August 2009
VOL. 58, NO. 8
www.EAA.org C O N T E N T S
48The Family That Rockets Together... Anatomy of the Grays’ champion F1 Rocket Budd Davisson If Norman Rockwell were alive and someone commissioned him to paint a picture of the quintessential sport aviation family, he could do no better than to use the Gray family, of Vincent, Ohio, as models. They produce award-winning airplanes, as evidenced by the Grand Champion Homebuilt trophy Dad brought back with him from Sun ’n Fun 2009.
FEATURES FEATURES
Rick Gray
30 WhiteKnightTwo
James Wynbrandt
It’s a Sunday in June barely a month before
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009. WK2 recently
completed its eighth flight, and Burt Rutan is
pleased with its progress. “We’ve been to 45,000
feet; we’re opening up the envelope,” Rutan said
from his car en route to his office at Mojave’s
Scaled Composites. “We’re going to 50,000 feet
tomorrow. We’re moving along very quickly.”
56 Four Aces High
Chapter 1046’s Baby Ace chain reaction
Earl Downs
EAA Chapter 1046 in Ponca City, Oklahoma, is
a little unusual—because four of its members
own Baby Aces. It would be logical to assume
this is a story of chapter members getting
together in an organized fashion to build and fly
the same planes, but that’s not the case here.
64 Record Dash for a Cure
The ALS trans-world flight
Sparky Barnes Sargent
Slight of build and strong of will,
CarolAnn Garratt has a gentle yet
serious demeanor, and it’s evident
upon first handshake. An intense
personal motivation spurred her on
to become an EarthRounder and
ambassador for amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS), flying her Mooney M20J
around the world with co-pilot Carol Foy.
Cover Photo
by Mark Greenberg
The Virgin Galactic
WhiteKnightTwo/Mothership
Eve over the Mojave Desert
in March 2009.
