Scaled Composites Rutan Voyager
Scaled Composites · United States · first flew 1984 · light aircraft
The Rutan Voyager is a purpose-built long-range experimental aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to fly non-stop around the world without refuelling. Its radical tandem-wing canard design and extreme aspect-ratio wings maximise fuel efficiency at the expense of conventional aesthetics.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Exceptionally long, narrow wings extending far beyond fuselage-mounted engines |
| T — Tail | Twin fin |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Tandem-wing canard configuration with twin boom outriggers
- Exceptionally long, narrow wings extending far beyond fuselage-mounted engines
- Purpose-built for non-stop unrefuelled round-the-world flight
Unmistakable tandem-wing layout with an extremely slender high-aspect-ratio main wing, twin tail booms, and two piston engines in tractor/pusher arrangement on the central fuselage.
Specifications
- The Scaled Composites Rutan Voyager has a length of 8.89 m (29 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 33.73 m (111 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 196 km/h (122 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Designed and built by Burt Rutan and Dick Rutan at Scaled Composites, Voyager first flew in 1984 and completed its historic non-stop unrefuelled circumnavigation in December 1986, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight covered 40,212 km in nine days, setting a record that stood until 2005.
Variants
Only a single example was ever built; it was a unique prototype with no production variants and now resides at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Where you'll see it
Voyager served purely as an experimental record-breaker and never entered any military or commercial service.
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