Rutan Long-EZ

The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ is a tandem two-seat homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan and built from plans by amateur constructors. It has a canard layout, a swept main wing with wingtip rudders, a pusher engine and propeller, and tricycle landing gear with fixed main wheels and a retractable nosewheel. It is a scaled-up redesign of the VariEze, made so that readily available Lycoming aircraft engines could be used instead of Volkswagen-derived or small Continental engines. The prototype, N79RA, first flew on 12 June 1979, plans were sold from 1980 to 1985, and a later canard design removed the nose-down trim change that pilots met in rain. It is designed for fuel-efficient long-range flight, with a range of just over 3,200 kilometres, and a Long-EZ with a rear-seat fuel tank flew 7,700 kilometres in December 1979. About 833 were registered with the FAA in the United States in 2021.