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Richard Glenn Rutan (July 1, 1938 – May 3, 2024) was an American military aviator and officer, as well as a record-breaking test pilot who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight with co-pilot Jeana Yeager.
Dick Rutan, who in 1986 commanded the first aircraft to make a nonstop flight around the world without refueling — an aviation milestone whose ingenuity and daring recalled the heroic...
Dick Rutan co-piloted the Voyager around the world in 1986, taking off from and landing at Edwards Air Force Base without stopping in one of aviation's greatest feats.
A decorated war hero and aviation pioneer, Dick Rutan, who "played an airplane like someone plays a grand piano," in the words of his younger brother, met death on his own terms on May 3, with his wife and family by his side.
For nine days in December 1986, Dick Rutan and co-pilot Jeana Yeager lived out of a cabin the size of a phone booth, flying an experimental plane nonstop around the world.
Rutan, a decorated Vietnam War pilot, who along with copilot Jeana Yeager completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling, died late Friday, May 3, 2024.
Legendary pilot Dick Rutan, whose round-the-world flight made history in 1986, slipped the surly bonds of earth on May 3, 2024 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. His beloved wife Kris was at his side as he passed.
