In 1943 a boy was born who quickly became fascinated by aircraft. Over the course of his life, he would change aviation, achieve world firsts, inspire millions and become one of the world’s most influential people. That boy was Burt Rutan, the now retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur. 

  

In his career Rutan came up with 367 individual concepts - of which 45 have flown. One of the most famous one was the record making voyager. It is famous for its incredible endurance, 34-meter wingspan and energy efficient flight. In 1984 the huge, unusual looking 2-seater plane sored into the air. It was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling! Piloted by Dick Rutan (Burt’s brother) and Jeana Yeager (an American aviator) it was a huge success.  

  

Burt Rutan also designed homebuilt aircraft for amateurs. This revolutionized aviation for amateurs as they could now build their own planes at home. An example of these planes is the Long-EZ. This plane is a small 2-seater homebuilt aircraft that has a max speed of 300km/h and a range of an astonishing 3,235km! This small, easy to build aircraft is far better than a Cessna 152 (very popular 2-seater aircraft). The 152 has a max speed of 200km/h and a range of 768km. As you can see, Rutan’s Long-EZ is far better (and cheaper) than the Cessna 152. 

  

SpaceShipOne was also a record holding aircraft. It is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,518km/h, using a hybrid rocket motor! It is the first private spacecraft, designed to fly into space. In 2004, on its maiden flight, it flew past the boundary of space (100,000 meters) over the United States! This outstanding achievement awarded him as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. 

  

An incredibly notable person, designer of 46 successful aircrafts, the revolutionizer of aviation for amateurs, the designer of homebuilt aircraft and the winner of countless other achievements and notable contributions. Burt Rutan.