Panoramic view inside the Rutan VariEze cockpit.

Burt Rutan invigorated the homebuilt aircraft movement when he began selling the plans to build his VariEze ('very easy') during summer 1976. Compared to nearly all other homebuilt designs, the VariEze was easier to build, yet it performed better, and cost much less, than the airplanes produced by Cessna, Beechcraft, or Piper.