Talk:Rutan VariEze

Gear

Can someone please explain why this aircraft has no front wheel? Cheers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.181.52.209 (talk • contribs)

It has a retractible front landing gear for parking. Without a pilot in the seat it could tip back unless the nose gear is retracted. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.170.226.55 (talk • contribs)

I hate to add unsource material, but the landing gear issue is so important to include that I'm just going to copy that answer. Otherwise it'll leave readers scratching their heads and wondering. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 08:55, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

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Manufacturer

Rutan Aircraft factory is NOT the manufacturer. According to Rutan HIMSELF (From the VariEze Manufacturing Manual, first edition, 1976, page 1-5.)

The builder of an amateur built aircraft is the manufacturer. As such, the builder is responsible for quality control on all parts, all construction, and the conduct of all flight tests. While Rutan Aircraft Factory is not the manufacturer of your aircraft, we do, through these plans and services, provide you with information about how our VariEze was built and how we feel is the best way for you to build a safe, reliable airplane. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Steveastrouk (talk • contribs)

The plane is not assembled by Rutan, but they designed the kits. That should be in the infobox. I reverted you mostly for the paragraph but left out the manufacturer for now. Additions to the article need a reliable source. See WP:CITE and WP:RS. Also please sign your comments with 4 tilde like this: ~~~~ That will sign your post. MartinezMD (talk) 18:04, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

I'm pinging @Ahunt:, as he has created dozens of kit/home-built aircraft articles. BilCat (talk) 18:29, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

I was in direct contact with Burt Rutan about this issue. The same comments can be made about the Long-Eze and the Variviggen Steveastrouk (talk) 19:52, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Whether you are or aren't, Wikipedia content has to be reliably sourced. I've already provided the link for you. For the moment, Rutan isn't shown as a manufacturer. MartinezMD (talk) 20:10, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the ping here. Yeah, The builder of an amateur built aircraft is the manufacturer... etc. That is all legalese about trying to avoid legal liability for the completed aircraft when it crashes. Wikipedia is not so concerned about these fine legal distinctions; we stick to what the lawyers call "the pith and substance" of the issue. It is not like the kit manufacturer has no part in the process, they build the kits from which the aircraft is completed by the homebuilder. Our longstanding WikiProject Aircraft consensus has been to list the manufacturer of the kit under "Manufacturer", since the article is primarily about the kits, not the experiences of the individual builders who complete the kits, personal opinions of Burt Rutan or others notwithstanding. - Ahunt (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Please note that Rutan Aircraft Factory never made kits, thus they were never a kit manufacturer. RAF sold plans rather than kits. Nonetheless, ICAO and the US FAA list RUTAN (code for Rutan Aircraft Factory and Rutan Aircraft Factory Inc) as the manufacturer, consistent with international agreements regarding amateur built aircraft types built in significant numbers, where the designer or kit manufacturer is to be listed as the manufacturer, rather than the amateur builder. As the entry makes it quite clear that this is type is amateur built and plans built several times, I don’t think it is a great issue. You can cite source as US FAA Order 8000.71 if you change “Manufacturer” to “Make” in the entry. Alternatively, you can keep the entry as it is and put a cite for Manufacturer Rutan Aircraft Factory, with US FAA Order JO 7560.1D exactly specifying Rutan Aircraft Factory as the manufacturer of the Varieze. A US FAA reference should satisfy those concerned. Pavel Saccani (talk) 10:30, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the clarification that Rutan Aircraft Factory produced plans and not kits. The infobox parameters are fixed and cannot be just arbitrarily changed, but I can add a note to the entry to make this more clear and accurate.

Do you know if Rutan Aircraft Factory or other suppliers provided some of the major and hard-to-fabricate parts like the canopy, the landing gear legs, or the engine mount? - Ahunt (talk) 10:56, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

You can note that I have indicated RAF as the plans supplier in the info boxes for the VariEze, LongEze and Rutan VariViggen as well. - Ahunt (talk) 13:18, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

I appreciate the constraints of the project and I hope that note satisfies everyone. With regard to parts manufacture. Burt had worked for Jim Bede on the BD-5 and identified parts manufacture as capital intensive and a financial risk. The business model he came up with was to licence parts manufacture across several manufacturers, with RAF monitoring conformance, but not involved in the sales arrangements. In some cases, RAF transferred tooling (eg, engine cowl moulds) to the manufacturer. Current approved parts suppliers were listed in each edition of the Variviggen News/Canard Pusher(CP). Sometimes parts manufacturers were delicensed for various reasons, such as non-conforming parts. If you want to include it in the article, I can get a list of such suppliers. A very notable one was Ken Brock Manufacturing, for supply of such critical items as wing attach fittings, and who could supply a kit of all the custom metal parts. The philosophy is explained in one of the CP newsletters. Perhaps a link to the one of the online repositories of CP in each article on RAF aircraft designs might be helpful, they do go into substantial detail.203.221.99.192 (talk) 01:49, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the details there. I don't think we need an exhaustive accounting of "who built what parts and when", but if a source or two can be cited then a general summary of the parts supply, as you have summarized above might be useful. - Ahunt (talk) 02:06, 15 October 2021 (UTC)