progressed beyond the prototype stage.
It is perhaps pointing out that not all the Rutan/Scaled Composites designs are a resounding success and on rare occasions a ‘dud’ slips through the net. One such example was the Predator 480 crop sprayer, which was built under contract for Advanced Technology Aircraft Co (ATAC).
The Predator had – you’ve guessed it – an unusual canard configuration but despite trying two different aerofoil sections the performance was poor. The only prototype built first flew in 1984 and was written off in August of the following year.
The Rutan-designed M309 CarbonAero was ultimately developed into the piston-powered Adam A500 and jet-powered A700. Neither were a commercial success. (Adam Aircraft Industries) Although the Starship had been a commercial failure in the 1980s Rutan was offered another chance to create a game changing business aircraft a generation later.
Colorado-based Adam Aircraft Industries approached Rutan to create its Adam M309 proof-of-concept centreline thrust aircraft in the late 1990s and the distinctive push/pull twin flew for the first time in March 2000. Like the Defiant and Boomerang that had gone before, the goal was to provide a very safe twin-engine aircraft but this time it was to be paired with the latest in 21st century avionics and technologies.
Following refinement, Adam Aircraft used the M309 as the basis for the A500 CarbonAero which flew in July 2002 and was certified by the FAA in May 2005. A jet-powered A700 variant followed in 2003 but by February 2008 Adam Aircraft had ceased operations and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It had delivered just seven A500s and no A700s.
Bob Pond commissioned Burt Rutan to build a modern aircraft that could take on the high performance warbirds at Reno. The project ended in tragedy. (Palm Springs Air Museum) Over the years Burt Rutan has designed a number of aircraft to beat speed, distance or endurance records. One of the first racers to leave his drawing board was Dan Mortensen AmsOil Racer, which was loosely based on the Quickie.
It used a previously unknown aerofoil sections that were designed to create a natural laminar flow section over the wing. Unlike the Quckie, the AmsOil Racer had a small T-tail which was geared to work in conjunction with the front canard to give pitch stability at higher speeds. The Racer’s wing was designed to flex as it banked, changing the angle of attack to reduce drag and help it maintain its speed around turns.
Rutan sold plans and rights to build two aircraft to Mortensen for $6,000 and he had the first aircraft ready to compete in the 1981 Reno Air Races. Despite a scintillating performance the Racer finished third (after being given a penalty for cutting pylon while avoiding a collision) but Mortensen knew the aircraft could perform better.
Following modification and testing at the Rutan Aircraft Factory the AmsOil took second place at the 1982 races, averaging 209.21mph and finishing just 0.3 seconds behind the winner.
Mortesen then spent the following year breaking speed records, including a 232mph average speed over a 3km course and 235mph over 121km. However, tragedy would strike at the 1983 Reno races when Mortensen was caught in the wake of another aircraft and crashed at high speed. The aircraft tumbled end over end and was completely destroyed, but Mortensen survived with just minor injuries thanks to Rutan’s insistence on designing the cockpit to withstand a 22G impact.
The aircraft was rebuilt for static display and today can be found suspended in the EAA Museum in Oshkosh. The second aircraft was never built.
Rutan would revisit the Reno Air Races nearly a decade later when warbird collector Bob Pond commissioned him to build a new all-composite racing machine. Thanks to its twin booms and centre fuselage pod the Pond Racer resembled, at least in passing, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning and was created specifically to break the Unlimited speed record.
Power came from a pair of 3-litre Electramotive V-6 engines, which were based on the Nissan VG30 automobile engine and turbocharged to 1,000hp. These span four-bladed propellers via speed reduction gearboxes that converted the 8,000rpm engine revolutions to 2,000rpm at the blades. While burning conventional petrol gave the aircraft more endurance it was designed to run on methanol in races.
The Pond Racer flew in March 1991 and debuted at that year’s races where it was flown by Rick Brickert – using Avgas – to a qualifying speed of 400mph. Unfortunately it developed a problem before the race and did not start.
The following year the aircraft was entered by Steve Hinton and his crew but attempts to run it on methanol resulted in the fuel lines dissolving and the aircraft spent the week in the pits being replumbed.
Finally, in 1993 everything seemed set for the Pond Racer to finally make it mark but more problems were encountered during qualifying. On 14 September the aircraft began leaking oil and suffered an engine failure that left the right propeller unfeathered. Tragically, the aircraft overshot the runway and Brickert was killed when it crashed.
Voyager and GlobalFlyer (illustrated) became world record-holders, flying round-the-world unrefuelled. (Scaled Composites) While Burt Rutan made his reputation within the aerospace sector with his homebuilt designs it was Voyager that brought him to the attention of the world.
The remarkable project to design and build an aeroplane that could fly round-the-world non-stop and non-refuelled took six years – but on 14 December 1986 Dick Rutan (Burt’s brother) and Jeana Yeager took off from Edwards AFB on their globe spanning odyssey. Nine days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds later they landed back having set a flight endurance record and covering 26,366 miles.
Voyager was a twin engined push/pull aircraft with a tandem wing and twin booms connecting the wings and the vertical fin. It was mostly made of paper honeycomb and graphite carbon fibres that were moulded and oven cured. This resulted in an empty weight of just 939lbs. Voyager was, in effect, a flying fuel tank and its structure was optimised to support fuel weighing over ten times the airframe weight.
Today, Voyager is displayed in the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC.
A generation later, Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites set about breaking their own distance record. Explorer Steve Fossett approached the company to explain that he had secured financial backing from Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson to make an attempt on Voyager’s record – and he wanted Scaled to build the machine to do it.
This wasn’t the first time that Rutan and Branson had crossed paths, with the designer creating the gondola for the entrepreneur’s transatlantic hot air balloon flight in 1987. Neither would it be the last.
Dubbed Project Capricorn, the resulting aircraft was of a similar configuration to Voyager but would be powered by a single, fuel-efficient Williams FJ44 turbofan engine. Like its predecessor weight would be critical so the new aircraft was manufactured from graphite and epoxy as well as Aramid honeycomb. To further reduce weight Fossett planned to make the trip solo in the 7ft-long cabin.
Cruising at 45,000ft for much of the flight meant the engine needed to be modified to run on JP4 fuel, which has a much lower freezing point than regular jet fuel.
It first flew in March 2004 and following two test flight from Mojave, the aircraft – by now officially named GlobalFlyer – was moved to Salina Municipal Airport in Kansas, where a newly completed 12,300ft runway was available. The circumnavigation attempt was delayed until 28 February 2005 in order to obtain the best tailwinds and Fossett departed on a 22,936 mile flight into the record books. He landed back after just two days, 19 hours, 1 minute and 46 seconds having averaged 550.78 km/h.
Fossett wasn’t finished yet though. The following year GlobalFlyer departed from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, flying eastbound around the world then crossing the Atlantic a second time to break the fixed-wing aircraft Absolute Distance Without Landing Record. He also hoped to exceed the longest distance by any kind of aircraft which was achieved by the Round the World Balloon flight of Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in 1999.
After 76 hours and 45 minutes he landed at Bournemouth Airport in England – just shy of his planned destination at Manston because a generator failure resulted in his batteries losing power. Nevertheless, the records were his.
Today you can see GlobalFlyer on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center.
Proteus was designed as a communications relay but became so much more. (Scaled Composites) Another aircraft that is “distinctly Rutan” in its concept, design and application is the one-off Proteus – named after the Greek god able to change its physical form at will.
The optionally piloted, tandem-winged, High Altitude Long Operation (HALO) aircraft was initially designed by Burt in the 1980s to investigate how flying machines could be used as high-altitude telecommunications relays. However, it has evolved into one of the world’s most capable multi-mission vehicles and is able to carry various payloads on its ventral pylon whilst orbiting at 65,000ft for 18 hours or more.
First flying in 1988, Proteus has a standard wingspan of 77ft 7in but this can be extended to 92ft by adding removable wingtips. This has enabled it to set several world altitude records.
Over the years, the sole Proteus has been operated by Scaled Composites and Northrop Grumman and marketed as a research platform. This has seen it used for missions as diverse as testing the Airborne Real-Time Imaging System (ARTIS) camera, the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Airborne Sounder Testbed and the US Department of the Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programme.
In 2002, Proteus also carried a 30ft-long pod which served as a target for development of the Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser system.
The sub-scale proof-of-concept Rutan NGT (illustrated) paved the way for the Fairchild T-46A Eaglet but the contract was ultimately cancelled. (Fairchild) Although best known for his designs in the General Aviation and record breaking sectors, Rutan and his Scaled Composites have also been actively involved in the development and testing of military airframes since the 1980s.
In 1981, Rutan designed the NGT (Next Generation Trainer) on behalf of Fairchild as an entry into the USAF contest to replace the Cessna T-37 Tweet. The specification called for a twin-turbofan design with a gross weight of less than 3,000kg and a capability to operate from 1,524m runways.
Fairchild contracted Ames (who had earlier built the AD-1 Slew Wing demonstrator) to construct a 62% scale demonstrator of Rutan’s all-composite NGT design and the aircraft flew in September 1981. It had twin fins and a pressurised cockpit and was completed in just eight months from design to flight.
The design won the contest and Fairchild was contracted to produce 650 examples at the T-46A Eaglet but when costs began to rise and deadlines slipped the contract was cancelled after just three prototypes had flown.
Rutan's privately funded ARES promised so much but never found commercial success. (Scaled Composites) In 1985, Rutan’s Scaled Composites began working on a US Army request for a Low Cost Battlefield Attack Aircraft (LCBAA). The private venture ARES (Agile Responsive Effective Support) shared its name with Ares, the Greek god of war, and was conceived as a low-cost military turboprop aircraft. Primarily a close air support platform designed to fly low over the battlefield such an aircraft needed viceless low speed handling and Rutan’s beloved canard concept seemed the ideal solution.
Although the LCBAA contest was cancelled, Rutan saw potential in the design and pressed on with a jet-powered version of ARES, which he felt was less susceptible to damage than a propeller variant. The P&WC JT15D-5 turbofan was fed air from an unusual asymmetric design inlet on just the left side of the fuselage. Construction started in 1986 and the aircraft flew in February 1990.
ARES was evaluated by the USAF and US Navy but despite good reports from test pilots the aircraft was never ordered into production. It did, however, star in the movie Iron Eagle III in the guise of a ‘Messerschmitt 263’!
Having seen their design be awarded the NGT contract and then had it cancelled from below their feet in the 1980s the Scaled Composites team returned to the military trainer sector in the 2015.
Having decided against its initial plane to pitch the BAE Systems Hawk for the USAF T-X programme (to replace the T-38 Talon) Northrop Grumman tasked its then-subsidiary Scaled Composites to create an all new clean-sheet design. Powered by a single GE F404-102D engine the resulting Swift flew in August 2016. It only flew seven times before Northrop Grumman announced it would not submit a proposal for the T-X programme.
Among the more recent Scaled Composites concepts have been a pair of aircraft dubbed ‘Son of Ares’, which were built in 2017 for an unnamed customer to demonstrate "advanced, low-cost manufacturing techniques."
The two aircraft are named Deimos and Phobos after Mars's two moons (Mars being the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Ares). They are single-seat, jet-powered machines with V-tails and chined fuselages. The s-duct engine air intakes located on the upper fuselage suggest they are positioned to blocking radar waves from reaching the engine fan blades, hinting at the aircraft’s stealthiness.
The company is also believed to have been involved in the design and development of the Northrop Tacit Blue programme which flew in 1982 but was not disclosed to the public until 1986. Scaled Composites was also involved in elements of the Lockheed Martin X-35 JSF programme.
SpaceShipOne is carried below White Knight. The pairing broke records and SS1 became the first privately funded spacecraft. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS) In 2004, Rutan made international headlines once again, this time as the designer of SpaceShipOne, the world’s first privately-built manned spacecraft.
Carried aloft below the White Knight mothership (also from Rutan’s design board), SpaceShipOne was dropped before igniting its rocket engine and powering to an altitude of 112,000ft.
Financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, SpaceShipOne would go on to win the $10 million Ansari X-Prize created to encourage the development of affordable space flight. On October 4, 2004 it made history by becoming the first privately owned spacecraft capable to fly to 100km above the Earth's surface, twice within two weeks.
“Manned space flight is not only for governments to do,” said Rutan at the time. “We proved it can be done by a small company operating with limited resources and a few dozen dedicated employees. The next 25 years will be a wild ride; one that history will note was done for everyone’s benefit.”
Inspired by the SpaceShipOne success, Virgin Group boss would go on to create Virgin Galactic, to offer space tourism flights to a new generation of civilian astronauts. Once again he turned to Rutan to create the craft the White Knight Two (Eve) launch platform and SpaceShipTwo (SS2) first flew in 2008 and 2010 respectively. SS2’s first powered flight would follow in 2013 and its first space flight in December 2018, however the space tourism industry has been slow to materialise but Rutan is quoted as saying it will be “a multibillion-dollar business” within the next 20 years.
Taking inspiration from the White Knight ‘motherships’, Paul Allen launched Stratolaunch Systems in 2012 and tasked Rutan and the team at Scaled Composites with creating what would be the world’s largest aeroplane.
Stratolaunch Roc (named after after Sinbad's Roc, the mythical bird so big it could carry an elephant) is designed as an orbital space launch system and flew in 2019. Sadly, Allen didn’t live long enough to see his behemoth take to the skies and for a while its future remained in doubt, but in recent months it has been involved in trials carrying the Talon-A rocket-powered, autonomous, reusable testbeds that it is hoped will carry payloads at speeds above Mach 5.
BiPod never flew under power but did hop when it reached 80mph in car mode! (Scaled Composites) Burt Rutan’s final design before Scaled Composites was the BiPod flying car. The ‘roadable flying machine’ uses twin fuselages with tandem wheels joined together by a wing surface and has removeable wings, stabilisers and tail tips to allow it to be driven as a car. The detachable elements can be carried between the fuselages on the road and the entire unit is designed to fit within a standard car garage.
The left cockpit is configured for road operations while the right cockpit is configured for air operations. A 450cc petrol engine is located in both fuselages, which each in turn drive an electric generator to power 15 kW electric motors. Two motors drive the rear wheels for road use and ultimately all four will drive the four propellers (two on the horizontal stabiliser and two on the wings) for flight.
To date, test hops have been conducted by ‘driving’ the BiPod down a runway until it reaches 80mph and lifts off.
Will SkiGull really be Burt Rutan's final design? (via Burt Rutan) Although Burt Rutan ‘technically’ retired in 2011 he worked as a consultant on many subsequent Scaled Composites project.
He also found the time to design himself a brand new aircraft in the form of the SkiGull.
Using a revolutionary retractable landing gear, SkiGull can convert from landplane to seaplane or skiplane in seconds and was designed to carry him and his wife Tonya, who is also a pilot, on a globetrotting retirement.
Built entirely of composites and titanium to avoid the corrosive effects of sea water, the SkiGull has a high wing and is powered by a Rotax 912iS engine that flight testing shows burns just 3 US Gal per hour. Each wing also houses an electric motor with a folding propeller that can assist in the event of engine failure but also be used to provide multi-dimensional thrust for docking on water.
SkiGull made its first water taxi in early November 2015 and performed its maiden flight later the same month. Although it flew well the performance was marred by poor stall characteristics Rutan has since returned to the drawing board to modify the wing.
Burt Rutan ran his Rutan Aircraft Factory from 1974 to 1985 and during those eleven years he and his tiny team, developed and tested 18 completely new aircraft designs. In 1982, he founded Scaled Composites as an aerospace research company allowing him to pursue larger projects
This feature just looks at a fraction of the 50+ aircraft that are known to have been designed and developed by Rutan and his team and has not even touched the 300 or so concepts that have yet to leave the drawing board.
Although a combination of available space and limited declassified data does not permit a full examination of the myriad uncrewed and optionally crewed airframes (or elements thereof) designed by Rutan and/or Scaled Composites these are known to have included the IAI Searcher, Northrop Grumman Scarab, Bell Eagle Eye tiltrotor, Orion Industries Sea Bat, the NASA X-38 and the Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus. Much of the company’s modern-day work is believed to be in the UAV sphere.
With such an impressive legacy one could easily argue that Burt Rutan is the greatest living aircraft designer, some might even say the greatest ever. He has stated that SkiGull will be his final design, but his legacy continues and knowing his prolific output it is highly unlikely this maverick’s portfolio is complete just yet.
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