Aviation pioneer Burt Rutan has been known to speculate that it won’t be long before flying is practically obsolete, since computers will be able to deliver a virtual-reality experience that would satisfy many of the needs that now require travel. We can all get a taste of that today, since those of us who were unable to attend EAA’s fifth annual EAA Wright Brothers Memorial Dinner in the AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis., last Friday, can now watch the entire hour-and-a-half speaking program with a click of the mouse. Rutan, the scheduled speaker, was unable to attend due to illness, but astronaut Brian Binnie from Scaled Composites filled in.
Binnie is “no pinch-hitter,” Rutan said in a statement. A graduate of the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Md., Binnie has more than 4,600 flight hours in 59 aircraft types. He said there will be a news announcement from the Virgin Galactic project next month. Wil Whitehorn, Virgin Galactic CEO, said recently that the final designs for both SpaceShipTwo and White Knight II would be unveiled in January, and the White Knight carrier aircraft will be flying by July.
