The Beechcraft Starship is a futuristic-looking aircraft designed by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, and produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation. While in development at Scaled, the 85%-scale prototype was the Model 115, though Beechcraft referred to the production version as the Model 2000. Starship Model 2000A NC-51 is being used as a chase plane for SpaceShipOne. Beechcraft recently deemed that the aircraft was no longer popular enough for them to justify their support costs, and has since begun aggressively buying Starships for decommissioning in order to cut costs.

The Starship was notable for several reasons. First was its all-composite airframe, using high-tech materials instead of the standard aluminum. These materials were in frequent use to varying degrees on military aircraft, but no civillian aircraft certified by the FAA had ever used them so extensively.

Second was its use of a "pusher" design, in which the engines were mounted facing the rear and pushed, rather than pulled the aircraft forward. The pusher design was thought to offer a quieter ride -- the gusts of wind and air off the tips of the propellers would no longer strike the side of the aircraft, as they do on conventionally configured turboprops.

External links

• The Starship Diaries
• Starship history
• A Collection of Beechcraft Starship 2000A Material