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| Rutan VariViggen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Homebuiltlight aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Rutan Aircraft Factory (plans supplier) |
| Designer | |
| Status | < 5 flying |
| Primary user | private owners |
| Number built | ~20 |
| History | |
| First flight | April, 1972 |
| Variant | VariEze |
TheRutan VariViggen is ahomebuilt aircraft designed byBurt Rutan. Theaircraft is a tandem two-seater of primarily wooden construction with adelta wing and acanard foreplane. The VariViggen is powered by a 150 hpLycoming O-320aero engine inpusher configuration. The prototype was designated Model 27, and the production version was Model 32.
The VariViggen was named after theSwedish fighter plane, theSaab 37 Viggen. This and theXB-70 Valkyrie inspired the design. Rutan became interested in aircraft which resistedstalls andspins, and the VariViggen was his first full scale design. He began working with the design as a student atCal Poly in the early 1960s, and started building the prototype in his garage in 1968. After four years of work, the aircraft made its first flight in April, 1972. In order to increase efficiency, the Model 32 (also known as the VariViggen SP) had a slightly longer fuselage, a larger wingspan and winglets.
TheRutan Aircraft Factory sold 600 plan sets for the VariViggen to homebuilders, and eventually about 20 of the aircraft were built. Following the crash of one inNew Brunswick,Canada in September 2006 due to wing tank fuel contamination,[1] fewer than five are currently still flying. The prototype aircraft, N27VV, can be seen in the 1975 movieDeath Race 2000 and was eventually donated to theEAA AirVenture Museum in 1988.
Rutan also began work on an all-aluminum variant, the MiniViggen, but later abandoned the project and focused his efforts on theVariEze.
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1976–77[2]
General characteristics
Performance
