The Model 81 was a project of an all-composite five-seat piston-engined lightplane designed for Beechcraft's research and development department , making use of Rutan's favoured three-surface layout (that of canard, wing and tail flying surfaces).

In 1988 Scaled Composites was sold back to Rutan in partnership with the Wyman-Gordon Company of Worcester, Massachusetts. The sale agreement permitted Rutan the rights to several of the designs he had produced for Beech, and this arrangement saw the Model 81 come to life as the Rutan Model 81 Catbird. The sole prototype aircraft won the 1988 California CAFE 400 race, a competition measuring overall airframe efficiency and performance on the grounds of fuel consumption, speed and payload.