Burt Rutan: Icon of Homebuilding…And Space Travel

By David Gustafson

BurtRutan’slistofairplanesdesignedandflown(45),ofhonorary

DoctoralDegrees(6!),ofnationalandinternationalawards(112…

notcountingthemilkdrinkingcontesthewonattheageof12),

ofpatentsheld(7),andofdesignprojectsrelatedtoaviationin

someway(severalhundred)takesup11pages!Thisalloccurred

intheyearsbetween1965,whenhegraduatedfromCaliforniaPolytechnicUniversity,andhisretirement

fromScaledCompositesinApril,2011.Itincludesaworkschedulethatwouldhavecrippledmostpeople:

escalatingovertheforty-sixyearshespentinthehighdeserttosixorsevendaysaweek,8to16hoursa

day.Vacationtimewasrare.“Ithinkthemainreasonistherewasn’tmuchtodoinMojave.Ikeptmyhead

downandmyelbowsupandIworkedlikehell.”Whenheretired,hefound“withaclearcalendar,Icould

sleepinandthendecideonagivendaywhatIwoulddoafterIwokeup.Thatconceptwassoforeignto

methatitwasabsolutelyamazing.Istillhaven’tgottenusedtoit.”He’sstilllookingforthe“off”switch.

Inhislifetimehewentfrommodelairplanestorocketscience,

fromhomebuiltstotransports,frominternationallyrecognizedprojects

liketheVoyagerandSpaceshipOnetoclassifiedstuffwewillprobably

neverknowabout.Hechangedthecultureofaviation.

Burtevolvedintoanunusualblendofscientistandartist.Hewas

abletovisualizeairflowinwaystherestofuscan’t,andheknewhowto

directthatflowthroughthelawsofphysics.Hisairframes,especiallythe

fuselages,werethemostradicalandgracefulexhibitsofsculptureever

seenintheairbefore.Burtisasortofindustrialsculptorthatguyslike

Rodinwouldhaveadmired.SpaceshipOneandTheWhiteKnightbelongin

anartmuseumasmuchastheNationalAirandSpaceMuseum.

ThelateJackCox,editorofSportAviationfrom1970to1999,wrote

hislastarticleforthatmagazineinApril,2011,focusingonBurt’searly

years.HecharacterizedBurt’ssupersonicmindandÜber werkethikthis

way:“Ifthinkingoutsidetheboxandturningthatthinkingintosuccessful

Voyager Aircraft ProgramBurt Rutan shows his pride in a hangar at Edwards AFB after the successful landing of the Voyager on December 23, 1986. The Voyager was a unique aircraft designed by engineer Burt Rutan to fly around the world non-stop and non-refueled. The craft piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager achieved its milestone goal in Decem-ber 1986 after flying around the world in slightly over 9 days.

venturesandproductsisamarkofgenius,thenBurtRutan,EAALifetime

26033,hasclaimmanytimesovertothatdistinction.Nootherindividual

inthehistoryofaviationhasdesignedasmanyaircraft…radicallydifferent

aircraft…andhadthembuiltandflown.”

Burt’sfascinationwithaviationbeganasayoungman.Inhigh

schoolheignoredkitsandbegandesigningone-offmodelsexperimenting

withdifferentconfigurations.Alocalhobbyshopowner,whosedayjob

waslayingbricks,begantakingBurtandsomeofhisbuddiesinDinuba,

California,tocompetitionsinSan

Franciscoeveryotherweekend.

Atage17,hismothertrucked

Burtand11oftheuniqueaircraft

modelshehaddesignedandbuilt

toanAMAnationalconventionin

Dallas.Burtcamehomewithafew

trophies.In1961,hewentofftoCalifornia

PolytechnicUniversitytopursueadegreeinAeronauticalEngineering.While

there,anideagerminatedinhisfertileimagination,followingaresearch

projecthedidonthevirtuesofcanards.Intriguedwiththeanti-stall,anti-

spincharacteristicsofthecanardconfiguration,andenamoredwiththeSaab

Viggen,hebegansketchingouthisfirsthomebuilt:thetwo-seat,tandem

VariViggen.Itwastobebuiltoutofwoodand

metal.Heconductedwindtunneltestsonthe

conceptatCalPolyin1964,butdidn’tbegin

buildingituntil1968.Finishedin1972,Burt

flewittoOshkoshwherehewontheStanDzikDesignContributionTrophy.

ItwasprobablythefirstcanardpushertoshowupatOshkoshanditcreated

quiteastirwhenitgotthere.Delightfullynicknamedthe“ThunderChicken”,

itwasBurt’sanswertothefighterpilotwannabecomplexthathedeveloped

duringtheyears1965–1972,whilehewasworkingatEdwardsAirForce

Baseandtakingtripsinfighteraircraft…inthebackseat…asatestengineer.

A very young Burt Rutan with one of his scratchbuild model air-planes...it was his passion through high school.

Burt with a model he created for endurance.

Burt’s first job out of University was at Edwards Air Force Base.

Burt’s first experiment with a canard

Variviggen Car Tunnel Model, show-ing the instruments to measure the effect of wind.

“Thefascinationofhavingmyownfighter,whichwouldallowmetositinthe

frontandhavemyhandonthethrottle,providedthemajorreasonfordoing

theVariViggen.”BurthadjoinedEAAin1965andwhilehewasworkingfor

theAirForce,hejoinedEAAChapter49,buthehadtoputoffthestartof

constructionbecausehewasworkingsevendaysaweekandhadnospare

time.Whatlittletimehedidhavewentintotheconstructionofanother

windtunnelmodeloftheVariViggen,butthiswasafterCalPolyandhehad

nowindtunnel.Soheusedhiscar,mountingthemodelabovetheroofof

hisDodgeDart.Itwasanarticulatingmountwithinstruments.Drivingdown

roads,hewasabletosimulateawindtunnelofhisownmaking.HethenbuiltanRCmodeloftheVariViggen

andflewthatshortlybeforeflyinghiscompletedhomebuilt.Thathappenedlatein1971whilehewasinSt.

LouissupportingtheF-15program.

Inthesummerof‘71hehadmadehisfirsttripto

Oshkosh.It’sfunnytothinkaboutBurtRutanwandering

aroundtheOshkoshflightline,unrecognized.Thatwould

changethefollowingyearwhenheintroducedhisVariViggen.

Thatsame

year,afterreturning

toLancasterandhis

workatEdwards,he

encountered one of

thoselife-changingexperiencesthatwouldtakehiminaverydifferent

direction.Adesigner/kitmakernamedJimBedecamethroughnearby

FoxFieldandmembersofthelocalEAAchapterencouragedBurtto

meetJim.Hedid.HeshowedJimpicturesofhisVariViggen,which

wasnearingcompletion.SomeonehadalreadytoldJimaboutBurt,

and,knowingthatBurtwasinvolvedinflighttestingatEdwards

AirForceBase,JimofferedBurtajobashisChiefFlightTestPilot.BurttoldJimthatheneededaChiefof

ExperimentalTests,adding“Iknowhowtodothat.I’maprofessionalflighttestguyandIcouldorganizeand

runyourflighttestprogram.JimwasplanningonintroducingotheraircraftandItoldhimhecouldgetpilots

anywhere,butwhathereallyneededwassomeonetoputtogetheratestingorganization.Iwaslookingfor

The car Top Variviggen model ready for the automotive wind tunnel.

Burt with the VariViggen

Burt in the early phase of building the first VariViggen.

ajob,knowingitwouldprobablyonlylastaboutayear.Iplannedtoreturn

toEdwardswithinayeartoholdontothebenefitsassociatedwiththatjob.

Ididn’tliketheBD-5,butIwenttoworkforhimwiththeideathatIwould

havefunandlearn.”

Burtwasalsoformulatingaplanthatmightleadhimintothe

homebuiltkitbusiness.Theideaoccurredtohimafterhehadread

aboutBede’splanstoselltheBD-5kit.Hesketchedouttheconceptfora

MiniViggen(single-seater)forwhichBurtwouldcreateakitthatcouldbe

addedontoaBD-5kit.AslongasJimcouldsellhisBD-5kits,Burtexpected

hewouldhavenoobjectionstotheconcept.“Ifigureditwouldbeawin/winsituationforbothhimand

me.”TheMiniViggenwouldbethesizeofaBD-5(considerablysmallerthantheVariViggen),butitwould

betransformedintoacanardairplane.SobeforeBurtwenttoworkforJim,heorderedhisownBD-5kit,

thinkinghewouldlayouthisdesignandchangetheBD-5intoaMiniViggen.“Andifitflewwell,Iwould

gointothekitbusiness.”Asitturnedout,BedeneverdiddelivertheBD-5kitasthetotalpackagehehad

advertised;nottoBurtoranyoneelse.Itbecameoneofthebiggestscandalsinthehomebuiltmovement.

Burtmanagedtoavoidthescandal.HefunctionedastheprincipaldesignerontheBD-5Jet

andthetrainerthatwasmountedinfrontof,andattachedto,atruckforassistingpilotswithtransition

training.HewoundupstayingwithBedelongerthantheoneyearhehadplannedon.Duringthetwo

summershewasthere,BurtbroughthisVariViggentoOshkosh,whereheattractedlargecrowds.Inearly

1974afterleavingBede,“IdecidedIwouldbitethebulletandtrytomakeabusiness…thesamekindof

businessthatBedewasrunning,butIwoulddoitwithouttakingdepositsbeforeIhadsomethingtosell.I

hadlearnedsomeofthebusinessmistakesBedemade,andifitwasn’tforthoseexperiences,Iwouldhave

madesomeofthosesamemistakes.Itwasclearthathewasdiggingaholethathecouldn’tgetoutof.He

wasactuallysellingkitsforlessthanitcosthimtobuythematerials.Thenhegotdistractedandkindof

abandonedthehomebuilders.IdecideditwasgoingtofailinjustahandfulofmonthsandIdidn’twantto

beapartofthepeoplewhogottheblackeye.SoIdecided‘I’moutofhere.’”

KnowinghehadamarketableproductintheVariViggen,BurtmovedbacktoCalifornia.“Ididn’t

especiallywanttomakeplansfortheVariViggenbecauseitwasreallyhardtobuild.”However,hebegan

shippingoutplansandstartedmachiningsomeofthemorechallengingpartsofthedesign.Toassurea

minimallevelofsecurity,Burtborrowed$15,000fromhisdad.Butfirsthehadtofindaplacetoestablish

Burt Rutan in a BD5

hisbusiness.Ithadtobecheap.HeneededahangarforhisVariViggen,ashopformakingplansandparts,

andahomeforafamilyoffour.

LosAngeleswasoutbecausethehighcostofhangarsandshopspace.Heborrowedhisuncle’s

ErcoupeandwentdowntoBrownFieldontheMexicanborder,thenlookedatMontgomery,Ramona,Flabob

andahostofothers.Hewasshockedbythepricespeoplewereasking.“OnceIgottoMojave,Ifoundthis

old,nearlyabandonedairportwithafewrundownwoodenbuildingsonitandthehangarrentwasalmost

nothingandtheshoprentwasalmostnothing,becausetheyhadallthisemptyspace.Ifoundahouse

nearbythathadalowenoughpriceandsoitturnedoutthatMojavewasthefirstplaceI’dfoundwhereI

thoughtIcouldsurviveoncost.TheotherthingwasthatitwasclosetoEdwards,andifmybusinessfailedI

couldalwaystrytogetmyoldjobbackwiththeAirForce.”

AfterparkinghisVariViggeninthecornerofanold

woodenhangarfor$15/month,BurtmovedintoBuilding13,

whichwasaboutahundredyardsbackfromtheflightline.He

putupasign:RutanAircraftFactory.Itwasalargebuilding,far

biggerthanwhatheneededtodevelophisnextaircraft,the

VariEze.Sohepartitionedoffaboutathirdofit,hungsome

insulationonthepartitionsandsublettheothertwo-thirdsof

thebuildingfortwicetheamounthewaspayingfortheentire

building.Thismeanthehadafreeofficeandshopfacility.

“That’scalledsurvival.”

Ofcourse,survivalrequiresmorethanaworkspace.Therehastobeaviableproduct.At$27aset,

forVariViggenplans,Burthadincome,butknewitwouldbealosingbattle.“Ididn’tseeaviablebusiness

sellingplansorkitsfortheVariViggen.Peoplewerefascinatedbyhowcoolitlookedandhowitcouldmake

tightturnsatfullaftstick.Itwasafunairplanetofly,forsure,andIenjoyedgivingairshowsatOshkoshin

’73and’74,butitwashorriblydifficulttobuild.Itwasmixtureofmetalandspruceandbirchplywood,ithad

complicatedcontrolsandanelectricretractablelandinggear.Icouldseethattherewasasmallaudience,

whohadtheskillsandpatiencetobuildone,butclearlyifIwasgoingmakeabusinessoutofsellingplans

andkits,Ihadtohavesomethingthatwaseasiertobuildandwiderinappeal.”

BurtlikedtheconfigurationoftheVariViggen,founditfuntofly,wasimpressedwiththestall-proof

natureofthecanard,butwasdisappointedinitsperformanceandefficiency.Hefocusedonproducinganew

Burt Rutan at his drawing table in the Pre-CAD days.

versionofitthatwouldbeconsiderablyeasierandquickertobuild.TheVariEzewasborn.

DuringBurt’sUniversitydays,RCmodelersbeganexperimentingwithfoamcorewings.Theyhad

masteredthetechniqueofcarvingorhot-wirecuttingoffoamwingcoresandcoveringthemwithbalsa

woodskins.Burthadheardofthetechnology.WhenhewasworkingforJimBedeandlivinginValley

Center,Kansas,hebeganexperimentingwithfoamandfiberglass,producingelevatorsforhisMiniViggen.

“Ibecameenthralledwiththeprocess.Ittookmeaveryshorttimetobuild.Iwalkedawayfromitandthe

nextmorningithadcuredandwasreadyforuse.Itwassmootherandnicerthanaluminum.Ididn’thave

topoundoutribs,didn’thavetouseclecos…Iwasreallyjazzedbythis.”

AfewhundredyardsfromBurt’snewlocation,Building13,wasanoperationcalledFredJiran’s

GliderRepair.FredwasEuropeanandhadfamiliaritywiththesailplanesthatwerebeingproducedin

GermanyandSwitzerland.Itwasatechnology

thatwasstillinitsinfancyinAmerica.These

sailplaneswereproducedintoolingthatutilized

vacuumbaggingoffiberglassimpregnatedwith

resin.Carvedfoamwasthensetinsidetheupper

andlowersurfacesofthewings.Whentheywere

dingedinanaccident,Fredwouldshapefoamto

filltheholeandthenlaynewfiberglassoverit.He

didn’tneedtoolingtofixwings.These“moldless”

repairsinspiredBurt.Hebegantoconceiveofhis

VariEzeasanall-compositeaircraft.

OneofFred’semployees,GaryMorris,

anartistandacraftsman,begangoingoverto

Burt’sshopafterworktoseewhatwasgoingon.

Hepitchedin,offeringmuchneededhelptoBurt

andwasofferingsuggestionsonhowworkwithfiberglass.Burt

askedGarytokeeptheprojectasecret,incasesomethingwentwrongwithit.Garyworkedforfoodas

Burtcouldn’taffordanywages,butdecidedtobuydinneriftheyworkedlateenough.Initially,Burtwas

thinkingofhand-carvingthefoamcoresforthewings,butthenhestruckontheideaofcuttinglargeblocks

offoamwithahotwire,justlikewhatwasbeingdonewithsmallRCmodels,usingtemplatesateachend.

The first VariEze in the early stage of construction.

One of the prototype wings for the VariEze.

Bingo!Thiseliminatedtheneedfortoolinganddramaticallyreducedthetimerequiredtocompleteawing.

Forthefuselage,helaidsheetsoffoam(1’or2”thick)onatable,carvedvariousdepressionsofthem

andskinnedthemwithfiberglass.Thosesheetsbecamethesidesandbottomofthefuselagewiththeir

skinsbeingthefuselageinsidesurfaces.Thethreesideswerebondedtogetheraroundafewbulkheads,

creatingasquareboxwithanopentop.Theplexiglasscanopyandframewouldlaterbethefuselagetop.

Theoutsidesurfaceswerethencarveddowntothecorners,resultinginaroundedexternalshape.The

bigstructuraladvantagewouldbetheoutsideskin,whichcouldbe

onecontinuousfiberglasslayupallaround,withoutfastenersor

secondarybonds.Thus,theRutanaircraftFactorycreatedanentirely

newwayoffabricatingairplanes.Itwasnowpossibletobuildupan

airframewithoutexpensivetoolingandinverylittletime.Handtools

amountedtolittlemorethanapairofscissors,asharpknife,apaint

brushandsomesandpaper.

BurtstartedhisVariEze,N7EZ,inFebruaryof1975,intenton

makingtheOshkoshFly-Inthatsummer.Hegotthere.Hehadfinished

thefirstVariEzein3.5months.Itwassmaller,leanerandcouldgofasterandfartherthantheVariviggen.

JackCoxhadvisitedtheRutanAircraftFactoryinearlyMay,1975,tookpicturesoftheprojectandthenran

anarticleinSportAviationhecalled“VariViggenVignette,”inwhichheintroducedtheVariEzeconceptand

thenewprocessofbuildingaircraftoutofcomposites.Jackfollowedthatupwithabunchofphotosofthe

completedVariEze,primingtheEAAFly-Inforarevolution.

Itwasn’tuncommoninthosedaystoseefourtoeightnew

designsatOshkosheveryyear.Innovationwasawayoflifeatthe

Convention.Butnothinghadevercomparedwiththeintroductionof

theVariEze.Thebuzzamonghomebuilderswhentheaircraftfirstflew

overtheOshkoshairportwaspunctuatedwithgaspsandmorethana

fewsaltyphrases.Thiswasthebeginningofarevolutionandeveryone

knewit.

Asidefromtheunusualshape,presagedtwoyearsearlierbytheVariViggen,theVariEzehadno

movingpartsonthewing.Theruddersweremountedonthetrailingedgeofthenewwinglets,aconcept

Burt seen conducting an early workshop on hotwire/foam cutting techniques.

Burt in the prototype VariEze

developedbyRichardWhitcomb.Burtwasthefirstdesignertousewinglets.Theelevators,whichBurtcalled

elevons,wereattachedtothetrailingedgeofthecanard,withcontrolleversabouttwofeetfromthestick.

Theelevonsmovedupanddowntocontrolpitch,butalsooperateddifferentially,asailerons.Toaccommodate

entryandegress,Burthaddesignedacranksystemthatraisedandloweredthenosewheel.Noneofthese

featureshadeverbeenseenbefore.ThefactthatBurthadputitalltogetherinlessthanfourmonthsjustblew

peoples’minds.

Accordingtohisplan,Burtwouldn’ttakeanyordersthatfirstyear.Hisbrother,Dick,hadflownthe

aircraftfromMojavetoOshkosh,buthadtomakeaforcedlandingenrouteduetoanenginefailure.John

MonnettgraciouslyofferedtoreplacetheVolkswagenengineintheprototypewithoneofhisownandworked

allnighttogettheplanereadyforaclosed-courseendurancerecord.

Aftertheconvention,BurtflewN7EZbacktoMojaveandexperienceda

secondenginefailure.ThatsouredhimonusingVolkswagenpowerplants.

Hegothomeandbegantothinkseriouslyaboutwhathewasdoing.He

madethedecisiontonotsellplansfortheVolkswagen-poweredN7EZ(it

isondisplayintheEAAMuseum).Hebuiltandtestedanotherprototype

VariEze,abiggeronethat

woulduseacertified

aircraftengine.Thenew

aircraft,N4EZ,formedthebasisforthehomebuilder’splans-built

airplanes.ItusedaContinental0-200,100hpengine.N4EZisnow

ondisplayintheAirandSpaceMuseum’sDullesfacility.

Peoplebegansendingmoneyin,eventhoughhedidn’t

yethaveanythingtosell.AfterhisexperiencewithJimBede,

Burthadresolvednevertoacceptmoneyuntilhehadaproduct

thatwasfullyflighttestedandcomplete.Hesentthepeoples’

moneyback,refusingtotakeanydepositsuntilamonthbeforeOshkosh’76.Atthattime,heputthewordout

tothethousandsofpeoplewhohadsubscribedtohisquarterlynewsletter(thiswasbeforetheinternetand

websites).Acoupledaysaftersendingouthisnewsletter,announcingtheavailabilityofplans,someguyflew

infromSanDiegoinaCessna182andpaidforahundredsetsofplans.HetookafullthirdofBurt’sinventory

ofplansandgrossedouthisSkylanewiththem.Thenhetookoffandflewbacktoaneagerbunchofbuilders,

Burt has held forums every year he’s been at Oshkosh. You can guess which tent he was in for this forum.

The Defiant (closest), the VariEze and Mike Melville’s VariViggen.

whocouldn’twaittogetstartedontheirownVariEze.

“Onthatoneday,Imadeenoughmoneytosurviveforafullyear.”

Burtstartedsellingplansat$125aset.Inthefirstyearofthe

VariEze’sexistencehewenttothebankwith$750,000thatcameinfrom

planssalesandroyaltiesfromkitsales.Burttookhomelessthan$8,000,

preferringtoputtherestbackintoRAFandfuturedevelopments.Hebegan

payingGaryMorrisasalaryandhiredoneotheremployee.

JimIrwin,presidentofAircraftSpruce,remembersBurtvisitinghis

officeinthespringof1975totalkaboutmaterialskits.Jimlistenedpolitely

buthadnowayofknowingwhatwascoming.Forthatmatter,neitherdid

Burt.ThefoambeganarrivingattheoldAircraftSprucefacilitybytruck,then

bytrainload.Itflewoutas

fastasitwastrainedin.“It

wasaphenomenon,”saidJim.“Forawhilewesoldmorefoam,

fiberglassandresinthaneverythingelsecombined.”

In1977,BurtrolledouttheQuickie,asingle-seatdesign

hecreatedincollaborationwithTomJewettandGeneSheehan.

ItwontheOutstandingNewDesignAwardatOshkosh’78.Then

hebeganacenter-linethrusttwin,calledtheDefiant(Burt’s

personalairplane,notintendedforakitprogram),whichwasdebutedatOshkosh’79alongwiththeLongEZ.

TheVariEzehadprettymuchdecimatedtheexistenceof0-200engines.Builderswantedtousetheheavier

Lycomingenginesandinsistedonhavingastarterandfullelectricalsystem,whichmadetheVariEzetail-heavy.In

1979Burtdevelopedalarger,Lycoming-poweredEZwithsomesignificantimprovementsinflyingqualities.The

Long-EZwasintroducedin1980anditbecamethe

mostpopularandlongest-rangehomebuiltinthe

world.Itsdistancerecordsstillstandtoday.Therest,

astheysay,ishistoryandit’sbeenwelldocumented.

After1985,RAFdevelopedtwohighperformance

prototypes,the5-placeCatbirdwhichwontheCAFÉ

VariEzes and Long-EZs gathered at Mojave for a celebration of composite aircraft.

LongEZ flown through one of those YeeeeeHAh!!! maneuvers.

A grouping of Quickies

efficiencycompetitionandtheBoomerangTwin.BothwerehangaredafterBurtlosthisAirman’sMedicalin

1998.LastyearasBurtretired,twoScaledengineersrestoredtheCatbirdandtheBoomerangandflewthemto

AirVenture2011.Intotal,RAFdesigned,builtandflew15differentaircraft.

BurtcontinuedtoattendtheannualOshkoshConvention.From1976to1986RAFrenteda10’by

10’boothduringtheOshkoshConventionandduringtheweek

hewouldmake20percentoftheirannualsales.Itwasn’tjust

planssales.TherewereT-shirts,patchesandothermemorabilia

thatcrossedthecounterbythecase.“Itwastremendously

importanttous.”Hisforumsbecameoneofthehighlightsofthe

conventions,drawingthelargestcrowdsfornearlytwodecades.

“Tous,itwasallabouthomebuilts.”

NoteverythingatRAFhadturnedtogold.Burtfinally

startedsellingplanstotheDefiantsixyearsafterheflewthe

prototypeandheonlysoldplansforayearwithaboutahundredsetsgoingoutthedoor.TheSolitairewas

evenlesspopular.Theself-launchingsailplanecostmoretodevelopthantheVariEzeandLong-EZcombined,

butBurtonlysoldafewdozen

setsofplans.Overtheyears,

Burtsoldkitsforsixmodels:

theVariViggen,VariViggen

SP,VariEze,Defiant,LongEZ

andtheSolitaire.Theother9

modelsthatBurtdeveloped

weredonewithoutan

audience…withnointentionofdevelopingplansorkits.

By1996,Burt’ssecondcompany,ScaledComposites,was14yearsold

andwasdemandingsomuchofBurt’stimethathejustdidn’thavetimefor

homebuilders.Hehadsoldhislastsetofplanstoahomebuilderin1985but

continuedtosupporthisbuildersforover20yearswithnewsletters,even

thoughtherewasnorevenuetocoverthecostsofthenewsletters.“Inever

chargedforbuildersupport,becauseIdidn’twantpeopleshunningitand

The Solotaire, a self-launching sailplane.

The Defiant leads the VariViggen and VariEze.

The VariEze (closest), Defiant and the VariViggen.

The Solotaire’s retractable engine.

buildingbadairplanesasaresult.InitiallyIdidnotrealizewhatanenormoustailyoucreatewhenyousell

plans.”

Duringthe1980stheflightlinesatOshkoshandSun‘nFunweredominatedbyaircraftBurthad

designed.ThousandsofVariEzesandLong-EZswereaddedtotheFAAregistry.Theybeganshowingupon

airportsallovertheworld.Theyspawnedavarietyofcopiesandstimulatedavarietyofotherhomebuilt

andcertificateddesignsthatusedcomposites:liketheGlasair,

Lancair,Cozy,Pulsar,Glastar,Europa,Velocity,VK-30,SR-20/22,

Columbia,BoeingDreamliner….

Lookingback,Burtwasaskedtoidentifythethreegreatest

accomplishmentsinhisillustriouscareer.Heelectedtoincludethe

manufacturingmethodsdevelopedforproducingtheVariEzeand

Long-EZ.HeviewstheLong-EZasarefinedmodeloftheVariEze,a

naturalpartoftheevolutionaryprocess,amodelB.Therewerea

lotofunique,innovativefeaturesonthetwoaircraftthathavesince

beenimitated.Therobuststructure,performanceandappealofthetwo

models,coupledwiththefactthatforaverylowcost,peoplecouldbuy

andbuildoneoftheairplanes,was,inBurt’sopiniononeofthemajorachievementsinhislifetime.

Whenaskedwhathisfavoriteairplanewas,he’dalwayssay:“thenextone.”Thatwaswhatusually

heldhisattentionandstimulatedhispassion.ButafterSpaceshipOne,hestoppedsaying“thenextone.”

SpaceshipOneishisfavorite

andranksrightupthere

withthelistofhisthree

greatestaccomplishments.

“Mostoftheprogramwas

completely covert and

peoplewereguessingwhatthisWhiteKnightwasfor.Theideathataprivatecompanycoulddeveloptheir

ownspaceprogramwithoutgovernmentfundingwasunheardofandun-thoughtof.”

Thethirdpartofthetriangle“wouldbethefactthatmytinycompaniescouldattractcontracts

Burt Rutan logging time on his computer. Note the model just to the right of the keyboard.

Catbird & BoomerangCatbird & Boomerang

frombigaerospacefirmsandfromtheGovernment,gainingtheirconfidencetodoimportantresearch

work.WhenRAFhadonlyfouremployeesinthe1970s,itdesignedtheskew-wingAD-1research

aircraftforNASA.ItisnowondisplayattheHiller

MuseuminSanCarlos.OneoftheScaledComposites’

firstcontractswaswithBeechcraft…todesignthe

Starshipwhichtheyplannedtouseasthereplacement

fortheirKingAirline.Thatprogramstartedasa

preliminarydesignstudyatRAF.Scaledwentonfrom

therewithcivilian,governmentandmilitary,domestic

and foreign contracts for an unbelievable array of

mannedandunmannedmachines.

Atitspeak,RAFemployedfivepeople.Scaledcomposites

startedwithsixemployeesandgrewtoaboutthirty-fivewhenthe

Starshipmadeitsfirstflightin1983.Afterthatitwascommonat

Scaledtoseethreeorfourdesignsbeingbuiltintheshopwhile

twoorthreemorewereinflighttesting,whenemploymentwas

welllessthan100.WhenScaled

undertookthePaulAllenmannedspaceprogramin2001,itwasnot

theirlargesteffort,inspiteofthefactthattheyemployedlessthan

140.WhenBurtretiredinMarch2011,thecompanyhadnearly400

peopleonthepayrollandwasdevelopingSpaceShipTwo,theworld’s

largestmannedcommercialspacesystem.LastDecember,Scaled

revealedthatitwasdevelopingStratolaunch,theworld’slargest

aircraft;adesignstemmingfromBurt’spreliminaryworkthatwasstartedbackin1991.

GiventheimpactBurtRutanhadonthehomebuiltmovement,itseemsinconceivablethatwe’ll

everseethatkindofinnovation,popularityandcommitmentagain.Itseemsstrangenottobeableto

Good Company: Paul Allen, Burt Rutan and Sir Richard Branson

Spaceship One and the Rocket Scientist.

The Beech Starship and friends.

askthequestionanymore:“WhatwillBurtturnupwithnext?”

RUTAN AIRCRAFT FACTORY: MANNED FIRST FLIGHTS

1 VariViggen Model #27 May 18, 1972 (marketed 1974)

2 VariEze POC Model #31 May 21, 1975

3 VariViggen SP Model #32SP July 1975 (marketed 1975)

4 VariEze Homebuilt Model #33 March 14, 1976 (marketed 1976)

5 Quickie Model #54 November 17, 1977 (Sold to QAC to market)

6 Defiant Model#40June30,1978(marketed1984)

7 Long-EZModel#61June13,1979(marketed1980)

8 AD-1 Model #35 NASA December 1979

9 Amsoil biplane racer Model #68 Mortensen Aug 1981

10 NextGenerationTrainerModel#73FairchildSeptember10,1981

11 GrizzlySTOL Model#72January22,1982

12 Solitaire Model #77 May 28, 1982 (marketed 1983)

Burt’s highly unusual design by anyone’s stan-dard.... the Grizzley.

Burt and Tom Poberezny at Oshkosh 2005. Tom was quick to recognize and admire the genius and success of Burt Rutan.

13 VoyagerModel#76June22,1984(RTWonDec14th-23rd,1986)

14 Catbird Model #81 January 14, 1988

15 BoomerangModel#202June19,1996

Long EZs and VariEzes on the ramp at Mojave.

The Voyager at Oshkosh

Burt with models of some of his designs.

The Boomerang