jeb@eisx.UUCP (Jim Beckman) (06/20/84)
This information from last Sunday's Newark Star-Ledger: Burt Rutan has rolled out his latest creation. Rutan's Voyager carries two engines on a 111-foot wingspan, and is designed for the single purpose of flying around the world non-stop. The design includes Rutan's trademark canard, push-pull engines mounted on either end of the fuselage, and composite construction. Empty weight of the aircraft is 938 pounds, while max weight is (brace yourself) 11,300 pounds. The Voyager will carry two pilots, with one accomodated in a reclining position for sleeping while the other flies. With a full load of 8,400 pounds of fuel, the Voyager should have a max duration in the air of two weeks. The plan for the round-the-world flight calls for 12 days in the air. Initial airspeed will be 130 knots. As the fuel load is burned off, one engine (front) will be shut down and airspeed reduced to 70 knots. Pilots for the attempt will be Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, and the flight is probably a year in the future.
marcum@rhino.UUCP (Alan M. Marcum) (11/02/84)
For those interested, the November issue of _Flying_ has a couple of nice pictures of Burt Rutan's Voyager from EAA at Oskosh this year. Also, "Bax Seat" is entitled "Fantastic Voyager," and is about Rutan's venture. An interesting point mentioned in the article is that the project has a money problem (so what's new?), and the Voyager Team was actively seeking donations at EAA. Apparently, for a gift of $100 or more, your name will go into a logbook to be given to the Smithsonian (details from the Voyager Team at Voyager Team Hangar 77 Airport Mojave, California 93501 For those unfamiliar with the project, Burt Rutan has built a plane which his brother, Dick, and Jeana Yeager (no relation, I believe) plan to fly around the world -- non-stop, without refueling. The plane is interesting, to say the least. Centerline thrust twin, long, slender, canard (of course), shaped sort-of like -+- ________|_______ | | | | | | | | | ========|=======|=======|======== | | | | -+- | | | | | (with apologies to Burt) in a top view. The twin outboard booms are fuel tanks, with a rudder on the back of each. There's a small bubble canopy just forward of the main wing in the center boom for the cockpit. The landing gear are retracted by a manual crank during the climb (phew!). Most of the two-week flight, after climbing to altitude, will be made on one engine. Interesting plane. Many parallels are being drawn between Voyager and Spirit of St. Louis. Any comments out there on Voyager? -- Alan M. Marcum Fortune Systems, Redwood City, California ...!{ihnp4, ucbvax!amd, hpda, sri-unix, harpo}!fortune!rhino!marcum
rl@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Robert Langridge%CGL) (11/26/84)
<--- Herewith a summary of a report in the Nov 1984 EAA "Sport Aviation" on the progress of Burt Rutan's extraordinary design for a non-stop unrefuelled round-the-world flight, the "Voyager", to be flown by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. On Sept 14 "Voyager" made a 3 hr. flight with 561 galls of fuel. T/O wt 5100 lbs (60% fuel); lift-off in 2000 ft at density altitude of 4400 ft. For the first time each of the 15 tanks were used. Exhaustive systems checks will follow, which will almost incidentally involve an attempt at the existing closed circuit distance record by cruising up and down the California coast between designated turn points. Next, a straight-line distance record attempt from Puerto Rico to Perth, Australia, hopefully in early 1985. "Sport Aviation" also mentions that a Voyager Society has been set up by Rutan and Yeager as a non-profit, tax-exempt foundation to accept donations to support the round-the world attempt. Write Voyager Society, Hangar 77, Airport, Mojave, CA 93501. Bob Langridge Computer Graphics Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143 (UUCP: ...ucbvax!ucsfcgl!rl) (ARPA: rl@ucbvax or langridge@sumex)