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Half Fast

Half Fast

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Half Fast
I brought Burt Rutan to our place today to speak to my engineers. Wow! What a super presentation, and what a genuinely nice guy. Fascinating to speak with him and hear some of his experiences. If you get a chance to hear Burt speak, don't pass it up. He's not doing many speeches right now, so seize the opportunity if it presents itself.

(Lousy photo at happy hour after work this evening.)

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I've always enjoyed his lectures! Did he give an update on the SkiGull?
 
TFulwider said:
I've always enjoyed his lectures! Did he give an update on the SkiGull?
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Yeah, we talked about it for a while. He expects to wrap it up by next summer. One of my guys flies a Lake amphib, and he and Burt talked amphibs for half an hour. We talked about the Icon a little bit, also. I didn't realize that the Icon engineer who crashed with a new employee last year had been one of Burt's engineers at Scaled Composites. Damn shame.
 
His hangar is across the taxiway from me. Occasionally I see some of his team there working on the SkiGull but not a lot of activity lately. Hope he completes it.
 
I keep hoping to have a Burt sighting at The Voyager restaurant at Mojave; I understand he gets a meal there now and then.

You were in the presence of greatness!!
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
I keep hoping to have a Burt sighting at The Voyager restaurant at Mojave; I understand he gets a meal there now and then.

You were in the presence of greatness!!
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Burt's older brother still lives in Mojave. Burt said he told him he moved because "dying in Mojave is redundant."

The last time I was in Mojave was about 15 years ago when we were flight testing a targeting system. I suspect the place hasn't changed much.
 
Jumpmaster said:
His hangar is across the taxiway from me. Occasionally I see some of his team there working on the SkiGull but not a lot of activity lately. Hope he completes it.
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The Skigull is his first amphib. He said he has no idea how man ever learned to sail before learning to fly, as flying is much easier.
 
Half Fast said:
Burt's older brother still lives in Mojave. Burt said he told him he moved because "dying in Mojave is redundant."

The last time I was in Mojave was about 15 years ago when we were flight testing a targeting system. I suspect the place hasn't changed much.
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LMAO. “...dying in Mohave is redundant.” I lived 25 miles from there for 20 years. Outside airplanes at the airport, trains at the train yard and trucks at the truck stops their ain’t much.
 
Got a bunch of books on him and Scaled. Would’ve loved to have been a part of that group in the 70s and through SpaceShipOne. They designs he put out were / are amazing. Mike Melvill is my hero.
 
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Half Fast said:
I brought Burt Rutan to our place today to speak to my engineers. Wow! What a super presentation, and what a genuinely nice guy. Fascinating to speak with him and hear some of his experiences. If you get a chance to hear Burt speak, don't pass it up. He's not doing many speeches right now, so seize the opportunity if it presents itself.

(Lousy photo at happy hour after work this evening.)

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Doesn't he live in Idaho? How'd you get him all the way to Florida?
 
luvflyin said:
LMAO. “...dying in Mohave is redundant.” I lived 25 miles from there for 20 years. Outside airplanes at the airport, trains at the train yard and trucks at the truck stops their ain’t much.
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I remember the store there had a sign out front: “We sell whiskey, ammo.” That’s pretty much all you need to know about Mojave right there.

We use the folks at http://www.flightresearch.com/ from time to time to test out new targeting systems or do airborne missile launches. Been quite a while since I was there personally, though.
 
Half Fast said:
Not really. He’s pretty familiar with airplanes. You should look him up on Wikipedia.
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Already did, which is how I knew about him being in Idaho. Seems like a pretty incredible guy. Currently listening to one of the lectures on his website.

Did he charge anything besides the costs for flying him out there and putting him up in a hotel?
 
Matthew K said:
Already did, which is how I knew about him being in Idaho. Seems like a pretty incredible guy. Currently listening to one of the lectures on his website.

Did he charge anything besides the costs for flying him out there and putting him up in a hotel?
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Yes, he charged a fee through a booking agency. I contacted him a few months ago, told him who I was, where I worked, and what I was interested in doing, and he said he would be glad to come. He steered me to his agent to make the arrangements.
 
Mr. Rutan lives in the Hayden/Coeur d’Alene, Idaho area. His hangar is at KCOE. He has given a series of local talks to the EAA chapter and the local airport hangar owners association.
 
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