VariEze Homebuilt Aircraft

 

Homebuilt VariEze Aircraft

This homemade aircraft gets 45 MPG at 207 MPH. Flying slower with an upgraded Continental O-200 engine equipped with Light Speed Engineering computer controlled injection & ignition system, was able to get close to 100 miles per gallon, winning Klaus Savier the 2009 Fuelventure 400 challenge! 

I was reading about hypermiling on wikipedia when I found this interesting information about a cool homebuilt aircraft! I happen to love airplanes & aircraft & have a dream of being a pilot in the near future! Flying seems like a lot of fun, like a sky motorcycle :) If that kind of fuel economy can be achieved at a reasonable cost structure with a home built aircraft that can go 200+ mph while getting 45 MPG, are the automakers foolish? 

Sure, our 05 Prius & 10 Prius achieve 45 mpg on regular gas, but those are rare fuel efficient champions in the world of passenger cars fueled by gasoline, and only get that kind of fuel economy because of the electric motors & traction battery storing energy that would be normally wasted as fiction heat or other losses in conventional vehicles! VariEze is a canard aircraft made of fiberglass designed by Burt Rutan. 

Hundred of these were made DIY style at home by enthusiasts in the 1980s in America. Design began in 1974 and the first prototype Model 3, N7EZ, first flew on May 21, 1975 after four months of construction. Powered by a Volkswagen engine conversion. By August 1975 in Oshkosh, Dick Rutan piloted it to an under 500 kg class distance record of 1,638 miles (2,636 km). Rutan believed that he could further fine-tune the design. The aircraft was so popular at Oshkosh that Rutan redesigned the aircraft so that it could be sold as a set of plans, so that people could buy the plans & build them in their garage or workshop at home! A second prototype, the Model 33, N4EZ, built with a larger wing, a Continental O-200 engine, shown at Oshkosh in July 1976 and plans were offered for sale. Approximately 2000 aircraft were under construction by 1980, with about 300 flying by late 1980. 

Rutan's design reduced susceptibility to departure/spin and efficient long range cruise. The use of a canard configuration allowed a stall-resistant design, while increaseing takeoff and landing speeds and distances relative to a similar conventional design with effective flaps. The holder of the CAFEChallenge aircraft efficiency prize briefly was Gary Hertzler, set using a VariEze. The design's stall resistance did not appear to translate to a lower accident rate than for other homebuilts; a review of the NTSB database from 1976 to 2005 shows 130 total accidents and 46 fatal accidents out of a fleet of about 800 (691 registered in 2005). Precise comparisons are difficult, however, because of the haphazard nature of data collection and analysis for accidents involving homebuilt airplanes.

In lieu of a parking brake, the nosewheel retracts and the nose rests on the ground. Referred to as kneeling, this eases access to the cockpit. Resting the nose on the ground also prevents the plane from tipping onto its rear when the pilot's seat is unoccupied.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Length: 14 ft 2 in (4.27 m)
• Wingspan: 22 ft 2.5 in (6.77 m)
• Wing area: 53.6 sq ft (4.98 m²)
• Empty weight: 580 lb (263 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,050 lb (476 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 24 US Gal (91 L)
• Powerplant: 1 × Continental O-200-B air-cooled flat-four engine, 100 hp (75 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 195 mph (314 km/h, 169 kn) (max cruise)
• Cruise speed: 165 mph (266 km/h, 143 kn) (econ cruise)
• Stall speed: 55.5 mph (89.3 km/h, 48.2 kn)
• Range: 850 mi (1,370 km, 740 nmi) at econ cruise
• Rate of climb: 1,600 ft/min (8.1 m/s)