Scaled Composites Inc. was founded in 1982 by Burt Rutan and sold to the Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1985. Burt Rutan bought the company back from Beech in 1988 and integrated it in a joint venture with the Wyman-Gordon Co. of Massachusetts. The company is involved in the research and development, and construction of composite aircraft structures. The Proteus is the prototype of a high altitude long range communications aircraft featuring ventral relay antenna providing a 75mile (120km) diameter communications footprint. Production of 100 aircraft was expected.

N281PR                      c/n 1                         USA

2 seat communications relay aircraft first flown in 1998