Remembering our friend, aviation legend Dick Rutan

Word was received that our pilot friend, Dick Rutan, passed away on May 3 and it saddened all of us at Mojave Air & Space Port at "Rutan Field." What a wonderful inspiration he was to generations of aviation enthusiasts. His spirit will live on at the airport where he flew and trained others in the joy of flight.

He gave many young people their first ride in an airplane and for most of them, it propelled them into a career of aviation. He enjoyed talking to kids (of all ages) and encouraging them to fly. I often saw him in the Voyager Restaurant at Mojave Air & Space Port, talking to little kids. Also, he had a special time set up at Oshkosh to tell kids about the Voyager flight and it was fun to be there and hear their questions at KidVenture. You could tell he was really enjoying this time with the future pilots of the world!

I remember having Dick speak to a group of Sea Cadets at our hangar back in 2001. I must tell you how impressive Dick was when talking to young people. He remembered the feelings he had about airplanes when he was their age and encouraged them to dream and to make their dreams a reality.

"Voyager started as a dream and that dream was accomplished and now hangs in the Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C.", he told the young group.

One of the first questions he asked this group of 12-14 year olds was, "How big is the earth?" There were lots of guesses, but no one knew for sure. Dick told them at the equator, the circumference of the earth is 25,000 miles. Voyager flew 26,366 statute miles in 9-days, 3-minutes and 44-seconds, non-stop and unrefueled.

The next question Dick asked was, "When were you born?" We heard them calling out the years, 1986, 1987 and 1988. Dick went on to tell them that Voyager took off from Edwards AFB on Dec. 14, 1986 and returned on Dec. 23. One young man said, "I was four days old when you took off." Another said, "I was born 11 months and nine days after you took off." It gave these young people a sense of living during the time aviation history was being made.

I often heard Dick say, "Adventure is the essence of life!" Not only did he say it, he lived it! The Rutan brothers, Dick and Burt, were raised with a great love of life and determination to accomplish their dreams. At an early age, both were drawn to aviation and soloed when they were only 16.

Their dear Mother, Irene, always told them, "If you can dream it, you can do it!" Both brothers took that saying to heart. Dick Rutan became dedicated to the task of becoming a fighter pilot when he saw the U.S. Air Force aerial demonstration team, "The Thunderbirds," perform at an air show near their family home in Dinuba, California.

Dick joined the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to fly 325 combat missions in Vietnam, 105 of them as a member of the Super Sabre FACs, a high-risk operation commonly known as the MISTY's. They were a special classified operation known as "Commando Saber" flying the two seat F-100F, with the call sign MISTY. It was a small aerial detachment under the command of Bud Day, a USAF Major at the time. It was kind of an experiment to see if a FAC (Forward Air Control) Mission could survive in high risk area of North Vietnam.

According to the MISTY Pilot website, "Their mission was to fly fast and low over enemy territory, armed with only their cannons and marking rockets... so low that they could see the targets... SAMs, AAA sites, trucks, bridges, boats, bulldozers... whatever. Their goal was straightforward: disrupt the transfer of enemy supplies and equipment down the Ho Chi Minh trail."

When Rutan, MISTY 40, was on his last strike reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam in 1968, he was hit by enemy ground fire, forced to eject from his flaming F-100 and was later rescued by the Air Force's Jolly Green Giant helicopter team.

Before retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 1978, Lt.Col. Rutan was awarded the Silver Star, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, 16 Air Medals and a Purple Heart.

Dick never was the kind of guy to avoid a challenge and if someone thought a task was impossible, it became even more inviting! Most of you watched an impossible dream become a reality when the Voyager aircraft, designed by Burt Rutan, was flown non-stop, unrefueled around the world in 1986, by Command Pilot Dick Rutan and co-pilot, Jeana Yeager. Takeoff was from Edwards Air Force Base on Dec. 14 and landing was at Edwards Air Force Base on Dec. 23. The flight lasted nine days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds.

In 1997, Mike Melvill and Dick flew around the world from Mojave, California back to Mojave, California in 80 nights, this time in their home built, two seat Long-EZ's (pronounced Long-Easy). Mike and Dick built their Long-EZs side by side many years ago.

A small group of friends were at the airport waving American Flags and cheering when Dick and Mike landed on June 24, 1997! We were thrilled to see them in formation coming over the top of Mojave Airport's original tower, from the south.

We held a barbecue at the Hansen Hangar and listened to Dick and Mike tell about their adventure flying around the world on the EAA Friendship Tour. Mike and Dick took turns telling about the frustrations dealing with customs in the countries they visited. One airport in Africa wouldn't let them land because their facilities didn't open until 8 a.m. They had just flown for 14 hours over the Atlantic Ocean and arrived there at 6 a.m. They had to circle for two hours or pay a $900 fine each!

Another place made them fly to another airport and taxi the aircraft for three miles to pick up one piece of paper from customs that could have been faxed to them at the original airport.

Some of the trip was heavenly and extremely interesting. Tahiti, Easter Island and the Galapagos Islands were some of their favorite stops. The huge statues on Easter Island were mysterious and awesome. The animals on the Galapagos were unafraid and beautiful.

It's fun to know people who are driven to pursue such an intrepid adventure that others only dream of doing. There was no fun in the terrible storms they encountered – just pure terror!

Mike said people were asking how they stayed awake during their long legs over the ocean – his reply was simple, "You can't sleep when you're terrified!"

In 2000, Dick went to the North Pole with our friend Ron Sheardown, but after the airplane, a Russian Antonov AN2, fell through the ice, the pleasure trip quickly turned into a rescue mission. All ended well, except Ron lost his airplane. He calls it his "frozen assets."

Dick set a world distance record in the EZRocket, a rocket powered LongEZ, in 2005, from Mojave to California City Airport.

So many wonderful memories watching Dick Rutan make aviation history at Mojave Airport. My husband Al and I had the opportunity to fly in the hot air balloon that Dick had when he was preparing for a round the world flight in a balloon. How delightful to soar through the sky in the early morning.

I remember Dick saying, "Watch as we cross Cal City Blvd. the people driving in cars won't even see us." I thought, "How could they miss us?" But, I think he was right, it didn't appear that the drivers of the cars even looked up.

In 1998, his attempt at a third around-the-world record in a balloon ended dramatically with a life-saving emergency parachute jump. The balloon envelop developed a tear which required the emergency bailout.

A Memorial Tribute will be held at Mojave Air & Space Port at the June 15 Plane Crazy Saturday. Go to http://www.mojaveairport.com website and make a reservation to join in remembering the extraordinary life of Dick Rutan. His legacy will continue to inspire us into the future.