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The Rutan Model 40 Defiant is a four-seat, twin-engine 
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Aerofiles information
{{Scaled Composites Defiant 1970s United States civil utility aircraft Twin-engined push-pull aircraft Canard aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1978
homebuilt aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...
with the engines in a push-pull configuration
An aircraft constructed with a push-pull configuration has a combination of forward-mounted tractor (pull) propellers, and backward-mounted ( pusher) propellers.
Historical
The earliest known examples of "push-pull" engined-layout aircraft inc ...
. It was designed by aerospace engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
Burt Rutan
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the rec ...
for the Rutan Aircraft Factory.
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Development
The prototype Defiant, N78RA, was first flown on 30 June 1978. It had been intended as a proof-of-concept of a very safe light twin design, requiring little trim change and no pilot action in case of engine failure, and with good single engine performance. A comparison of the Defiant single engine climb rate with a Gulfstream American GA-7 Cougar, Gulfstream Cougar had shown about vs per minute at low altitude with both aircraft cleaned up. The prototype is now owned by theHiller Aviation Museum
The Hiller Aviation Museum is an aircraft history museum located at the San Carlos Airport in San Carlos, California. The museum was founded by Stanley Hiller in June 1998. and is endowed by members of the Hiller family. It specializes in Northe ...
.
In 1979 the Rutan Aircraft Factory announced they would proceed with certification of a Defiant-based light twin. Adequate financing was not secured for this project, and the design was modified for homebuilt construction as the Model 74, with the second aircraft (built by Fred Keller) appearing at Oshkosh 1983. Plans were offered in mid-1984. 176 sets of plans were purchased before RAF discontinued selling plans in 1985. Nine examples were known to be flying as of mid-1987. Nineteen are registered with the FAA as of 2005.
Design
The Defiant is built using fiberglass layup over Styrofoam core shapes in the same manner as the Rutan VariEze. The main gear is fixed, and there are no flaps. The Propellers are fixed-pitch non-feathering, which is unusual in a twin-engine design. Cockpit entry is through a side hinged canopy. The winglets provide yaw stability. Unusually, the Defiant has a ventral, port offset, forward mounted rudder, as can be seen in pictures of the plane taxiing.Specifications (Defiant)
References
*Aerofiles information
{{Scaled Composites Defiant 1970s United States civil utility aircraft Twin-engined push-pull aircraft Canard aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1978