Dick Rutan

Richard Glenn "Dick" Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is an aviator who piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop with co-pilot Jeana Yeager. He was born in Loma Linda, California, where he gained an interest in flight at a young age.

Campaign for congress
In 1992 Rutan ran as a conservative Republican against Democratic congressman George Brown, Jr. in California's 42nd congressional district. The district comprised most of the San Bernardino region of southern California and was viewed as a swing district. In the Republican primary, Rutan upset San Bernardino County Supervisor Rob Hammock, who had run a strong race against Brown in 1990. In the general election, Rutan ran on a platform that called for reforming congress and lowering taxes. Brown, first elected in 1962, was long known for surviving close elections and prevailed once more with 79,780 votes (50.7%) to Rutan's 69,251 (44%). Fritz Ward, a Libertarian, received 8,424 votes or 5.3% of the vote.

Records
Besides the records Rutan set while flying Voyager, he has also set a number in his personal LongEze, including:
 * FAI class C1b distance over a closed course of 7,725.3 km at Mojave on December 15, 1979.
 * FAI class C1b distance of 7,344.56 km from Anchorage, Alaska to Grand Turk Island on June 5, 1981.

Awards

 * Silver Star
 * Distinguished Flying Cross, 5 times
 * Air Medal, 16 times
 * Purple Heart
 * 1981 - Louis Bleriot Award - distance record
 * 1986 - Presidential Citizens Medal from President Reagan
 * 1986 - Collier Trophy
 * 1986 - De la Vaulx Medal
 * 1987 - Collier Trophy
 * 1987 - Louis Bleriot Award - around-the-world flight
 * 1988 - Edward Longstreth Medal of the Franklin Institute
 * 2005 - Louis Bleriot Award - longest point-to-point rocket plane flight (XCOR EZ-Rocket)