1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Dickey E-Racer: FlugKerl2· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ (pronounced Long-Easy) is a tandem 2-seater homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites. The Long-EZ has a canard layout, a swept wing with wingtip rudders, and a pusher engine and propeller. The tricycle landing gear has fixed main wheels with streamlined spats and a retractable nosewheel.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · tricycle gear · 8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 47 years ago, in 1979.
- Top speed is 2.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Range of 3,235 km: 18× Amsterdam to Brussels.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1979-06-12
- number built
- 700
- role
- homebuilt aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Rutan Aircraft Factory, Scaled Composites
- engines
- 1× Lycoming O-235 / O-235
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 1
- length
- 5.1 m
- wingspan
- 8 m
- height
- 2.4 m
- max take-off weight
- 601 kg
- top speed
- 298 km/h
- cruise speed
- 232 km/h
- range
- 3,235 km
- ceiling
- 8,230 m
- wings
- canard
- landing gear
- tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1338262, Wikipedia: Rutan Long-EZ (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.