Manufacturer: Experimental

Model: 400M

Name: Jet Berkut 400

Type: Jet trainer

Date: 2002

Status: Service test

Country: United States of America

Service: U.S. Air Force

Designation: YT-52A Jet Berkut

The Berkut is a canard type aircraft developed in the US from the original Rutan VariEze design. To create this version, I didn't have too much merit since I started from Michael Kasyan's magnificent Berkut 540 prototype, which was already painted in fictional U.S. Air Force markings! (see picture below right).

From his aircraft, I imagined an elongated two-seater version that could be used as a cheap jet trainer by the U.S. Air Force Academy. The notion of a jet-powered Berkut is certainly not far-fetched, and in actual fact a few individual attempts were made in the past few years to create just that.

More about Dave Ronneberg's/Mike Kasyan's Berkut 540 on this page from my Stargazer website: [link]. The site is the main online source for everything related to Burt Rutan's designs and works, so make sure to check it out!