Scaled Composites

Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled), formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory, is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California and is headed by famous aircraft designer Burt Rutan. The company was founded to develop experimental aircraft, but now focuses on designing and developing concept craft and prototype fabrication processes for aircraft and other vehicles. It is known for interesting designs, for its use of non-metal, composite materials, and for winning the Ansari X Prize with its experimental spacecraft SpaceShipOne.

Company history

Scaled Composites was established in 1982 and purchased by the Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1985, as a result of the collaboration on the Starship project. In 1988, Beech's parent company, Raytheon, sold Scaled back to Rutan, who then sold it to Wyman-Gordon. After Wyman-Gordon was acquired by Castparts, Inc., Rutan and ten investors re-acquired the company as Scaled Composites, LLC. Northrop Grumman is a 49% owner of Scaled.^[1]

SpaceShipOne

Main article: Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne

The company made a splash in April 2003 when it revealed that it was working on a privately funded spacecraft, in an attempt to win the Ansari X Prize for the first private, manned spaceflight. This experimental rocket powered spacecraft was given the name SpaceShipOne. On 17 December 2003, they announced SpaceShipOne's first supersonic flight, the first flight of its kind by a privately funded aircraft. SpaceShipOne successfully made this flight, reaching 68000 feet and 930mph (Mach 1.2). The craft was brought aloft by the White Knight carrier aircraft. On the same day, Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, confirmed publicly the rumors that he was the angel investor behind the SpaceShipOne venture.

On April 1, 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued the company what it called the world's first license for a sub-orbital manned rocket flight. The license was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which has backed licenses for more than 150 commercial launches of unmanned launch vehicles in its 20 years, but never a license for manned flight on a sub-orbital trajectory. The Mojave Airport, operating part-time as Mojave Spaceport, is the launch point for SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne performed the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21 2004. Flight 16P on 29 September 2004 and Flight 17P on 4 October 2004 won the X-Prize for Scaled Composites and SpaceShipOne.

Other famous vehicles

Before forming Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan designed the Beechcraft Starship, often considered one of aviation's most innovative designs. He also designed several aircraft for home builders, including the Rutan VariEze. These aircraft are innovative because of their canard design: unlike a conventional aircraft, where the horizontal stabilizer causes negative lift (and reduces efficiency), the canard design causes all of the lift to be upward. Canard fliers state many efficiency and safety benefits for this configuration.

Before SpaceShipOne, Rutan was best known for his Voyager aircraft, which his brother, Dick Rutan, and Jeana Yeager flew around the world without refueling, in 1986.

Although the role was not widely publicized, Scaled also manufactured the 1988 Stars & Stripes catamaran for Dennis Conner's entry of that year in the America's Cup yacht race.

Aircraft projects

Rutan Aircraft Factory aircraft

• Model 27 Variviggen (1972)
• Model 31 VariEze (1975)
• Model 32 Variviggen SP (1973)
• Model 33 VariEze (1976)
• Model 35 AD-1 (1979)
• Model 40/74 Defiant (1978)
• Model 54 Quickie (1978)
• Model 61 Long-EZ (1979)
• Model 68 AMSOIL Racer (1981)
• Model 73 NGT: Three-fifths scale model of Fairchild T-46 trainer (1981)
• Model 76 Voyager: First aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth non-stop (1986)
• Model 77 Solitaire (1982)

Scaled Composites aircraft

• Model 115 Starship: 85% scale prototype, went into production as the Beechcraft Model 2000 Starship (1982)
• Model 97 Microlight: 2-place pusher canard ultralight(1983)
• Model 120 Predator: Agricultural aircraft for Advanced Technology Aircraft Corp. (1984)
• B-2 Spirit: Scale model pole-mounted B-2 for radar cross section tests
• Model 80 Grizzly (1986)
• Model 133 ATTT (1987)
• Model 144 CM-44: UAV developed for California Microwave, now Northrop Grumman (1987)
• Model 81 Catbird (1988)
• Model 143 Triumph: Built for Beechcraft (1988)
• IAI Searcher: longer-winged version of Pioneer UAV (1988)
• Model TRA324 Scarab: Developed for Teledyne Ryan, now Northrop Grumman (1988)
• Model 173 Loral TFV: Towed decoy (1989)
• Model 179 Lockheed PLADS Rockbox: 8-man parachute delivery vehicle (1989)
• DC-X: Constructed the structural aeroshell and control surfaces under contract to McDonnell Douglas
• Model 151 ARES (1990)
• Pegasus: Wings, fins for air launch rocket (1990)
• Model 158 Pond Racer: Built for air racer Bob Pond (1990)
• Model 191: Single-engine general aviation aircraft (1991)
• Earthwinds: Pressurized gondola for round-the-world balloon attempt (1991)
• Model 226 Raptor: Raptor D-1 and D-2 for DOE (1993)
• Bell Eagle Eye: Tilt-rotor demonstrator aircraft for Bell Helicopter (1993)
• Model 233 Freewing: STOL RPV (1994)
• Space Industries Comet: Unmanned reentry capsule (1995)
• Kistler Zero: Two stage demonstration rocket. Project cancelled in 1995
• Model 202 Boomerang (1996)
• Model 247 Vantage: Developed for VisionAire (1996)
• Model 271 V-Jet II: Developed for Williams International (1997)
• Model 257 Motel 6 DLS: pressurized spherical gondola for around-the-world balloon (1998)
• Model 276 NASA X-38: fuselage of drop test vehicle (1998)
• Model 281 Proteus (1998)
• Roton ATV (1999)
• Model 287 NASA ERAST: R/C model for proof of concept of 85,000 ft UAV
• Model 309 Adam M-309: Prototype for the Adam A500 (2000)
• Model 326 Northrop Grumman X-47A (2001)
• Model 302 Toyota TAA-1 (2002)
• Tier One (2003)
  • Model 316 SpaceShipOne
  • Model 318 White Knight
• Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer: Same mission as Voyager, except a solo flight using a jet engine (2004)
• Model 346: Mentioned verbally by Rutan in 2004. Believed to reference SpaceShipTwo, the passenger suborbital spacecraft under construction by The Spaceship Company, a joint venture between Scaled Composites and Virgin Group of the UK, for operation by the Virgin Galactic spaceline.
• USAF Hunter-Killer project (2007?) in cooperation with Northrop Grumman
  • Model 395: Proposed unmanned version of Model 281, equipped with armament
  • Model 396: Smaller version of the RQ-4 Global Hawk, equipped with armament

Non-aircraft work

• Stars & Stripes: The catamaran that formed Dennis Conner's American entry for the America's Cup yacht race (1988)
• PARLC: For the U.S. Navy.
• General Motors Ultralite (1992)

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