EAA Sport Aviation - October 2009

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An AirVenture Highlight—WhiteKnightTwo’s World Debut

When WhiteKnight Two (WK2), the prototype launch vehicle for the first commercial manned space flight system, flew to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009, the ship’s chief designer, Bob Morgan, was aboard the flight from Mojave, California, to Wittman Regional Airport.

By James Wynbrandt

“The cross-country was punctuated by the curiosity of airline pilots and air traffic controllers wondering what kind of civilian aircraft was cruising above them at 52,000 feet,” Morgan said. “On several occasions airline pilots below us would ask the controllers for a position report of our mother ship so they could catch a glimpse as we passed.”

Created by Scaled Composites and funded by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the private space program continued to make news during the air show. Branson took his first flight aboard Eve (named for his mother). “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!” Branson declared upon emerging from WK2 after the demonstration. “It flies just beautifully.” Minutes before the flight he signed a contract with Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments, exchanging a 32 percent stake in Virgin Galactic for $280 million.

Morgan, meanwhile, spent more time than he anticipated explaining the structural principles behind the aircraft’s distinctive design. “I was surprised at the enormous reaction to the twin cabin configuration and the bizarre array of questions it generated,” Morgan said. “There was a recurring perception that the center section of the wing possessed some vulnerability or amazing accomplishment of design to avoid breaking.”

During AirVenture presentations, Burt Rutan explained that span loading (moving weights away from the center of the wing) actually reduces bending stress. But any misunderstanding of the design was more than offset by attendees’ support for its objective. “I was not prepared for the excitement and enthusiasm for the aircraft and her space tourism mission,” Morgan said.

Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn said SpaceShipTwo’s first flight is scheduled for December 2009. Sierra Nevada Corp. is developing the engine that will power SpaceShip Two.

So what are the chances the conjoined vehicles could be on display at AirVenture 2010?

“It will ultimately come down to Virgin’s desire to bring the mated pair to Oshkosh coupled with the status of the flight-test program,” said Matthew Stinemetze, project engineer and program manager for the Scaled—Virgin Galactic program. “We’d love to show all of our hard work to the world.”