CONSERVATION THROUGH AVIATION INNOVATION INNOVATION COMPOSITES BENEFITS REDUCED FUEL CONSUMPTION GREATER FATIGUE RESISTANCE “Simplicity and efficiency drive great aircraft design. It’s not an accident that the best designs also are the most environmentally friendly.” — Burt Rutan FOUNDER / CHAIRMAN EMERITUS, SCALED COMPOSITES Photo courtesy of Mark Greenberg Photography © 2004 BURT RUTAN COMPOSITES VIRTUOSO The model airplanes Burt Rutan played with as a child helped inspire innovation that transformed the aerospace industry. For his first aircraft designs, Rutan drew on his experience with the light, plasticand-foam models. Though his goal was simplicity and ease of construction, Rutan’s creations helped usher in the composites era in aircraft construction. His radical concepts– from the ahead-of-its-time Beechcraft Starship to the out-of-this-world SpaceShipOne–pushed the conceptual envelope, freeing aviation from the straightjacket of derivative design. The cumulative environmental impact of Rutan’s influence is literally incalculable. But there can be no doubt: the planet breathes easier thanks to the countless efficiencies he pioneered. Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh spent much of their lives promoting an essential balance between developing technologies and the preservation of the natural environment. They would be pleased to know the Lindbergh Foundation and its Aviation Green Alliance are working to promote technological advances that ease aviation’s environmental footprint. Join our alliance, Aviation Green, and connect with the growing number of leading individuals, companies and organizations working together for the future of aviation—and all of humanity. Creative by Greteman Group | Ad space donated by AOPA Pilot www.Aviat io n G re e n.c omhttp://www.AviationGreen.com