Scaled Composites Triumph

The Scaled Composites Triumph, officially the Model 143 and known inside the company as the Tuna, was a twin-engine business jet prototype designed and built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites for Beechcraft. It is a three-surface design with a small canard and a small conventional horizontal stabilizer on a T-tail. Three versions were first planned, powered by piston engines, turboprops and turbofans, but only the turbofan version was built, with its engines on top of the wings. It was the first aircraft to fly with the Williams International FJ44 engine, and its maiden flight took place at Mojave Airport on July 12, 1988. The flight test programme confirmed the targeted performance, and Rutan later said it was as fast as the Citation II with 60 percent better fuel economy, but Beech's finances and competing projects prevented any production. The airframe is now on display at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42.