All Hail The Aero-Heroes of 2009!

Final Compilations by ANN Editor-In-Chief/Trouble-Maker, Jim Campbell

It is both the most "fun," and most difficult, task facing the ANN staff at the end of every year -- determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes the aviation/aerospace community has managed to accomplish.
 
Thankfully, 2009 was a year in which we saw the best and brightest among us step forward and work tirelessly on behalf of us all. No doubt about it... the challenges we faced in 2009 were numerous, and ongoing... so was the quality of expertise and passion brought to our defense by those who heroically demonstrated to the world the very best side of aviation... via their deeds, words and actions.
 
It is ANN's honor to recognize Ten persons/organizations or groups that qualify as our Aero-Heroes for 2009... in something of an informal order, starting from the 10th to the 1st. Let us know what you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be included or omitted from such a list. In the meantime, we thank the folks who made this year's list. Thank you, folks... we really needed you this year, and you didn't let us down.

ANN will list our Top Ten choices over the next few days's, but in order to kick off the New Year right, let's enjoy another selection from our Heroes List for 2009...

Aero-Heroes #9: XCOR Aerospace

Don't get me wrong, as the proud former owner of a much beloved Long-EZ, as well as having been (once upon a time) a Mohave Airport ramp rat, I not only believe, but can prove that Burt Rutan walks on water. Having spent times working with a highest echelons of the XPrize organization, having flown chase on some of Burt's most critical flights and missions, and not only been friends with and attended Test Pilot school with some of Scaled Composites' coolest people, I think that Scaled Composites deserves every bit of the press that it's gotten thus far.

But... let's not ignore the folks that have NOT gotten nearly as much press -- who have as much heart, as much talent, and are destined to rock our world in ways just as profound as Burt and his most talented tribe of acolytes. I speak, in this particular case, of a little company that I've worked with off and on, as part of XPrize, as part of the Rocket Racing League, as a journalist, and as a friend of some those involved directly in the company... I speak of XCOR.

XCOR is one of those unique enterprises that turns on the genius of a leader whose greatest talent may be surrounding himself with equally talented people that look upon the improbable as mundane/easy chores and the impossible as a welcome challenge. Jeff Greason's small operation in the Mojave Desert continues to push the boundaries of what is considered to be the state-of-the-art in private space initiatives, hardware, and design.

They've come up with some of the most intriguing and, at times bizarre, concepts nd means by which to excite the world to the potential of the commercial space business... such as strapping a rocket engine to a Long-EZ (and eventually a Velocity airframe) to demonstrate the capabilities of their shop and involve the public in the excitement of the XPrize-inspired revilution that has been underway for more than a decade.

The world is starting to understand how talented the XCOR team is, with the appointment of Jeff Greason to a pivotal national committee that was designed to look at the future of manned space (the Augustine Commission), while the rest of the world waits with breathless anticipation for the first flights of their Lynx suborbital manned vehicle.

Millions of dollars have now been promised to the program, and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic initiative is going to find itself with some competitions just a few years from now... and as we all know from long-term observation of the aviation industry, true progress occurs when not only is there solid competition, but when the competition is as uniquely talented and inspired as companies like XCOR.

ANN finds great inspiration in XCOR, as it does in Scaled Composites, as it does with Masten Space Systems, and dozens of other little private companies that will someday not just change the nation, but show us the universe. 

FMI: Comments/Criticism?