Burt Rutan
| Burt Rutan | |
|---|---|
Rutan in October 2004
|
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| Born |
June 17, 1943 Estacada, Oregon, U.S. |
| Residence | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
| Nationality | United States |
| Education | California Polytechnic State University |
| Occupation | Aerospace engineer & entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1968–2015 |
| Known for | Rutan Voyager, SpaceShipOne, Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, Rutan VariEze and Long-EZ, Scaled Composites founder, The Spaceship Company co-founder, pioneer of composite homebuilts |
| Home town | Dinuba, California |
| Spouse(s) | Tonya Rutan |
| Parent(s) | George and Irene Goforth Rutan |
| Relatives |
Dick Rutan Nell Rutan |
| Awards |
Living Legend of Aviation (2011) Daniel Guggenheim Medal (2011) Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy (2015) |
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft. He designed the record-breaking Voyager, which was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, and the sub-orbital spaceplane SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X-Prize in 2004 for becoming the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space twice within a two-week period. With his VariEze design, Rutan is responsible for popularizing the canard configuration and moldless composite construction for homebuilt aircraft.
He has designed 46 aircraft throughout his career, been the co-recipient of the Collier Trophy on two separate occasions, received six honorary doctoral degrees and has won over 100 different awards for aerospace design and development. Rutan has five aircraft on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., United States: SpaceShipOne, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, Voyager, Quickie, and the VariEze.
Born in 1943 in Estacada, Oregon, 30 miles southeast of Portland, and raised in Dinuba, California, Burt Rutan displayed an early interest in aircraft design. By the time he was eight years old he was designing and building model aircraft. His first solo flight piloting an airplane was in an Aeronca Champ in 1959. In 1965 he graduated third in his class from the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo) with a BS degree in aeronautical engineering.
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Wikipedia