The Rutan Model 77 Solitaire is an American, single seat, canard, mid-wingmotor glider that was developed by Burt Rutan in response to the 1982 Sailplane Homebuilders Association Design Contest for a homebuilt glider. It first flew in 1982.[1] The Solitaire was declared the winner of the contest and its unusual layout attracted a great deal of attention. For a time in the 1980s the aircraft was available as plans and as a kit.[2][3]
Like many Rutan designs, the Solitaire uses a canard layout, with a lifting foreplane with elevators for pitch control at the nose, and a rudder at the rear of a tail boom. The pilot sits under a bubble canopy and the electro-hydraulically retractable gasoline engine occupies the space between the pilot's feet and the canard. The aircraft is constructed from fiberglass on Nomex honeycomb and urethane foam.[2][3]
The 41.75 ft (12.7 m) wing has a built-in mid-span twist to offset the effects of the canard's downwash, with the inboard 7.4 ft (2.3 m) having 2 degrees less twist than the outboard portion of the wing. The wing is equipped with very effective trailing edgespoilers, consisting of a flap that deploys down while also protruding its leading edge upward into the airflow.[2][3]
The canard configuration is designed so that the forward surface stalls before the main wing, making the aircraft unstallable, and also unspinnable. This does not mean, however, that the aircraft cannot be maneuvered into a flight regime where a high rate of descent is achieved.[2][3]
When it was in production, the kit included all the hardware to assemble the prefabricated fiberglass parts. The fuselage halves came with Nomex honeycomb cores and a special film adhesive to bond the halves together. The main wing spars supplied used S-glass roving spar caps that had been molded in metal molds. The kits also included many molded parts, including the seat pan, canopy pre-mounted in its frame, turtledeck, fuselage bulkheads, wing root fairings, wheel fairings, wingtips and the foam cores used in the wings and the canard.[4]
The initial engine was the 22 hp (16 kW) Zenoah G-25, but this was changed to a Robin engine and then later the 20 hp (15 kW) Cuyuna 215. The KFM 107e 22 hp (16 kW) engine has also been used.[4][5]
Operational historyedit
Within two months of the aircraft's introduction in 1982, 50 to 60 sets of plans had been sold. In March 2011 there were seven Solitaires registered in the United States, including one in the EAA AirVenture Museum.[3][6]
rutan, solitaire, rutan, model, solitaire, american, single, seat, canard, wing, motor, glider, that, developed, burt, rutan, response, 1982, sailplane, homebuilders, association, design, contest, homebuilt, glider, first, flew, 1982, solitaire, declared, winn. The Rutan Model 77 Solitaire is an American single seat canard mid wing motor glider that was developed by Burt Rutan in response to the 1982 Sailplane Homebuilders Association Design Contest for a homebuilt glider It first flew in 1982 1 The Solitaire was declared the winner of the contest and its unusual layout attracted a great deal of attention For a time in the 1980s the aircraft was available as plans and as a kit 2 3 Solitaire Role Kit built motor glider National origin United States Manufacturer Rutan Aircraft Factory Designer Burt Rutan First flight 1982 Introduction 1982 Status Production completed Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Aircraft on display 4 Specifications Solitaire 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDesign and development editLike many Rutan designs the Solitaire uses a canard layout with a lifting foreplane with elevators for pitch control at the nose and a rudder at the rear of a tail boom The pilot sits under a bubble canopy and the electro hydraulically retractable gasoline engine occupies the space between the pilot s feet and the canard The aircraft is constructed from fiberglass on Nomex honeycomb and urethane foam 2 3 The 41 75 ft 12 7 m wing has a built in mid span twist to offset the effects of the canard s downwash with the inboard 7 4 ft 2 3 m having 2 degrees less twist than the outboard portion of the wing The wing is equipped with very effective trailing edge spoilers consisting of a flap that deploys down while also protruding its leading edge upward into the airflow 2 3 The canard configuration is designed so that the forward surface stalls before the main wing making the aircraft unstallable and also unspinnable This does not mean however that the aircraft cannot be maneuvered into a flight regime where a high rate of descent is achieved 2 3 When it was in production the kit included all the hardware to assemble the prefabricated fiberglass parts The fuselage halves came with Nomex honeycomb cores and a special film adhesive to bond the halves together The main wing spars supplied used S glass roving spar caps that had been molded in metal molds The kits also included many molded parts including the seat pan canopy pre mounted in its frame turtledeck fuselage bulkheads wing root fairings wheel fairings wingtips and the foam cores used in the wings and the canard 4 The initial engine was the 22 hp 16 kW Zenoah G 25 but this was changed to a Robin engine and then later the 20 hp 15 kW Cuyuna 215 The KFM 107e 22 hp 16 kW engine has also been used 4 5 Operational history editWithin two months of the aircraft s introduction in 1982 50 to 60 sets of plans had been sold In March 2011 there were seven Solitaires registered in the United States including one in the EAA AirVenture Museum 3 6 Aircraft on display editEAA AirVenture Museum 4 Specifications Solitaire editData from Sailplane Directory Soaring and EAA 2 3 4 General characteristicsCrew one Wingspan 41 ft 8 in 12 70 m Wing area 102 44 sq ft 9 517 m2 Aspect ratio 10 78 Airfoil Roncz 517 root Roncz 515 tip Roncz 1052 canard Empty weight 380 lb 172 kg Gross weight 620 lb 281 kg Fuel capacity 5 US gallons 19 litres Powerplant 1 Cuyuna 215 20 hp 15 kW Propellers 2 bladed fixed pitch Performance Maximum glide ratio 32 1 Rate of sink 150 ft min 0 76 m s Wing loading 6 05 lb sq ft 29 5 kg m2 See also editList of glidersReferences edit J2mcL Planeurs Fiche planeur n www j2mcl planeurs net Retrieved May 21 2022 a b c d e Activate Media 2006 Solitaire Rutan Archived from the original on July 15 2011 Retrieved March 14 2011 a b c d e f Said Bob 1983 Sailplane Directory Soaring Magazine page 126 Soaring Society of America November 1983 USPS 499 920 a b c d Experimental Aircraft Association 2011 Rutan Matheny Solitaire N142SD Retrieved March 14 2011 Experimental Aircraft Association 2011 Rutan Matheny Solitaire N142SD Specifications Retrieved March 14 2011 Federal Aviation Administration March 2011 Make Model Inquiry Results Archived from the original on July 21 2011 Retrieved March 14 2011 External links editRUTAN Model 77 6 Solitaire at Stargazer Photo of a Solitaire Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rutan Solitaire amp oldid 1178737658, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
