QAC Quickie Q2
| Quickie Q2 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Quickie Q2 | |
| Role | amateur-built airplane |
| Manufacturer | Quickie Aircraft Corporation |
| Designer | Garry LeGare, Tom Jewett and Gene Sheehan |
| First flight | July 1980 |
| Status | kit production completed |
| Number built | 2000+ |
| Developed from | Rutan Quickie |
The Quickie Q2 or Q2 is a two-seater version of the unique Rutan Quickie, produced in kit form by the Quickie Aircraft Corporation founded by Tom Jewett and Gene Sheehan. Canadian Garry LeGare was involved in the design.
The Q2 is a tandem wing design, having one forward wing and one rear wing (instead of the more usual main wing and horizontal stabilizer). The elevators are fitted to the forward wing so that all pitch control comes from the forward wing, similar to the canard configuration. The Q2 is a "taildragger" with fixed (non-retractable) main wheels faired into spats located at the tips of the forward wing. As efficient as the original design, the Q2 is also of composite construction.
The Q2 followed Jewett's and Sheehan's intention to design a two-seat homebuilt aircraft.
A homebuilder who had already built a Rutan VariEze, LeGare suggested a two-seater development of the Quickie with a larger VW engine. At the time, Sheehan and Jewett were not interested so LeGare took it on himself to build one.
Unlike the original single-seat Quickie, Rutan was not involved with design of the Q2, but it retains the Rutan tandem wing solution to the design issues of low drag, with fixed undercarriage and a useful centre of gravity range. This also places the payload close to the centre of gravity, incorporates the wheels without much drag penalty and gives safe stalling characteristics.
The Q2 is a "taildragger" with fixed (non-retractable) mainwheels faired into spats located at the tips of the forward wing, acting like endplates (increasing effective aspect ratio). The absence of separate landing gear reduced both weight and drag. However, propeller ground clearance is limited and the Quickie is rather vulnerable to prop-strikes.
The full-span elevators/flaps are fitted to the forward wing so that all pitch control comes from the forward wing, similar to the canard configuration.. The forward wing provides about 60% of the lift. The ailerons are located inboard on the aft wing which is shoulder mounted centrally just aft of the pilot. The canard layout provides positive lift from both pairs of wings, whereas a conventional tailplane supplies negative lift.
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Wikipedia