Bill Whittle

Back on May 2nd, I made an emergency flight to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho to say goodbye to my friend Dick Rutan, a highly decorated fighter pilot and the first man to fly around the world non-stop and un-refueled. With the occasional 15-minute catnap he flew for nine days straight. I spent an hour with him on the 3rd, just before he disconnected his own oxygen supply and flew west for the last time. He knew the route. This is my tribute to this amazing man. It took me almost all of June but I am very, very proud of it and I hope it will give you some idea of what an incredible man Dick Rutan was.