Scaled Composites Borealis PDE

The Scaled Composites Borealis PDE, company Model 061PD, was a modified Long-EZ that made the first flight of an aircraft powered by a pulse detonation engine. The Air Force Research Laboratory and Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated developed the engine and brought the project to Scaled Composites, which integrated the engine package onto a Long-EZ at Mojave, added a fairing to cover the engine, and separated the fuel tanks so the aircraft could hold both kerosene and avgas. The aim was to show that a pulse detonation engine could produce thrust and that a pilot and the airframe could survive the forces involved. Engine runs on the ground were as loud as 125 decibels. On 31 January 2008 test pilot Pete Siebold took off with the engine as the only source of power once a jet-assisted takeoff was done, and landed with about 5,000 feet of runway left. It carries the registration N90EZ, has a wingspan of 26 feet and is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.