Rutan/Quickie Aircraft Quickie
Quickie Aircraft Corporation · United States · first flew 1977 · light aircraft
The Quickie is a single-seat homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan and Gene Sheehan featuring a unique tandem-wing canard configuration and a very small Onan engine, notable for its exceptional fuel economy.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, swept |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 5.3 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | No tailplane |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Tiny single-seat canard homebuilt with tandem wing layout
- Single small engine in nose
- Distinctive tandem-wing configuration with no conventional tail
Extremely compact even by light aircraft standards; the tandem-wing layout with rear main wing and forward canard, combined with the tiny engine and single open cockpit, make it immediately distinctive.
Specifications
- The Rutan/Quickie Aircraft Quickie has a length of 5.3 m (17 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 5.1 m (17 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 203 km/h (126 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
First flown in 1977, the Quickie was commercialised by Quickie Aircraft Corporation which sold plans and kits to homebuilders. The design achieved remarkable fuel economy and set several records. It led to the two-seat Q2 and Q200 developments. Several hundred were built by homebuilders worldwide.
Variants
The two-seat Q2 used a Revmaster engine, and the Q200 used a Continental O-200; these were significantly heavier and faster developments of the same concept.
Where you'll see it
The Quickie served exclusively with homebuilder/owner-pilots and was not commercially produced as a certificated aircraft.
Related aircraft
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