My wife and I had the privilege of being there when the Voyager landed. It was an amazing accomplishment and a testament to the Rutan creative design team.
This documentary dives ever so briefly into the 'porpoise' effect this aircraft endured for most of the flight. Those 'flapping' wings laden with explosive aviation fuel were more of an illusion because in our minds airplane wings don't flap at all! I love this story it is one of those great feats of aviation that literally went from a cocktail napkin drawing to reality! Great documentary but if you really want to dive deep into this story (and I highly suggest you do!) read "Voyager" by Dick Rutan and Jenna Yeager for many many details not mentioned here. I was loaned a copy of this book when it came out and still to this day when I think I am facing insurmountable odds...I READ THIS STORY! My main bucket list item is to see the Voyager on display and take a selfie with this amazing aircraft in the background. That may not sound like much, but to me that says it all.
mr. grazier's fifth grade class from garden grove elementary school in winter haven florida would like to congratulate you for your courage and determination by demonstrating that dreams can be achieved. you are an inspiration to us all. we greatly appreciate you posting this 4 part documentary.
My mother grew up in Little Falls, home of the Lindberghs. My Grandfather delivered mail to them and would see little Charles sitting in a tree playing airplane. My mom soloed, but never completed her license. My uncle was a crew chief for Howard Hughes. My mother and I were there to see the return of Voyager.
Funny story my uncle told about Howard Hughes. When he visited, he would often leave his hat. Nobody knew what to do. (I guess maybe they were afraid he wouldn't want them bothering him about it ????) So he had hats laying all over. For some reason, that story stuck with me. @@AlejandroIrausquin
Thank you so much for posting this. I really enjoyed it. Fantastic program, with a lot I didn’t know about the flight. I recently got to take a look inside a full scale replica of the Voyager cockpit at a museum, it was fascinating. Not much room to move around to say the least!
I had the privilege of meeting both Burt and Dick at Oshkosh on a number of occasions and listen to their talks and have a few personal words - they both signed my hat - very sad to hear that Dick has now flown his last flight. He will be remembered by so many aviators and adventurers alike ...
Mr. Grazier, I am just a Rutan fan who became Aeronautical Engineer himself following Rutan inspiration. Yes, dreams can be achieved. It was a trouble for me having the video and home and not be able to have other people watch it at the 25 year anniversary of it. I am glad you shared this with the kids. Be sure to show them the AMA (ModelAircraft) Rutan speech available in the related videos.
Jeanna Yeager never gets enough credit for the flight. They had to beg for money to make the flight, and Jeanna was out front doing the most to get money. They Rutans almost never mention her name. I'm glad that the Melills spoke up for her in the interview.
wow, thanks for the reply and further info. wasnt expecting it. i used the voyager video as enrichment to a passage the kids read about the flight. i also informed my colleagues of the videos. my father was in flight test for 30 years and stationed at edwards on several separate occasions. he helped with the budweiser car. setting up the test track and monitoring stations of the run. anyway big fan of that base. thanks again.
Sleeping in a couch at the left side of the main fuselage. Cooking, no thanks. Food supplies for the full flight. Toilets, none. Astronauts style. This is a part of an one hour documentary, called 'The Frontiers of Flight' (Chapter 13). There is also a book from Dick Rutan you can find at half dot com or Amazon.
The engine power required for take off and climb is a lot bigger that the power required for cruise. Additionally, one of the engines is set for optimum power and reduced fuel consumption, a requirement for this flight.
There was friction between the two. Gina was not allowed to fly the craft for quite sometime as he claimed it was too difficult to control. Maybe so..but you can imagine the tension. It wasn't a loving team endeavor.
Well you see I think he uses a very complex mixture of Christmas cheer and hydrogen maybe he borrows some flying dust from the tooth ferry. Not exactly sure though. I will look into that.
The real question has got to be, how come a private organization can do this but a government cannot, and cannot even though they hold all the technology to be able to do it. The atitude and behavour of the American government is one based on creating wars and conflict around the world and will spend trilians of dollars doing it, but not a centbfor anything constructive in any sence of the word. Bert Rutan has twice made the American government stupid, the first time was by proving that all the huge sums of money that have been spent on space, and the atitude towards how to bring a craft back into the earths atmosphere being one of the big waste of time and money when this group put a rocket into space and got it back without all the super expencive metals that N.A.S.A. has lied about needing only to be proved wrong when a fibre glass model did it, did NOT burn up and with a lot less high tech equipment, so how come a private organization can do it but NASA can not. To me it says that Kennedy was right about that being to keep this kind of technology in the hand of the people not government, who in turn has just past it all to a black budget which is just an open bottomless pit where huge sums of money disapear without trace and nothing of benifit comes out the other end. This was the first of many things to pass through my mind when this was first done by Rutan proving beyond doubt that the money was being taken for something else that the public were, and arevstill not fully aware of, and even less, able to question . This group of people have proved just how much the people are being ripped off, by a government that really has lost the plot and the common sence to do something about, which I truly feel is now lost for good as there is only so much a little group of people can do in this field. When this team managed to do this, it was noticed that the government seemed to stop bothering, closing down the shuttle, even to thebpoint wherevwe are told that they have lost all the drawings and know how to put a man into space, lets face it, there are few who would believe this as it clearly a lie, and one that very few people are stupid enought to believe. It would seem that this has been the one thing that America has done through out its history, from start to present day, andvdoes so to its own people as well as the Rest of the world, and each time it happens, there seems to be some form of conflicked just round the corner. I find it quite remarkable that the people of America put up with it when their government spends billions of dollars spying on its own people and poking its nose in where its not wanted , and can see why the federation of Russia makes sure it knows what America is really up to., in an effort to safeguard its self, everything points to this being something that to safeguard themselves iis a must, and I think if America continues down this path, it will be Russia who will in the end, set the records straight.
The Government is not capable of many things. Our Military weaponry, aircraft, and ships are ALL, and have always been, from the private sector. The Government just takes much of the credit, and provides the MONEY. No BUCKS.. No Buck Rogers.. its true.
SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo are sub-orbital. They go straight up and come straight down so they don't experience even a small fraction of orbital re-entry heating. Having said that, SpaceShipOne was an amazing achievement. SpaceShipTwo isn't looking so good. Voyager's round the world flight was also an amazing feat. Right on the ragged edge of disaster but they pulled it off. I can highly recomnend Jeana & Dick's book Voyager.
