Hometown History
Famous dates in December
The last month of every year, December, is noted for special days. It is topped by the star standing proudly on top of every Christmas tree around the world on the 25th.
In 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright celebrated a day, the 17th, that soared into generations of speedy transportation, military weaponry and recreational flights by newly licensed pilots.
The first powered flight occurred at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gas-powered plane that stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight.
Two other Dec. 17s are related to the Antelope Valley Press. Last year, Jennifer Garcia, the editor, and I discovered we shared the 17th as our birthdays, mine in the 1920s and hers in the 1970s.
But in 1986 one of the most astounding airplane journeys in history was flown in the Rutan Model 76 voyager from Edwards Air Force Base, 26,366 statute miles, without stopping or refueling, between Dec. 14 and Dec. 23, and back to Edwards, a pre-Christmas gift to the entire aviation industry.
The flight was first imagined by Jeana Yeager, Dick Ru
tan, and Dick’s brother, Burt Rutan, when they had lunch in 1981.
The idea was sketched out on a napkin. Burt Rutan served as the lead designer for the project, with the aircraft manufactured over a five-year period in Mojave.
On July 15, 1986, Dick Rutan and Yeager completed a test flight off the coast of California, in which they flew for
111 hours and 44 minutes, traveling 11,857 statute miles in 20 circuits between San Luis Obispo and Stewarts Point, Calif.
The Voyager’s world flight takeoff took place on the longest runway at Edwards AFB at 8:01 local time on Dec. 14, 1986, with 3,500 of the world’s press in attendance.
As the plane accelerated, the tips of the wings, which were heavily loaded with fuel, were damaged as they unexpectedly flew down and scraped against the runway, ultimately causing pieces (winglets) to break off at both ends.
During the flight, the two pilots had to deal with extremely cramped quarters. To reduce stress, the two had originally intended to fly the plane in three-hour shifts, but flight handling characteristics while the plane was heavy, prevented routine changeovers and they became very fatigued. Dick Rutan reportedly stayed at the controls without relief for almost the first three days of the flight.
The pilots had to maneuver around bad weather numerous times, most perilously around the 600-mile-wide Typhoon Marge. In front of 55,000 spectators and a large press contingent, including 23 live feeds breaking into scheduled broadcasting across Europe and North America, the plane safely came back to Earth, touching down at 8:06 a.m. at the same airfield, nine days after takeoff.
The average speed was 116 miles per hour. There were 106 pounds of fuel remaining in the tanks. Only about 1.5% of the fuel they had at takeoff.
For the feat, Yeager, the Rutans and crew chief/builder Bruce Evans received the 1986 Collier Trophy.