Success Built on Innovation

July 24, 2017 - With Scaled Composites working on the largest airplane ever when measured by wingspan, it seems appropriate that the Mojave, California-based company will have an even bigger presence at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017.

Bob Withrow, vice president of engineering, said about 15 Scaled Composites employees will give approximately 40 talks throughout the week. Engineers, technicians, test pilots, and others will talk about Scaled airplanes — such as the Stratolaunch, GlobalFlyer and Proteus — while other sessions will be more fun or informational. All presentations will be held in Forum Pavilion 7, except Scaled President Ben Diachun’s talk in Theater in the Woods on Thursday.

“We tried to find topics that would be interesting to the EAA audience, and also interesting to people at Scaled,” Bob said. “How many companies have an engineer who buys a jet online, rebuilds it, and then flies it? There are stories like that all around at Scaled. All of our folks can share some of the things they learned at their day jobs, but also at night when they are building their own airplanes.”

An extensive exhibit, including real artifacts from its many aircraft designs, can also be found in the forum building. The company also has airplanes on display, including the high-altitude Proteus, which last appeared in Oshkosh in 1999 and can now be found parked on Boeing Plaza.

Bob said speakers will be able to talk about the Stratolaunch, which rolled out of its hangar for the first time in May, but they won’t be able to talk about some of their newest projects. “We have about 15 projects in-house at any one time, and they range from a small RC-sized autonomic aircraft to the biggest aircraft and everything in between,” he said.

Since its inception by founder Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites’ success has been built on innovation. The company keeps trying to foster that innovative spirit, Bob said. “We are a company without a lot of processes and procedures. People working on a particular project can decide for themselves how they will build airplanes, and stay focused on what the customer is trying to prove. We use simple designs, and get into testing as quickly as we can.”

While individual components may be simple, when put together, they enable creativity, Bob added. “We hire amazing people, and we trust them to do good designs and produce safe airplanes,” he said, noting that peer review is also part of the creative process.

Scaled Composites is also is looking to hire more skilled workers, particularly for engineering, and they know EAA AirVenture is a good place to find those people. “A few candidates have already reached out to us,” said Kelsey Gould, executive assistant to the vice president of engineering. Scaled Composites will also be part of EAA’s Job Fair, she said.

Overall, Scaled Composites’ employees are excited to be at Oshkosh and looking forward to meeting people. “We feel like we are part of the EAA family since this is one place where we don’t have to explain ourselves,” Bob said. “People get us, and we know we will have a lot of fun.”

All presentations are at Forum Stage 7 unless indicated otherwise.

Tuesday

• 8:30-9:45 a.m. RC Modeling: Gateway to a Career, Mason Hutchison
• 10-11:15 a.m. GlobalFlyer Around the World, Clint Nichols
• 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. I Bought a Jet on eBay and Flew it! Jake Riley
• 1-2:15 p.m. Using Carbon Fiber on Everything, Steve Klasinski
• 2:30-3:45 p.m. Panel: Design-Build-Test, Jake Riley, Steve Klasinski, Brian Maisler
• 4-5:15 p.m. Proteus Model 281: Flight Test, Sam Henney

Wednesday

• 8:30-9:45 a.m. Using RC Models to Prove a Concept, Dan Kreigh
• 10-11:15 am. Get Ready for Airworthiness Inspection, Justin Gillen
• 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Building a Flying Football Field, Mason Hutchison
• 1-2:15 p.m. Not a Screw-up by Screwing Up, Ken Baker
• 2:30-3:45 p.m. RC Aircraft: A Lifelong Passion, Dan Kreigh, Mason Hutchison, Jake Riley
• 4-5:15 p.m. T-40 Hours to Oshkosh, Zachary Reeder

Thursday

• 8:30-9:45 a.m. Air Data Calibration for Homebuilts, Brian Maisler
• 10-11:15 a.m. Using Carbon Fiber on Everything, Steve Klasinski
• 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. I Bought a Jet on eBay and Flew it! Jake Riley
• 1-2:15 p.m. Proteus Model 281: Flight Test, Sam Henney
• 2:30-3:45 p.m. Panel: Proteus 4,200 Flight Hours, Sam Henney, John Barton, Clint Nichols
• 4-5:15 p.m. GlobalFlyer Flight Around the World, Clint Nichols
• 8-9 p.m. Never Do the Same Thing Twice: Scaled Philosophies, Theater in the Woods, Ben Diachun, President, Scaled Composites

Friday

• 8:30-9:45 a.m. Homebuilt: Lessons in Engineering, Ken Baker
• 10-11:15 a.m. First Flight of Your Homebuilt, Justin Gillen
• 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Building and Finishing Composite AC, John Barton
• 1-2:15 p.m. Using RC Models to Prove a Concept, Dan Kreigh
• 2:30-3:45 p.m. Panel: Past, Present, Future, Dan Kreigh, Ben Diachun, Zachary Reeder
• 4-5:15 p.m. Building a Flying Football Field, Zachary Reeder

Saturday

• 8:30-9:45 a.m. Maintaining Experimental Aircraft, Luke Goossen
• 10-11:15 a.m. Not a Screw-up by Screwing Up, Ken Baker
• 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Scaled Composites’ History With Model Aircraft, Dan Kreigh
• 1-2:15 p.m. T-40 Hours to Oshkosh, Zachary Reeder
• 2:30-3:45 p.m. Panel Discussion: Stratolaunch, Ken Baker, Zachary Reeder, Bob Withrow
• 4-5:15 p.m. Get Ready for Airworthiness Inspection, Bob Withrow

Sunday

• 8:30-9:45 a.m. Using Carbon Fiber on Everything, Luke Goossen
• 10-11:15 a.m. Building a Flying Football Field, Zachary Reeder
• 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Cross-Country Flying Your Homebuilt, Luke Goossen
• 1-2:15 p.m. Test Flying Your Homebuilt, Justin Gillen