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Burt Rutan set up the Rutan Aircraft Factory in 1974 and set about radically altering the format of home-build light aircraft by designing and building the Rutan VariEze. The revolutionary design of the VariEze belied its simplicity. It was initially powered by a pusher Volkswagen engine (but later a larger Avco Lycoming type), and the wing configuration was forward canards with a swept and wingletted main rear wing. The secret of the VariEze's endurance
lay in extensive use of lightweight composite materials. It and the later Rutan LongEZ were built in many thousands and used to break endurance records, as would the later Rutan Voyager.
Robert Jackson "The Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 2004
SEE ALSO
| CREW | 1 |
| PASSENGERS | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 x 100hp Volkswagen automobile engine |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 263 kg | 580 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 6.80 m | 22 ft 4 in |
| Length | 4.30 m | 14 ft 1 in |
| Height | 1.50 m | 4 ft 11 in |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 290 km/h | 180 mph |
| Range | 1127 km | 700 miles |
| Joe Person, ezejoe(@)comcast.net, 17.07.2008 The VariEze does not utilize a 100 hp Volkswagen engine. The plans-built VariEze was "sized" around the 100 hp Continental O-200. Any Continental engine from 65 to 100 hp was suitable. The 108 hp Lycoming O-235 was authorized by Rutan, with certain limitations. Any other engine installation was not specified by Rutan. |
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