Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Long-EZ places a small lifting surface ahead of its main wing and the propeller behind the cabin. VSKYLABS describes using the original 1980 plans and pilot handbook as references for its homebuilt-aircraft simulation. The current X-Plane 12 product includes a standard aircraft and extended-range configurations.
Aircraft background
VSKYLABS · Read more ↗Standard and extended-range Long-EZ models
The current X-Plane 12 package includes standard analog and G1000 aircraft plus an analog extended-range model. The ER version adds ferry tanks and transfer systems; the separate X-Plane 11 product should not be assumed to contain every later XP12 update.
Long-EZ · VSKYLABS · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube The Weekly Departure · 1 min ·
Exploring The Cockpit: A Look Inside RUTAN 61 LONG EZ PLANE | Ultralight Homebuilt Aircraft Design
A tour of the cockpit in a 1988 Long-EZ homebuilt.
Real aircraft · Rutan Long-EZ
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Rutan Long-EZ
The Long-EZ places a small lifting surface ahead of its main wing and the propeller behind the cabin. VSKYLABS describes using the original 1980 plans and pilot handbook as references for its homebuilt-aircraft simulation.
The current X-Plane 12 product includes a standard aircraft and extended-range configurations. Those add ferry fuel and transfer systems inspired by long-distance flights; the developer documents those modifications separately from the original plans-built layout.
Rutan Long-EZ
Rutan Aircraft Factory → · Explore the family →
Rutan Long-EZ
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS Rutan LongEZ ↗Long-EZ standard analog
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS Rutan LongEZ ↗VSKYLABS · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 →Long-EZ standard G1000
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS Rutan LongEZ ↗VSKYLABS · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 →Long-EZ extended-range
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS Rutan LongEZ ↗VSKYLABS · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
A homebuilt introduced in 1979
Burt Rutan’s Long-EZ became one of the best-known plans-built designs from Rutan Aircraft Factory. Pima’s example was built by John R. Stitt between 1981 and 1983 and donated by his family in 1987, illustrating the aircraft’s individual-builder history.
Pima Air & Space Museum · Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ ↗Rutan Long-EZ; individual builder and simulator variants
The long-range interpretation
VSKYLABS bases its standard model on the prototype and adds an extended-range version inspired by Dick Rutan’s N169SH, Old Blue. The ER simulation includes auxiliary fuel and transfer systems for an endurance mission; those additions are not standard equipment on every Long-EZ.
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS Rutan LongEZ ↗Rutan Long-EZ; individual builder and simulator variants
Systems & details
Canard, rudders and brakes
The add-on incorporates a Roncz canard and enlarged rudders. It also distinguishes the belly airbrake from its experimental dual-rudder braking arrangement. The ER’s fuel transfer affects loading, while the standard variants model an automatically varying Aeromatic propeller. These builder-style changes help explain why one generic Long-EZ equipment list would be misleading.
In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12Long-EZ
VSKYLABS · Released
Long-EZ
VSKYLABS · Released
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 (changelog-supported compatibility)Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ
IndiaFoxtEcho · Released
Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ
IndiaFoxtEcho · Released
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Standard and extended-range Long-EZ modelsLong-EZ · VSKYLABS · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The current X-Plane 12 package includes standard analog and G1000 aircraft plus an analog extended-range model. The ER version adds ferry tanks and transfer systems; the separate X-Plane 11 product should not be assumed to contain every later XP12 update.
Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14
VSKYLABS · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ — product listingRutan Model 61 Long-EZ · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 (changelog-supported compatibility)
Product listing captured 2026-09-24; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
IndiaFoxtEcho / publisher · Read the source ↗Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ — product listingRutan Model 61 Long-EZ · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 (changelog-supported compatibility)
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
Just Flight Support · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Developer documentation
VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS Rutan LongEZVSKYLABS · Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14 VSKYLABS Rutan LongEZ. Highly Engineered LongEZ Simulation for X-Plane.VSKYLABS · Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Product
Rutan Model 61 Long-EZIndiaFoxtEcho / publisher · Product listing captured 2026-09-24; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ (MSFS) Changelog : The Spirit of Flight SimulationJust Flight Support · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueAircraft documentation
Rutan Model 61 Long-EZPima Air & Space Museum · Museum N82ST dimensions and builder history; questionable listed loaded weight excludedBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 4 profile choices
IndiaFoxtEcho Rutan Long-EZ
IndiaFoxtEcho · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
IndiaFoxtEcho Rutan Long-EZ: The profile supplies reversible resistance around canard pitch and rear-wing roll control.
VSKYLABS Rutan Long-EZ
VSKYLABS · Free and Pro · Revision 4 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS Rutan Long-EZ: The profile supplies reversible resistance around canard pitch and rear-wing roll control.
VSKYLABS Rutan Long-EZ ER
VSKYLABS · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS Rutan Long-EZ ER: The profile supplies reversible resistance around canard pitch and rear-wing roll control.
Rutan Long-EZ
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Rutan Long-EZ: The profile supplies reversible resistance around canard pitch and rear-wing roll control.
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