Rutan Boomerang

Scaled Composites · United States · first flew 1996 · light aircraft

The Rutan Boomerang is a highly unconventional twin-engine aircraft designed by Burt Rutan, featuring a deliberately asymmetric layout intended to optimise handling in single-engine failure scenarios.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	One engine in nose, one in rear fuselage — offset centreline
T — Tail	Twin fin

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Spot it by:

Deliberately asymmetric twin-engine composite aircraft designed by Burt Rutan
One engine in nose, one in rear fuselage — offset centreline
Twin tail booms of unequal length with different fin sizes

Arguably the most asymmetric aircraft ever built. One fuselage offset to the right carries the main cockpit and front engine; the other carries a rear engine. Twin tail booms of noticeably different proportions complete the impossible-looking silhouette.

Specifications

The Rutan Boomerang has a length of 9.35 m (31 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11.2 m (37 ft).
Its maximum speed is 530 km/h (329 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in 1996, the Boomerang was a personal project by Rutan to explore asymmetric design as a solution to the handling difficulties of conventional twin-engine aircraft when one engine fails. The design was remarkably well-behaved despite its bizarre appearance.

Variants

A single aircraft was built; it remains a one-off experimental design.

Where you'll see it

Operated as a private experimental aircraft by Burt Rutan; never entered commercial production.

Related aircraft

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