Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Mojave Desert on December 14, 1986, and ended 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds later on December 23, setting a flight endurance record.
Richard Glenn Rutan (July 1, 1938 – May 3, 2024) was an American military aviator and officer, as well as a record-breaking test pilot who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight with co-pilot Jeana Yeager.
By mid-1986, Voyager was ready for the flight. Yeager flew as co-pilot on the 216-hour flight and set a world absolute distance record. This was the first time a woman had been listed in an absolute category. [citation needed] Dick Rutan and Voyager sued Yeager in 1995, alleging that she had misappropriated memorabilia and funds from Voyager.
“Dick never doubted whether my design would actually make it around, with still some gas in the tank,” Burt Rutan said. Voyager left from Edwards Air Force Base in California just after 8 a.m. on Dec. 14, 1986. Rutan said with all that fuel, the wings had only inches of clearance. Dick couldn't see when they started dragging on the runway.
A decorated Vietnam War pilot, Dick Rutan died Friday evening at a hospital in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with Burt and other loved ones by his s Dick Rutan, who set an aviation milestone when he ...
English: Burt and Dick Rutan, John Roncz and Mike Melvill at a Rutan Voyager 25th Anniversary Celebration evening held at the EAA Museum during the 2011 AirVenture Oshkosh. Burt Rutan was the aircraft designer, Dick Rutan was one of the two mission pilots, John Roncz was the aerodynamicist, and Mike Melvill was Burt’s chief test pilot, who in ...
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 earlier Voyager aircraft structure had been by necessity built so lightly that it significantly deflected under aerodynamic loading. Learning from this experience, Rutan designed the GlobalFlyer to have greater stiffness. A design using a single jet engine was chosen for the GlobalFlyer for increased reliability over piston engines and ...