Now "Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field"

The Mojave Air and Space Port Board of Directors, on Tuesday, unanimously approved a resolution officially changing the name of the airport, Honoring Burt Rutan for his lifelong work in building and promoting aviation at the field. 

The board has previously mentioned during deliberations that the name change would not put the Rutan name front and center as the primary brand for the airport, as it would remove focus from the space and flight development focus. The official rollout will be phased in across the airport, as funding has not yet been set aside for replacement signage and updated marketing materials. Todd Lindner, general manager and CEO of the port, says that the most prominent customer-facing items will be tackled first. 

The board has appointed a small committee of two members to begin creating concepts for incorporating the name change into airport branding and imagery. One of the two was the one who requested a cost-benefit analysis on the name change, and reported that the fame and popularity of the Rutan name would likely be a profitable decision in the long term. The Rutan brothers founded the Rutan Aircraft Factory at the Mojave airport, later starting Scaled Composites 8 years later. Their efforts are fundamental to the legacy of the area, nearly singlehandedly building a series of groundbreaking aircraft designs across the 47 years since. To this day, Rutan DNA can be seen in Virgin Galactic's White Knight One and SpaceShipTwo aircraft, among many others. 

FMI: www.mojaveairport.com