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only 35 feet (11 m) off the ground. With so little altitude to recover, the AMSOIL Racer hit the ground at over 200 mph (320 km/h), tumbling. The plane was completely destroyed, but since Rutan had designed the cockpit to withstand a 22g impact, Mortensen survived with only minor
222:
Mortesen then set out to break speed records. The first was the Class C.1.b (1,000-2,000 pound takeoff weight) 3 km closed course, which the AMSOIL Racer beat with a speed of 232 mph (373 km/h). The second record achieved was over a 75-mile (121 km) closed course, which was
238:
The aircraft was rebuilt for static display, and was suspended over the Pylon Bar in the Reno Hilton (now the Grand Sierra Resort) in Reno, Nevada, for many years. It now resides in the EAA Museum at
Oshkosh, WI. The second aircraft that was licensed by Rutan was never built.
149:, owned by Don Beck and which was dominating the competition at the time. After some research and calculations, Rutan produced three preliminary designs, and the least radical of these was chosen. Like the Model 54
192:
At the 1981 Reno Air Races, the AMSOIL Racer, with
Mortensen as pilot, finished third, after being assessed a penalty for cutting home pylon (due to the need to avoid a collision with the racer
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At the 1982 Reno Air Races, Mortesen and the AMSOIL Racer took second place, with an average race speed of 209.21 mph (336.69 km/h), just 0.3 seconds behind the winner, again
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composites. First flight took place that summer, but the aircraft was damaged by heat from the engine's exhaust. After it was rebuilt, it was entered in the 1981 Reno Air Races.
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The concept which led to the AMSOIL Racer began in 1979 when race pilot Dan
Mortensen approached Burt Rutan about designing an aircraft that would beat the
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At the 1983 Reno Air Races, during one of the early heat races, Mortensen had to manoeuvre in order to avoid a mid-air collision with
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signed on as a sponsor, in order to promote its new synthetic aviation motor oils. The plane was built from
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tandem wing that he had previously designed, the Model 68 (as Rutan designated it) was configured with a
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wing, a main wing and, unlike the
Quickie, had additional horizontal flight surface in the form of a
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131:, and built and flown by Dan Mortensen. It set several speed records, but crashed at the 1983
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161:. Rutan sold rights and plans to build two aircraft of the design to Mortensen for $ 6,000.
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8:
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196:). Due to roll control problems, Mortensen took the plane to Rutan's home base at the
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for further design analysis and flight testing by Rutan
Aircraft Factory pilots
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91.7 sq ft (8.52 m) (Front 47.6) + (Aft 44.1)
223:
accomplished with a speed of 235 mph (378 km/h).
123:, was a race tandem wing plane which was designed by
212:control system design was subsequently modified.
1265:
282:17 ft 9.6 in (5.425 m) Front Wing
138:
385:
1236:(vice president/general manager, test pilot)
401:Rutan Aircraft Factory and Scaled Composites
303:1,200 lb (544 kg) Aerobatic Weight
164:The construction began in January, 1981, in
1248:(director of flight operations, test pilot)
276:22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) Aft Wing
392:
378:
340:13.08 lb/sq ft (63.9 kg/m)
334:204 kn (235 mph, 378 km/h)
1266:
373:
187:
360:Discussion of the aircraft and crash
13:
1284:1980s United States sport aircraft
230:, ending up entering that plane's
14:
1305:
242:
27:
579:Rocketcraft (as subcontractor)
1:
353:
1294:Aircraft first flown in 1981
1254:(SpaceShipOne sole investor)
7:
497:Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
475:Aircraft (as subcontractor)
319:, 160 hp (120 kW)
309:1,126 lb (511 kg)
139:Conception and construction
10:
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750:Mojave Aerospace Ventures
740:
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578:
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408:
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88:
76:
64:
56:
46:
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26:
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521:Technology demonstrators
663:Spirit of Steve Fossett
409:Aircraft (main designs)
403:aircraft and spacecraft
270:22 ft (6.7 m)
249:General characteristics
586:McDonnell Douglas DC-X
166:Sacramento, California
146:Beck-Mahoney Sorceress
129:Rutan Aircraft Factory
71:Rutan Aircraft Factory
1242:(manager, test pilot)
745:The Spaceship Company
22:Model 68 AMSOIL Racer
1289:Tandem-wing aircraft
121:Rutan Model 68 Racer
115:, also known as the
33:AMSOIL Racer at the
600:Spaceflight program
307:Max takeoff weight:
117:Rutan Biplane Racer
42:General information
35:EAA Aviation Museum
1279:Homebuilt aircraft
1224:(former president)
188:Racing and records
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1260:
758:
757:
502:Williams V-Jet II
109:
108:
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681:Stratolaunch Roc
648:White Knight Two
619:White Knight One
607:Programs / Ships
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603:
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297:6.68 & 11.48
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31:
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16:Type of aircraft
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1228:Michael Alsbury
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461:Model 367 BiPod
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280:Lower wingspan:
274:Upper wingspan:
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232:wake turbulence
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57:National origin
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1209:Notable people
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691:Ansari X Prize
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676:SpaceShipThree
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671:RocketMotorTwo
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365:Aerofiles info
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332:Maximum speed:
321:
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317:Lycoming O-320
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243:Specifications
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198:Mojave Airport
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133:Reno Air Races
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763:Model numbers
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591:Rotary Rocket
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512:X-47A Pegasus
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338:Wing loading:
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302:
301:Gross weight:
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60:United States
59:
55:
52:
49:
45:
40:
36:
30:
25:
20:
1240:Brian Binnie
1234:Mike Melvill
1230:(test pilot)
834:
662:
654:
639:
630:
624:SpaceShipTwo
614:SpaceShipOne
492:Toyota TAA-1
343:
337:
331:
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306:
300:
293:Aspect ratio
291:
285:
279:
273:
267:
261:
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246:
237:
227:
225:
221:
216:
214:
202:Mike Melvill
193:
191:
163:
144:
142:
120:
116:
113:AMSOIL Racer
112:
110:
102:First flight
89:Number built
66:Manufacturer
325:Performance
313:Powerplant:
235:injuries.
105:Summer 1981
1268:Categories
1252:Paul Allen
1222:Doug Shane
1216:Burt Rutan
631:Enterprise
566:(uncrewed)
560:(uncrewed)
446:Pond Racer
416:VariViggen
354:References
345:Power/mass
286:Wing area:
206:Dick Rutan
174:fiberglass
125:Burt Rutan
82:Burt Rutan
1218:(founder)
564:Model 396
558:Model 395
482:Adam A500
466:Model 401
451:Boomerang
349:0.1333333
262:Capacity:
228:Sorceress
217:Sundancer
194:Sundancer
51:Air racer
700:Tier One
182:graphite
119:and the
77:Designer
693:flights
570:Vantage
553:Triumph
548:Grizzly
543:Catbird
456:Proteus
441:Voyager
436:Long-EZ
431:Defiant
426:Quickie
421:VariEze
268:Length:
210:aileron
151:Quickie
97:History
208:. The
178:kevlar
170:Amsoil
159:T-tail
155:canard
640:Unity
538:BiPod
256:Crew:
661:VMS
653:VMS
638:VSS
629:VSS
533:ATTT
528:ARES
507:X-38
315:1 ×
204:and
180:and
111:The
47:Type
1200:406
1195:401
1190:400
1185:396
1180:395
1175:375
1170:372
1165:367
1160:355
1155:351
1150:348
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1130:342
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1120:340
1115:339
1110:333
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1005:226
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950:165
945:164
940:163
935:158
930:151
925:144
920:143
915:133
910:126
905:120
900:115
730:17P
725:16P
720:15P
715:14P
710:13P
705:11P
655:Eve
127:'s
1270::
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219:.
176:,
135:.
770:1
634:†
393:e
386:t
379:v
347::
295::
264:1
258:1
92:1
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