QAC Quickie Q2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAC_Quickie_Q2

The Quickie Q2 or Q2 is a two-seat 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 (canard) 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 incorporated into integral streamlined
wheel pants located at the tips of the forward wing.

As efficient as the original Q1 design, the Q2 is of composite construction.

Unlike the original single-seat Quickie, Rutan was not involved with the design
of the Q2, but it retains the Rutan tandem wing solution to the design
challenges associated with low drag, high-efficiency design, with a fixed
undercarriage and a useful center of gravity range. Pilot and passenger seating
placement was close to the center of gravity, the integral wheel pants
substantially reduced parasitic drag, and the tandem wing placement and decalage
made for natural angle-of-attack limiting (i.e., natural stall recovery with a
pitch buck onset). The aircraft was a point design, configured at a time of high
fuel prices, increasing costs for the sport pilot, and in the wake of the Bede
BD-5.

The Q2 was configured as a "taildragger" with fixed (non-retractable) integral
wheel pants at the tips of a forward wing with a noticeable adhedral. The wheel
pants acted as endplates (increasing effective aspect ratio) and constraining
spanwise flow. As a result, the original aircraft configuration was an effective
ekranoplan and exhibited surface effect phenomenon when within a half wingspan
distance from the ground. The absence of separate landing gear in the original
configurations (e.g. Q-1 through Q-200) reduced both weight and drag; however,
much of the configurational advantage was lost in the Tri-Q modification.
Propeller ground clearance was a problem in the early Quickie aircraft
fabricated with highly flexible fiberglass spar caps... and those aircraft were
susceptible to prop-strikes during hard landings. Subsequently, the use of full
span, tapered, carbon fiber spars in the Q-200 added significant stiffness to
the forward wing/canard... this development substantially reduced the tendency
of the aircraft to porpoise and experience propeller damage.

Q-2/Q-200 pilot controls included a central sidestick controlled by the right
hand and a throttle controlled by the left hand. As the pitch and roll control
linkages were via a pushrod, the aircraft was very responsive. Routine
installations were the inclusion of an aileron reflexor and mid-fuselage
belly-board speed brake. The rudder pedals were cable-linked directly to a
steerable tailwheel bellcrank, and then via secondary cables to the rudder; this
per-plans configuration led to multiple runway mishaps resulting from damage to
the fiberglass tailspring that supported the tailwheel bellcrank and subsequent
loss of directional control. Many builders addressed this tailwheel design
weakness by the placement of a dedicated bellcrank within the aft fuselage and
then splitting independent cables to the rudder and tailwheel individually. The
Q2/Q200 series of aircraft were highly sensitive to builder variation and
required special attention to the ground angle of attack and tailwheel hinge
geometry; and, at this stage of American kitplane development, prefabrication of
critical components simply was not yet a feature. In flight, the aircraft
exhibited Cooper-Harper level 3 flying qualities requiring some degree of pilot
compensation during some maneuvers and phases of flight. The Q-200 could be
noticeably sensitive in pitch. The recommended landing technique was via a
backside approach to the runway threshold. Once on the ground, the aircraft was
known to exhibit reversed stick steering if the ailerons were actuated at medium
to high speed; this was typically corrected by a neutral control stick and
normal rudder correction.


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

Production

In June 1978, only two months after the single-seat Quickie prototype's first
flight, Jewett and Sheehan had formed the Quickie Aircraft Corporation to
produce and sell complete kits of Quickie layout, first single-seaters, then
two-seaters. Kit production commenced in 1980, with over 2000 kits sold before
production ended.

LeGare and Quickie formed an agreement: While Quickie handled domestic sales
within the United States, LeGare would handle export sales. In practice, the
export sales were shipped directly from Quickie in California.

Variants

Quickie Q2
This two-seat aircraft employed a 64-horsepower (48 kW) Volkswagen air-cooled
engine and could be constructed as a Tri-Q with tricycle rather than
conventional landing gear.

Q200
This two-seat aircraft was substantially faster than the Q2, with a
100-horsepower (78 kW) Continental O-200 engine and employed an LS-1 airfoil for
the canard to avoid canard leading edge contamination issues. Q-200 aircraft
have been powered with other engines, including Mazda, Subaru, Rotax, and
Corvair engines in the same horsepower range, with varying degrees of success.
It can also be constructed as a Tri-Q with tricycle, rather than conventional
landing gear

Specifications (Quickie Q2)

General characteristics
Crew: one pilot
Capacity: one passenger
Length: 19 ft 10 in (6.05 m)
Wingspan: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)
Height: 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m)
Wing area: 67 ft² (6.22 m²)
Empty weight: 490 lb (222 kg)
Useful load: 510 lb (231 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 1,000 lb (454 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Revmaster 2100-DQ converted auto-engine, 64 hp (47.7 kW) at
3,200 rpm

Performance
Never exceed speed: 200 mph (322 km/h)
Maximum speed: 180 mph (290 km/h)
Cruise speed: 140 mph (225 km/h)
Range: 550 mi (885 km)
Rate of climb: 1,200 ft/min (6.10 m/s)




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