Photo by Mark Greenberg 2009 WhiteKnightTwo- A derivative of the WK, WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) is the launch vehicle for SpaceShipTwo (SS2). “It’s the prototype of the first commercial system developed to carry the public outside the atmosphere,” Rutan says. “If you say that succinctly, you’ve said everything that needs to be said about it.” Designed for Virgin Galactic, the four-engine, twin boom/cabin aircraft is the largest all-composite aircraft ever built. Designed by Bob Morgan and Jim Tighe, it is the first Scaled manned aircraft Rutan did not personally design.

"Back when we had the homebuilt company, we focused everything around Oshkosh," Rutan says. "That was a good place to show a new airplane. I had a little 10 (-foot) by 10 (-foot) booth for 12 years. We were selling (aircraft) plans, and we would make 20 to 25 percent of our (annual) sales the week of Oshkosh, so it was very important for us."

Born in Estacada, Oregon on June 17, 1943, and reared in Dinuba, California, Rutan designed and built model aircraft as a youngster, soloed at age 16 in an Aeronca Champ, and studied aeronautical engineering at California Polytechnic University, graduating in 1965. After working for the U.S. Air Force as a flight test project engineer at California's Edwards Air Force Base and as director of the Bede Test Center for Bede Aircraft in Newton, Kansas, in 1974 he launched RAF in Mojave, California. The following year he made his name in the homebuilt world with his VariEze, which created a sensation at the 1975 convention when it set the world distance record for closed course in its weight class, with brother Dick piloting.

"One of my fondest memories was when the little VariEze flew in from California and everybody was all excited about this new era in homebuilding," Rutan recalled in remarks at Aeroshell Square after arriving at Wittman Regional Airport with WhiteKnight and SpaceShipOne in 2005.

Whether created to provide efficient air transportation for a homebuilder or take paying passengers to the edge of space, Rutan's design focus is safety first and efficiency second. The canard many of his aircraft feature reduces the risk of stall/spin accidents, while optimized aerodynamics have earned several of his designs records for distance, speed and efficiency.

In 1982 Rutan founded Scaled Composites LLC - "Scaled" to its people - in Mojave, to design prototype aircraft for private sector and government customers. It gave him a bigger canvas (and budgets) for his innovative ideas, but the new venture impinged on operations at RAF.

"I was running two companies, I could only run one," Rutan says. "I picked the one that didn't have product liability exposure."

In 1985 RAF stopped selling plans for Rutan's aircraft designs, but continued providing assistance to customers who had already purchased them.

I found the builders support was a much more difficult job than anybody would think," Rutan says. "A school teacher finds they spend 80 percent of their time with F students. We were spending enormous time with people who can't read plans, or make silly mistakes. I thought I would keep RAF open three or four years" to continue providing assistance, Rutan says. "As it turns out, we did builder support for more than 20 years. People took that long to build (their airplanes)."

Under the Scaled banner Rutan still occasionally developed aircraft for his own purposes and brought them to the fly-in (the Catbird and the Boomerang), but most are designed for hire and are displayed at AirVenture at the pleasure of whoever funded their development. Fortunately many customers recognize the historical importance of the aircraft and the cultural significance of AirVenture (not to mention the PR benefits of the public viewings) and allow them to be shown at Aeroshell Square.

The space launch vehicle WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), which is being showcased at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009, was funded by the Virgin Group as part of the Tier Ib project, the first private system designed to take paying passengers beyond the atmosphere. Virgin Group CEO Sir Richard Branson certainly appreciates the significance of AirVenture, and he's also known as one of the world's most PR-savvy corporate chieftains. So attendees can thank Sir Richard for the launch vehicle's display. WK2 is the 22nd of Rutan's aircraft he's brought to the convention (and the first Scaled manned aircraft he did not design himself). In a way WK2's showing brings Rutan's display portfolio full circle. For without the fly-in, Rutan says, there would be no WK2.

"To get the kind of feedback we get here at Oshkosh was one of the ingredients that was important for me in making the decision that maybe I can build a spaceship," Rutan says. "Because without that interface, I wouldn't have had that strong feeling that this was something the masses really want to do. So my interface with Oshkosh dating back to 1971 was real important for me in having the courage to say, 'Listen, I can do this, and I'm going to go for it.'"

For more on WK2 and an insiders' account of its development, see the August issue of EAA Sport Aviation, available on the AirVenture grounds this week. Members can also access the magazine online at www.oshkosh365.org.

For a gallery of most of the 22 aircraft Rutan has showcased at the fly-in, along with their design highlights and what Rutan has to say about them, click here.