Legendary pilot Dick Rutan will be at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum for the grand opening of the new exhibit Chasing Horizons at 7:00 PM, Thursday, September 11.The exhibit honors the pioneering men and women who have flown around the world.
Rutan made his own record-setting flight in 1986, when he and Jeana Yeager made the first non-stop, unrefueled flight around the world in Voyager. President Ronald Reagan recognized Rutan's achievement by awarding him with the Presidential Citizen's Medal of Honor, a medal presented only 16 times in the history of the United States. Rutan has also been inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Rutan would later circumnavigate the earth again in a Long-EZ homebuilt aircraft. He has set a number of records in various aircraft and received countless awards. In December of 2005, Dick set yet another world record, this time in the EZ-Rocket for the longest distance in a ground launched rocket powered aircraft.
In addition to Rutan, pilots highlighted in the Chasing Horizons exhibit include:o Douglas World Cruisers
o Wiley Post, and the Winnie Mae
o Steve Fossett, first balloon solo
o Steve Fossett, GlobalFlyer solo aircraft, un-refueled
o Bill Daniels, Learjet
o John Glenn, first astronaut in Friendship 7
o Clay Lacy, 747
o Barrington Irving, youngest and first African-American pilot
The grand opening is open to the public.
Tickets: $15 Call 303-360-5360 ext. 105
7:00 PM, Thursday, September 11
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
7711 E. Academy Blvd., Denver
On the former Lowry Air Force Base
303-360-5360
www.WingsMuseum.org