Burt Rutan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Burt Rutan
composite homebuilts
SpouseTonya Rutan
Children2
RelativesDick Rutan
AwardsSee below
Websiteburtrutan.com

Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (

Ansari X-Prize
that year for achieving the feat twice within a two-week period.

With his

Rutan Aircraft Factory, Scaled Composites, Mojave Aerospace Ventures, and The Spaceship Company
.

Rutan has designed 46 aircraft throughout his career, been included in the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list for the year 2004, been the co-recipient of both the Collier and National Air and Space Museum trophies on two occasions (each for his accomplishments with Voyager in 1986 and SpaceShipOne in 2004), received six honorary doctoral degrees, and has won over 100 different awards for aerospace design and development.[1][2] In 1995, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Rutan has five aircraft on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum: the VariEze, Quickie, Voyager, SpaceShipOne, and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.[3] He is the younger brother of former test pilot and United States Air Force fighter pilot Dick Rutan, who piloted many of Burt's earlier original designs on class record-breaking flights.

Life and career

Burt Rutan was born in 1943 in

California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo) with a BS degree in aeronautical engineering.[5][6]

From 1965 to 1972, Rutan was a civilian flight test project engineer for the

spin tests of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter.[7] He left to become Director of Development of the BD-5 aircraft for Bede Aircraft in Newton, Kansas, a position he held until 1974.[8]

In June 1974, Rutan returned to California to establish the

Rutan Aircraft Factory.[9] In this business he designed and developed prototypes for several aircraft, mostly intended for amateur builders. His first design, executed while he was still at Bede, was the VariViggen, a two-seat pusher single-engine craft of canard configuration. The canard would become a feature of many Rutan designs, notably the very popular VariEze and Long-EZ.[10] He is also known for using exotic and unconventional materials in his designs.[11] He was the first to use moldless composite construction. According to him, he started his composite work by copying the concept used in the repair of molded European sailplanes.[12] His innovation was the adoption of the method not for repair but to build an aircraft with hotwire wing cores and hand-carved foam for the fuselage box.[12] This method allowed Rutan to build a plane without a mold.[12]

In April 1982, Rutan founded

Mojave Air & Space Port.[13] That same year, Beechcraft contracted Rutan's Scaled Composites to refine the design and build the prototype Beechcraft Starship
.

In 1987, Rutan received the Golden Plate Award of the

Robert J. Collier Trophy, which he also obtained in 1986 for his design and development of the Voyager 15.[16]

In 2007, Northrop Grumman became the sole owner of Rutan's Scaled Composites.[20]

External videos
video icon Burt Rutan interview featured on Big Think in 2010

In a 2010

suborbital spaceflight technology projects with SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo. In it he said, "we can achieve some breakthroughs", making such flight "orders of magnitude safer and orders of magnitude more affordable. I'm taking this step because I think achieving something that has never existed in manned spaceflight – and that is high volume and public access – I think it is important to do that and to do it as soon as possible."[21]

He retired from Scaled Composites in April 2011. That same year, he received the

AOPA's R.A. "Bob" Hoover Trophy, given to "people in the industry who have made major contributions over the course of their careers to key areas within general aviation."[24]

In 2022, the Mojave Air and Space Port was given the name "Rutan Field" in honor of the Rutan brothers' contributions to the airport, its board stating that the Rutans' aviation achievements "have played a key role in the evolution of the aerospace industry and the success of the Mojave Air & Space Port organization."[25]

Burt is married to Tonya Rutan and together they have two children.[26][27]

Aircraft designs

In a 45-year career, many of Rutan's designs have often been quite dissimilar from their predecessors. The Los Angeles Times said of his designs: "His airplanes and spacecraft take on all types of sleek shapes and sizes, looking more like the work of a sculptor than an engineer. In all, Rutan has come up with 367 individual concepts—of which 45 have flown."[28]

Homebuilt aircraft

VariViggen and VariViggen SP

1972 Rutan VariViggen

In 1968, he began building his first design, the VariViggen, which first flew in April 1972. It had the rear wing, forward canard, and pusher configuration design elements which became his trademarks.[10] In lieu of wind tunnel testing, Rutan developed aerodynamic parameters for the VariViggen using a model rigged atop his station wagon, and measured the forces while driving on empty roads.

The VariViggen was the Rutan model 27. A new set of outer wings, with winglets, was later developed by Rutan for the VariViggen, producing the VariViggen SP, Rutan model 32. The VariViggen was named in honor of the

piston engine.[29]

VariEze and Long-EZ

1976 Rutan VariEze
1979 Rutan Long-EZ

The VariViggen design led to the successful

EAA Convention and Fly-In (now called AirVenture) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.[30] That same year, his brother Dick Rutan set a world distance record in the under-500 kg (1100 lb) class in the VariEze,[31] and these aircraft went on to set other world records in this class.[32]
They were also the first aircraft to fly with NASA-developed winglets.[33]

Rutan later revised the VariEze design, providing more volume for fuel and cargo, resulting in the Rutan model 61

Long-EZ, designed to be powered by a Lycoming O-235, although some have used Lycoming O-320s or Lycoming O-360s. The Long-EZ had a range of 2,010 miles (3,230 km), over twice that of the VariEze.[28] The Long-EZ also has a revised wing spar design that is not subject to the 2.5 g positive, 1.5 g negative, maximum load factor limit applied to the VariEze after the discovery of problems with some VariEze wings.[34]

Quickie

Rutan was approached by Gene Sheehan and Tom Jewett to develop a single-seat personal sport aircraft. Following a preliminary canard project (model 49), a tandem wing configuration was eventually designed, to be powered by an 18 hp Onan industrial engine. The prototype (Rutan model 54) was built in 1977 and registered as N77Q. After 5 months of testing, Quickie Aircraft marketed the aircraft as the Rutan model 54 Quickie in 1978.[citation needed]

Two derivatives of the Quickie were subsequently developed, both expanded to include two seats. Quickie Aircraft had Gary LaGare develop the Q2, while Viking Aircraft developed the Viking Dragonfly.[35]

Solitaire

The 1982 Sailplane Homebuilders Association (Now the Experimental Soaring Association) opened a competition for a homebuilt, self-launching sailplane. Rutan designed the model 77 Solitaire for this competition, which it won. The sailplane was canard-configured, with a retractable engine ahead of the cockpit.[36]

Research aircraft

Grizzly

Rutan designed the model 72 Grizzly to investigate the possibility of a STOL canard aircraft. It was retired after testing in 1982.[37]

Lotus Microlight

Rutan was approached by

ultralight aircraft. Again, a canard configuration was developed, the Rutan model 91. Colin Chapman's untimely death in 1982 brought this project to an end, after the aircraft had flown.[38]

Ames AD-1

In the 1980s NASA issued a contract to Ames Industrial Company of Bohemia, New York to develop a small, low-cost aircraft to investigate Robert T. Jones's (a NASA researcher at NASA's Ames Research Center) oblique wing concept. Ames turned to Rutan, who designed a small, fiberglass airframe, powered by two Microturbo TRS-18 jet engines. This was the Rutan model 35, the Ames AD-1. After completion of the test program, the AD-1 was retired in 1982 and is now on exhibit in the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California.[39]

ARES

The

A-10
. The aircraft first flew in 1990.

Boomerang

A departure from the canard design was the 1996 Boomerang, perhaps one of the unconventional designer's most unconventional aircraft. The aircraft, the Rutan model 202 Boomerang, is an asymmetric twin-engine tractor configuration aircraft with one engine on the fuselage and another mounted on a pod. A November 1996 Popular Mechanics feature article said it "looks more like a trimotor that lost its right boom and engine".[40]

BiPod

The

Lithium-ion batteries in the nose of each pod will provide power during take off and an emergency backup for landing. With a cruising speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), Scaled says the Model 367 BiPod would have a range of 760 miles (1,220 km)." The plane can fly at 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) which reduces the range to 530 miles (850 km). "Out on the road, this roadable aircraft, which carries 18 US gallons (68 L; 15 imp gal) of fuel, is expected to have a driving range of 820 miles. It has a claimed electric-only range of 35 miles."[41] Flight controls are in the right pod, road controls (steering wheel and brakes) in the left.[42]

Performance aircraft

Amsoil Racer

The Rutan model 68 Amsoil Racer was a racing aircraft of Quickie configuration, built in 1981. It set several speed records, but crashed at the 1983 Reno Air Races and was unsalvageable.

Voyager

Main article: Rutan Voyager
1986 Rutan Voyager on display in the National Air and Space Museum

The Rutan model 76 Voyager was the first airplane to fly nonstop, without refueling around the world. Piloted by Rutan's brother Dick and Jeana Yeager the airplane made the round the world flight over 9 days in December 1986.[43] Around-the-world flights had been accomplished by military crews using in-flight refueling.[44]

Burt developed a twin-engined (piston engines, one pusher and one tractor) canard-configured design. The pusher engine ran continuously, the tractor engine was used for take-off and initial climb to altitude, then was shut down.[45][46]

The aircraft was first flown with two Lycoming O-235 engines. After development work, it was reengined with a Continental O-200 (modified to include liquid cooling) as the pusher engine and a Continental O-240 as the tractor engine.[47]

As a proving flight the aircraft made a record setting endurance flight[clarification needed] off the coast of California. In December 1986, they took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California and flew around the world (westward) in nine days, fulfilling the aircraft's design goals and setting multiple world absolute flight distance records. The Voyager was retired and now hangs in the Milestones of Flight exhibit in the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) main exhibit hall,[48] with the Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis and Bell X-1.

Burt and Dick Rutan, along with Yeager, made headlines for their efforts as the Voyager team and received the 1986 Collier Trophy and Presidential Citizens Medal from President Ronald Reagan.

Catbird

The

Scaled Composites Model 81 Catbird is a five-seat, single-engined pressurized airplane. The airplane was configured as a three-surface aircraft (canard, main wing, and tail) and first flew in 1988. After serving as Rutan's personal airplane, it was retired. The Catbird is notable for winning the CAFE Challenge aircraft efficiency prize in 1993.[49]

Pond Racer

The 1991

World War II aircraft, with many being consumed by use as Unlimited Class racers at the Reno Air Races, Bob Pond contracted Rutan and Scaled to design and build an Unlimited Class racer. After design studies, a twin-engined, conventional configured layout was chosen. The aircraft was powered by two 1,000 hp (750 kW) Electromotive-Nissan VG-30 3-liter GTP piston engines running on methanol. The aircraft was built and tested before delivery to the customer. It appeared at the Reno Air Races in 1991, 1992 and 1993. The aircraft was destroyed in a forced landing crash on September 14, 1993, killing pilot Rick Brickert.[50]

Proteus

The

tandem-wing high-endurance aircraft designed by Rutan and built by Scaled Composites to investigate the use of aircraft as high altitude telecommunications relays. The aircraft's requirements were designed by Angel Technologies and Broadband.com. Its first flights were in 1998. It holds several altitude records, set in 2000.[51]

GlobalFlyer

Main article:
GlobalFlyer
Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer arriving at Kennedy Space Center in 2006, Steve Fossett piloting

On March 3, 2005, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, an aircraft similar to the Voyager design but built by Scaled using stiffer materials and a single jet engine, completed the first solo non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world with adventurer Steve Fossett as pilot. Reducing weight was critical to the design, and Rutan is quoted as facetiously telling his staff that when they finish building a part, they must throw it up in the air for a weight test, and "If it comes down, it's too heavy".[52] Between February 7, 2006 and February 11, 2006, Fossett and the GlobalFlyer set a record for the longest flight in history: 41,467.53 km (25,766.73 mi), the third absolute world record set with this aircraft[53] before being flown to the NASM Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The Global Flyer is the sixth aerospace vehicle designed by Rutan in the NASM collection.[54]

SkiGull

The

reversible propellers
to simplify docking and give optional takeoff power. The SkiGull is being developed and funded privately, and had its first test flight in November 2015.

Contracted aircraft

Triumph

The 1988 Scaled Composites Triumph was a twin-engine, business jet prototype designed and built for Beechcraft. The aircraft is a three lifting surface design, with both a small forward wing, and a small conventional horizontal stabilizer in a T-tail configuration.

Visionair Vantage

The VisionAire VA-10 Vantage is a prototype single-engined light business-jet (or "very light jet", also known as VLJ) developed by VisionAire Jets Corporation. In 1996 Rutan designed the first prototype, a proof-of-concept aircraft intended to confirm the design's handling, which resulted in several problems and a redesign of the aircraft in 1998.

V-Jet II

The Williams V-Jet II, which first flew in 1997, was a VLJ designed and built as a test bed and demonstrator aircraft for Williams International's new FJX-1 turbofan engine. It served as the design inspiration for the Eclipse 500, and was retired in 2001.

Adam M-309

The

Adam M-309 CarbonAero was a technology demonstrator six-seat civil utility aircraft designed by Rutan and built by Scaled Composites in the early 2000s. It developed into the A500, which is produced by Adam Aircraft Industries
.

Stratolaunch

In 2011, Rutan and

air launch to orbit rockets.[55]

Spacecraft designs

SpaceShipOne after its first flight into space on June 21, 2004
(L-R) Marion Blakey, Mike Melvill, Sir Richard Branson, Burt Rutan, Brian Binnie and Paul Allen reflect on a mission accomplished in 2004

SpaceShipOne

Main article: SpaceShipOne

Rutan made headlines again in June 2004 with SpaceShipOne, which became the first privately built, flown and funded manned craft to reach space. The project, named "

private space race
.

SpaceShipTwo Project

SpaceShipTwo (central fuselage) carried under its twin fuselage mother ship, White Knight Two

Mojave Spaceport on July 26, 2007, which killed three engineers and seriously injured three others, may have contributed to the delay. They were testing components for SpaceShipTwo, but as of August 2007 Scaled Composites remained dedicated to perfecting the design of SpaceShipTwo.[57] Virgin continues to work on developing SpaceShipTwo, but it has stopped predicting when commercial spaceflights will begin.[58] A further SpaceshipTwo accident on October 31, 2014 (VSS Enterprise tail number: N339SS) resulted in the death of copilot Michael Alsbury and injuries to the pilot.[59]

Rutan was also working with t/Space in the mid-2000s on the development of an air launched, two-stage-to-orbit, manned spacecraft. It was intended to have a taxi capacity to carry passengers to the International Space Station. In June 2005, air drop tests of quarter scale mockups verified the practicality of air release and rotation to vertical.[60]

SpaceShipOne now hangs in the NASM in Washington D.C., with the Spirit of St. Louis and Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis

White Knight One and Two

On July 28, 2008,

Mojave Spaceport. The jet-powered cargo aircraft is based on SpaceShipOne's successful mothership, White Knight One, which was designed by Rutan and based on Proteus. Flight tests were set to begin in September 2008.[61][62] The launch customer of White Knight Two is Virgin Galactic, which will have the first 2 units, and exclusive rights to the craft for the first few years. In 2008, Branson predicted that the maiden space voyage would take place within 18 months: "It represents ... the chance for our ever-growing group of future astronauts and other scientists to see our world in a completely new light." Virgin Galactic contracted Rutan to build the mothership and spacecraft.[63][64]

Retirement and post-retirement work

EAA AirVenture
in 2011

On November 3, 2010, Scaled Composites announced the retirement of Rutan:

"Burt Rutan, founder of aerospace research firm Scaled Composites in 1982, had announced his plans to retire in April 2011. He currently serves as Scaled's chief technical officer and, following his retirement, Burt will assume the title of founder and chairman emeritus. Burt has worked in California's Antelope Valley for more than 45 years, initially as flight test project engineer for the Air Force and in 1974 he founded the Rutan Aircraft Factory to develop experimental aircraft for homebuilders."[65]

"Burt is known worldwide as a legendary genius in aircraft design in the aviation world. I am very fortunate and proud to have worked by his side for the past 28 years", says President

Douglas B. Shane. "We wish Burt and his wife, Tonya, the very best the future holds for them."[65]

In January 2011, Rutan published a PowerPoint presentation : "An Engineer‟s Critique of Global Warming „Science‟ - Questioning the CAGW theory Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming (global climate destruction caused by human emissions of greenhouse gasses)" where he disputes the extent, causes and effects of global warming. [66]

On April 1, 2011, Rutan retired from Scaled Composites to his home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.[67]

Rutan has continued working out of his home in retirement on various designs since stepping down from Scaled Composites in 2011. That year he said that he was working on one more innovative design.[28] In July 2011, this was revealed to be a hybrid flying car, the Model 367 BiPod.[41]

In 2015 he began water and flight testing a prototype of a new amphibious aircraft, the Rutan SkiGull, intended to be capable of flying between Hawaii and California, cruising at 200 mph (320 km/h), taking off or landing in about 400 feet (120 m) on challenging surfaces including rough terrain, seas, grass, snow, or ordinary runways, fueled by ordinary automotive or marine gasoline, and having small electric motors for power assists or emergency landing.[68][1][69][70]

Rutan also advised on the design of the Paul Allen-funded Stratolaunch space launch carrier since retiring in 2011, which is the world's largest airplane by wingspan, and in 2019 announced that he was working on a new eVTOL.[71]

Awards and accolades (partial list)

Rutan has received numerous awards and honors for aerospace design and development throughout his over 50-year-long career. Below is a list of some of his most notable tributes and accolades.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Collin Krum (July 24, 2015). "Burt Rutan's SkiGull Could Be His Last Creation And Most Versatile Ever". Flight Club.
  2. ^ "Awards". BurtRutan.com.
  3. ^ "eroRutan Quickie". si.edu. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  4. ^ "'Ground Crew' Keeps Busy at Mojave Hangar : For Pilots' Families, It's a Time to Wait". Los Angeles Times. 1986. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "Burt Rutan, Curriculum Vitae". Royce Carlton Inc. April 2005. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  6. ^ "Science, Technology and Society 2002–2003 Resident Scholar Program biography". Institute for Science, Engineering and Public Policy. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  7. ^ "Burt Rutan to Receive Heinlein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aerospace". National Space Society. April 15, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ BD-5 Flight Test Program Report, Lester H. Berven, Chief Test Pilot – Bede Aircraft, Inc.
  9. ISBN 978-0-85708-023-3
    .
  10. ^ a b M.S.Rajamurthy. "Rutan – The Canard Guru" (PDF). National Aerospace Laboratories, India. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  11. ISBN 978-1-58834-316-1
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  13. ^ "Printable map to Scaled Composites". Scaled Composites, LLC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2004. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  14. American Academy of Achievement
    .
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    .
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    ISBN 978-0-16-075511-8
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  17. ^ a b Flying – 51 Heroes of Aviation http://www.flyingmag.com/photo-gallery/photos/51-heroes-aviation?pnid=41836
  18. ^ Freedman, David H. (January 1, 2005). Entrepreneur of the Year". Inc..
  19. ^ "J. C. Hunsaker Award in Aeronautical Engineering". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  20. ^ "Northrop Grumman Buys Builder of SpaceShipOne". SPACE.com. July 20, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  21. ^ Burt Rutan, Aerospace Engineer, BigThink, interview with Burt Rutan, March 3, 2010, accessed March 6, 2010. Video segment at 8:40 ff.
  22. ^ "Innovation Space Race - Video - C-SPAN.org". C-SPAN.org.
  23. ^ Megan Elliot (October 2015). "Burt Rutan Wins 2015 Wright Trophy". Flyingmag.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  24. ^ Julie Boatman (February 4, 2021). "Burt Rutan Wins R.A. 'Bob' Hoover Trophy". Flying. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  25. ^ "Mojave Airport Honors Rutan Name". AINonline. January 21, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  26. ^ Leonard David (September 27, 2004). "Set to Soar: First X Prize Flight This Week". Space.com. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  27. ^ Peter Garrison (September 20, 2009). "The Unconventional Burt Rutan". Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  28. ^ a b c d e W.J. Hennigan (April 1, 2011). "Aerospace legend Burt Rutan ready for a landing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2011. Five of his planes now hang in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, including the Voyager, which in 1986 became the first airplane to fly around the world without refueling, and SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 became the first private rocket plane ever to put a man into space. ... Rutan has been the subject of documentaries, magazine covers and the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes." ... For more than 45 years, Rutan has worked ... designing aircraft unlike any other that preceded it. His airplanes and spacecraft take on all types of sleek shapes and sizes, looking more like the work of a sculptor than an engineer. In all, Rutan has come up with 367 individual concepts — of which 45 have flown.
  29. ^ "Micro Star". The Price of Passion – Minijets. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  30. ^ EAA Aviation Center (n.d.). "1975 Rutan VariEze Prototype – N7EZ". Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  31. ^ "FAI Record ID #1898 – Distance over a closed course Archived July 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved: September 14, 2014.
  32. ^ List of records established by the 'Rutan VariEze' Archived May 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 5, 2006.
  33. ^ Winglets Archived February 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine by Gail S. Langevin of NASA. Accessed January 5, 2006.
  34. ^ [1] RAF service bulletin published on www.cozybuilders.org. Accessed February 20, 2010.
  35. ^ Dave Morris. "Dragonfly FAQ". Dave Morris' Dragonfly Page. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  36. ^ "Alex's Sailplane Directory". Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009. Sailplanedirectory.com entry
  37. ^ "AirVenture Museum: Rutan Grizzly 72 – N80RA". EAA Aviation Center. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  38. ^ "AutoWeek Burt Rutan and Colin Chapman Article". Lotus Talk (forum). September 28, 2004. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  39. ^ "Hiller Aviation Museum Briefing" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
  40. ^ Boomerang! Archived December 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 5, 2006.
  41. ^ a b Paur, Jason (July 18, 2011). "Burt Rutan Designs a Hybrid Flying Car". Wired. Retrieved July 27, 2011. The gasoline-electric twin-pod vehicle has a range of 760 miles in the air and 820 miles on the ground, and it works a bit like a Chevrolet Volt. Electric motors provide propulsion, while two gasoline engines drive generators that keep the juice flowing. Design No. 367 — the craft is named in accordance with the simple numbering system long used by Rutan — was unveiled [in July 2011] after making its first short hop in the air on March 30. It is the legendary aerospace designer's final project at Scaled Composites, the company he founded in 1982.
  42. ^ Editorial staff (January 2012). "Design by Rutan: 39 years, 37 Airplanes, 1 Spaceship". Air & Space Smithsonian., pp. 42-51.
  43. ^ "Rutan Voyager". si.edu. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  44. ^ For example, the Lucky Lady II made an around the world flight from February 26, 1949, to March 2, 1949."AF.mil – History Milestones". Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
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  46. ^ Jackson, Robert (2004). The Encyclopedia of Aircraft. Thunder Bay Press. pp. 426–27.
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  49. ^ CAFE Foundation Archived July 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  50. ^ Fitzgerald. "Airplane Page". Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  51. ^ "FAI world aviation records database, accessed August 30, 2008". Archived from the original on May 20, 2007.
  52. ^ David Noland (February 2005). "Burt Rutan and the Ultimate Solo". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on December 11, 2006.
  53. ^ List of records established by the 'Scaled Composites M311' Archived May 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 5, 2006.
  54. ^ National Air and Space Museum to Welcome Steve Fossett's History-Making Airplane for Permanent Display at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Archived April 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 5, 2006.
  55. ^ Michael Mecham and Frank Morring Jr. (December 19, 2011). "Allen Places Big Bet On Air Launches - Billionaire Paul Allen backs Burt Rutan's vision of air launch". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  56. ^ SpaceShipOne Joins the Icons of Flight on Display at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Archived December 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 5, 2006.
  57. ^ Doligosa Felix Jr. (July 27, 2007). "Query into tragic test begins : But finding the cause of the deadly blast may take up to six months, officials say>". Kern County news. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
  58. ^ Simon, Stephanie; Pasztor, Andy (September 1, 2011). "Slow Liftoff for Space Tours". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011.
  59. ^ Malik, Tariq (December 2014). "Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Crash: Full Coverage and Investigation". Space.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  60. ^ David, Leonard (June 15, 2005). "t/Space Tests Air-Launch Passenger-Carrying Rocket Concept". Space.com. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  61. ^ "2008 AirVenture Oshkosh schedule". Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  62. ^ Leonard David (June 6, 2008). "Virgin Galactic Spaceline: Mega-Mothership Set for Rollout Debut". SPACE.com. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  63. ^ "Branson unveils space tourism jet". BBC. July 2008.
  64. ^ Rachel Courtland, Oshkosh. "Virgin Galactic rolls out SpaceShipTwo's 'mothership' - New Scientist". New Scientist.
  65. ^ a b "Burt Rutan Announces Retirement Plans" (PDF) (Press release). Scaled Composites. November 3, 2010.
  66. ^ PowerPoint presentation : An Engineer‟s Critique of Global Warming „Science‟ https://rps3.com/Files/AGW/EngrCritique.AGW-Science.v4.3.pdf [archive]
  67. ^ "Aerospace legend Burt Rutan ready for a landing". Los Angeles Times. April 1, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  68. ^ "SkiGull details revealed". www.aopa.org. July 22, 2015.
  69. ^ "Rutan's SkiGull - First Flight". eaa.org. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  70. ^ Ros, Miquel (February 22, 2016). "Sky pioneers: A light aircraft revolution is taking off". CNN.
  71. ^ Russ Niles (October 28, 2019). "Rutan Working On EVTOL". AVweb.

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