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The Rutan Quickie is a lightweight single-seat taildragger aircraft of composite construction, configured with a tandem wing. The Quickie was primarily designed by Burt Rutan as a low-powered but highly efficient kit-plane. Its tandem wing design has one forward wing and one slightly larger rear wing. The forward wing has full-span control surfaces and is thus not dissimilar to a canard wing, but is considerably larger. The aircraft has unusual landing gear, with the main wheels located at the tips of the forward wing. ==Design and development== The Quickie Aircraft Corporation was formed to produce and market the Quickie in kit form after 1978. Two years later a two-seater variant of the same layout followed as the Q2. The original ''Quickie'' (Model 54 in Rutan’s design series) is one of several unconventional aircraft penned by Rutan for the general aviation market. The Quickie followed from Jewett and Sheehan's intention in 1975 for a low-cost, low-power, single-seat homebuilt aircraft. The first element to be found by Jewett and Sheehan was the engine, which – although low-powered (they had anticipated 12 hp) – had to be reliable for aviation work. With the help of Onan, a manufacturer of industrial four-stroke engines, they were able to procure a engine that would deliver 18 hp (14 kW) at 3,600 rpm.〔''Flight International'' p1161〕 Rutan was then involved with the design; Sheehan and Jewett suggesting a scaled-down Vari-Eze. After a preliminary pusher canard configuration design (Rutan Model 49) had been discarded,〔 his solution to the design issues of low drag without retractable undercarriage and a workable centre of gravity travel, was a tractor engine/tandem wing layout.,〔in "Quickie-Type Aircraft Design Origins", Rutan wrote : "While the Model 49 appeared feasible, it had potential shortcomings : very low Reynolds number on the fins and canard wing and excessive CG travel with pilot weight variation."〕 Conversely to canard layout, the conventional front engine location put the pilot close to the centre of gravity, a key point for a light aircraft. The wheels were incorporated into wingtip fairings without much drag penalty and the tandem layout gave safe stalling characteristics.〔 Rutan produced the first drawings in May 1977 and thereafter the three of them worked on the design drawings over the next two months with construction beginning in August 〔The Canard Pusher N°15, page 11〕 After the first flights, Rutan spent more time with his Defiant design and other projects, and it was Jewett and Sheehan who continued development of the design and market it for home-build use.〔 An agreement was reached that Rutan would fund the development and testing and once the design was complete they would pay Rutan back from future sales of the designs and kits.〔Rutan ''Sport Aviation'' p63〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rutan Quickie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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