The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ is a homebuilt aircraft with a canard layout designed by Burt Rutan's Rutan Aircraft Factory. It is derived from the VariEze, which was first offered to homebuilders in 1976. It was a clean-sheet scaled-up redesign of the VariEze predecessor, allowing for the use of readily available Lycoming aircraft engines in lieu of the Volkswagen-derived engines or hard-to-find small Continentals for which the VariEze was designed. Changes from the VariEze included a larger main wing with modified Eppler 1230 airfoil and less sweep, larger strakes containing more fuel and baggage storage, and a slightly wider cabin. Plans were offered from 1980 to 1985. As of late 2005, approximately 700 LongEZ's are FAA registered in the United States.

This rendition for Microsoft Flight Simulator offers a highly detailed visual model and a reasonably realistic flight model, tuned to be fun to fly and accessible to anyone. Performance is tweaked to mimic the most poweful variant of the Lycoming O-235, and the aircraft is capable of basic aerobatic maneuvres. Aircraft is equipped with basic avionics and is only capable to operate in VFR (Visual Flight Rules) conditions. The major deviation from the real aircraft behavior is the fact that is possible to spin the aircraft (which is basically impossible in real world).