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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 2869.PDF
PRIVATE FLIGHT iMk^^M I Voyager prepares to fly MOJAVE The Voyager canard aircraft in which Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager will attempt the first non-stop unrefuelled flight around the world should be flying with its new engine combination within the next six weeks. An attempt on the t^orld distance record may be made early next year, and the world flight will take place some time after July 1986. Rutan and Yeager are working full time preparing the aircraft for flight test. The original engines, with which Voyager made 26 flights amounting to 80hr of flight time, are now being replaced by the engines that will be used on the world flight. The front engine, a standard air- cooled 130 h.p. O240 Teledyne Continental, was installed six weeks ago, and the Rutan team is now installing the 110 h.p. IOL 200 liquid-cooled rear-mounted engine follow ing its delivery from Tele- dyne. Rutan is pleased with the results of specific fuel consumption (SFC) tests. SFC on the flight should now be significantly better than original expectations, and it is likely that the 14 fuel tanks will not need to be full if winds look favourable. The exact fuel figure will be decided the night before departure, says Rutan. Voyager can make a westbound circumnavigation with enough fuel to return to Edwards Air Force Base and fly on to Paris, France. Of Voyager's 12,0001b take off weight, 80 per cent will be fuel. The wing tanks have been split to allow tip-tank fuel to be used last to counter act wing flexing. Fuel transfer is a major problem, and the canard elevator will be Would-be round- the-world pilots Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager, left, have replaced the two engines on their slender Voyager aircraft with new units. Four-fifths of the Voyager's weight will be fuel at the start of the epic flight, which will take 12 days to complete marked to act as a e.g. indi cator. Edwards offers the safest departure point available says Rutan. He is determined that the aircraft must be preserved in the event of an aborted mission, and the dry lake bed offers unparalleled space and directional flexibility should the heavily loaded Voyager need to return. A westerly course around the globe has been chosen to take advantage of easterly winds in tropical latitudes and to ensure that the home run will be over the USA should an early landing be required. The route will cross Australia, the Indian Ocean, South Africa, and the Caribbean. The front engine will be shut down three days into the flight. The rear engine will only be shut down in extremis, and is fitted with a variable- pitch propeller which can be reversed to increase drag for descent and landing. To minimise weight the thinnest wire size has been used for the electrical system, and switches and instruments have been kept to a mini mum. The King avionics fit includes a KNS660 VLF Omega, weather radar, HF and VHF radio, and a tran sponder. The Voyager command centre will be set up in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Wash ington D.C., and will be able to receive satellite weather information and aircraft pos ition details throughout the flight. This will be relayed to the crew for comparison with the Omega data, allowing the aircraft to be kept clear of adverse weather. An on-board oxygen- generation system is being developed which will allow an unlimited supply of oxygen. Rutan is keen to present the flight as a technical achieve ment rather than a commer cial one, and hopes that the need for major commercial sponsorship and advertising can be avoided. , FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 19 October 1985 n
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