Burt Rutan: The courage to take a risk

Download MP3 | Email to a Friend

X Close Window

Burt Rutan, founder of California’s Scaled Composites, was the very first Design News Engineer of the Year in 1988 and one of the most admired engineers in America. His engineering team has designed, tested, and flown a whole series of leading edge aircraft, ranging from the Voyager – the first plane to fly around the world without refueling – to SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded manned aircraft to fly into space. In this interview with Contributing Editor Larry Maloney, Rutan tells what is needed to spur innovation in aerospace.