Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan 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.
37 Facts About Burt Rutan
2.
Burt Rutan designed the record-breaking Voyager, which in 1986 was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which in 2006 set the world record for the fastest and longest nonstop non-refueled circumnavigation flight in history.
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Burt Rutan is the founder or co-founder of multiple aerospace companies, including the Rutan Aircraft Factory, Scaled Composites, Mojave Aerospace Ventures, and The Spaceship Company.
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Burt 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, received six honorary doctoral degrees, and has won over 100 different awards for aerospace design and development.
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Burt Rutan has five aircraft on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC: the VariEze, Quickie, Voyager, SpaceShipOne, and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
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From 1965 to 1972, Burt Rutan was a civilian flight test project engineer for the US Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base, working on nine projects including the LTV XC-142 VSTOL transport and spin tests of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom fighter.
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Burt Rutan left to become Director of Development of the BD-5 aircraft for Bede Aircraft in Newton, Kansas, a position he held until 1974.
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In June 1974, Burt Rutan returned to California to establish the Burt Rutan Aircraft Factory.
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Burt Rutan is known for using exotic and unconventional materials in his designs.
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Burt Rutan was the first to use moldless composite construction.
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Burt Rutan's 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.
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That same year, Beechcraft contracted Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites to refine the design and build the prototype Beechcraft Starship.
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In 1987, Burt Rutan received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
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Burt Rutan was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1989 for leading the engineering, design, construction, and testing of a series of aircraft, including Voyager.
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In 2012, Burt Rutan spoke on "Innovation and the Space Race" to the World Affairs Council, as recorded on C-Span.
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Burt Rutan was a recipient of the prestigious Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in 2015.
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In lieu of wind tunnel testing, Burt Rutan developed aerodynamic parameters for the VariViggen using a model rigged atop his station wagon, and measured the forces while driving on empty roads.
18.
Burt Rutan later revised the VariEze design, providing more volume for fuel and cargo, resulting in the Burt 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.
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Burt Rutan was approached by Gene Sheehan and Tom Jewett to develop a single-seat personal sport aircraft.
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Burt Rutan designed the model 77 Solitaire for this competition, which it won.
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Burt Rutan designed the model 72 Grizzly to investigate the possibility of a STOL canard aircraft.
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Burt Rutan was approached by Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus Cars, to design a single-seat ultralight aircraft.
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Ames turned to Burt Rutan, who designed a small, fiberglass airframe, powered by two Microturbo TRS-18 jet engines.
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The aircraft, the Burt Rutan model 202 Boomerang, is an asymmetric twin-engine tractor configuration aircraft with one engine on the fuselage and another mounted on a pod.
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The BiPod, Burt Rutan's latest design in association with his company Scaled Composites, is a hybrid flying car.
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The Burt Rutan model 68 Amsoil Racer was a racing aircraft of Quickie configuration, built in 1981.
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Burt Rutan developed a twin-engined canard-configured design.
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Concerned about the dwindling numbers of World War II aircraft, with many being consumed by use as Unlimited Class racers at the Reno Air Races, Bob Pond contracted Burt Rutan and Scaled to design and build an Unlimited Class racer.
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The Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan and built by Scaled Composites to investigate the use of aircraft as high altitude telecommunications relays.
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In 1996 Burt 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.
31.
The Adam M-309 CarbonAero was a technology demonstrator six-seat civil utility aircraft designed by Burt Rutan and built by Scaled Composites in the early 2000s.
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Burt Rutan made headlines again in June 2004 with SpaceShipOne, which became the first privately built, flown and funded manned craft to reach space.
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The jet-powered cargo aircraft is based on SpaceShipOne's successful mothership, White Knight One, which was designed by Burt Rutan and based on Proteus.
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Burt Rutan currently serves as Scaled's chief technical officer and, following his retirement, Burt will assume the title of founder and chairman emeritus.
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Burt Rutan has continued working out of his home in retirement on various designs since stepping down from Scaled Composites in 2011.
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Burt Rutan 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.
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Burt Rutan has received numerous awards and honors for aerospace design and development throughout his over 50-year-long career.