Rutan Aircraft Factory Long-EZ (Model 61)

The Long-EZ is Burt Rutan's tandem two-seat canard pusher, sold as plans from 1980 to 1985 and built in foam and fibreglass by its owners. On the design's 115 hp Lycoming O-235 it carries 52 gallons, enough for a maximum range near 1,750 nm at an economy cruise of 125 knots, climbs at 1,750 fpm and has a 27,000 ft ceiling; the designer's empty weight is about 710 lb with a 615 lb useful load.

No manufacturer ever built one and the Rutan Aircraft Factory no longer supports the design, so every Long-EZ is the product of a single builder's interpretation of the plans, with engines from the O-235 up to the O-360, individual fuel systems, canopies, gear and panels, and empty weights that vary substantially — a well-built O-235 example is quoted at about 850 lb against the designer's 710. The record's figures are the designer's; the aircraft's are in its own logbooks and weight-and-balance. Flying it is different from a conventional aeroplane and transition training is advised: it is stall-resistant and nods straight ahead at the canard's limit rather than stalling, it has a belly airbrake instead of flaps, lift-off and touchdown speeds are high so it is not a short-field aeroplane, and the nose gear is hand-cranked up to park the aircraft on its nose. The original GU25 canard produces a nose-down trim change in rain, largely eliminated by the 1985 Roncz canard; ask which is fitted. The composite structure must be inspected for delamination and ultraviolet damage to the resin wherever paint has failed, which needs an inspector who knows composites. The owner may maintain it and an A&P signs the annual condition inspection without an IA.

Variants of the Rutan Long-EZ

• Long-EZ (Model 61) · 1980 · 311 active · this page

Also consider

• Aviat Aircraft A-1
  Score 27.5/50 · 2 seats · 120 kt
• BRM Aero Bristell LSA
  No overall score · 2 seats · 115 kt
• Flight Design CTLS
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