Burt Rutan | |
|---|---|
 Rutan in 2004 | |
| Born | Elbert Leander Rutan June 17, 1943 Estacada, Oregon, US |
| Alma mater | California Polytechnic State University (BSE) |
| Occupation(s) | Aerospace engineer and entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1965–2011, 2015–present |
| Known for | Rutan Voyager, SpaceShipOne, Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, Rutan VariEze and Long-EZ, Scaled Composites founder, The Spaceship Company co-founder, pioneer of composite material for homebuilt aircraft |
| Spouse | Tonya Rutan |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Dick Rutan |
| Awards | See below |
| Website | burtrutan |
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (/ˈruːtən/; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the record-breaking Voyager, which in 1986 was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. He also designed the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which in 2006 set the world record for the fastest (342 mph/551 km/h in 67 hours) and longest (25,766 miles/41,466 km) nonstop non-refueled circumnavigation flight in history. In 2004, Rutan's sub-orbital spaceplane design SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space, winning the Ansari X-Prize that year for achieving the feat twice within a two-week period.
With his VariEze and Long-EZ designs, which first flew in 1975 and 1979 respectively, Rutan is responsible for helping popularize both the canard configuration and the use of moldless composite construction in the homebuilt aircraft industry, the latter a technique that was adopted in several production and commercial aircraft in the following decades. He is the founder or co-founder of multiple aerospace companies, including the 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 the late 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.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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- ^ "eroRutan Quickie". si.edu. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2011.