Rutan Catbird

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Rutan Catbird
The Rutan Catbird is stored upside down in Mojave
Type: Touring plane
Design country:

United StatesUnited States United States

Manufacturer:

Scaled composites

First flight:

March 14, 1988

Number of pieces:

1

The Rutan Catbird (also Scaled Composites Model 81 Catbird) is a touring aircraft from the American manufacturer Scaled Composites . It was developed by Burt Rutan .

The Catbird is a five-seater touring aircraft that is powered by a piston engine. It has a low-wing design , a T-tail unit and a retractable nose wheel landing gear. As a special feature, the machine is equipped with an additional front wing, a canard . It is made entirely of composite materials and was originally developed for Beechcraft . A Lycoming TIO-360 A1C6D with 210 HP power serves as the drive , which is supplied with cooling air according to the principle of the nozzle cooler .

Only one prototype was produced, which in 1988 won the CAFE-400 criterion with the highest number of points achieved to date. The machine holds two class world records that were flown on a circuit between Lake Hughes and Boise :

  1. 2000 km over a closed course without payload for piston engine geared aircraft with a takeoff weight of up to 1000 kg at 401.46 km / h, set up on January 29, 1994 by Richard Glenn Rutan
  2. 2000 km over a closed course without payload for piston engine geared aircraft with a takeoff weight of up to 1750 kg at 413.78 km / h, set up on March 2, 1994 by Michael Melvill

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 1
Passengers 4th
span 9.75 m
Wing area 9.29 m²
Wing extension 10.24
Empty mass 646 kg
Takeoff mass 1293 kg
Tank capacity 280 l
Top speed 440 km / h
Cruising speed 400 km / h
Cruising altitude 7300 m
Engine a Lycoming TIO-360 A1C6D

See also

Web links

Commons : Rutan Catbird  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New Life: Rutan's Catbird Being Readied for Oshkosh Flight. airventure.org, April 20, 2011, accessed November 28, 2012 .
  2. ↑ RUTAN / SCALED Model 81 'Catbird'. stargazer2006.online.fr, archived from the original on December 3, 2012 ; Retrieved November 28, 2012 .
  3. ↑ The Planes of Mojave: Catbird. mojaveskies.blogspot.de, September 4, 2008, accessed on November 28, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Rutan Model 81 Catbird. aviastar.org, accessed November 28, 2012 .
  5. ^ A b Ten Most Memorable Record Flights of 1994. diamondquest.org, April 7, 1997, accessed November 28, 2012 .
  6. ^ Burt Rutan's Race to Space. books.google.de, accessed on November 28, 2012 .