SpaceShipOne test pilots:  Douglas B. Shane  ·  Peter Siebold  ·  Brian Binnie  ·  Michael W. Melvill

Pilot Biography

DOUGLAS B. SHANE

Doug Shane is Vice President/Business Development, Director of Flight Operations and Test Pilot for Scaled Composites. He has 21 years experience in aircraft flight test, design, program management, and business development, with particular expertise in research aircraft developmental flight test. He has been the Flight Operations Director at Scaled since 1989, and has been directly responsible for the safe performance of more than 25 research flight test programs.

Mr. Shane holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1982.

Flight Experience:

• First flight and large portion of developmental test of the ARES, a single-seat, single-engine jet fighter, including ground and flight firing tests of GAU-12/U 25mm cannon.
• First flight and project pilot for a next-generation general aviation airplane, powered by a unique automotive-derived engine system.
• First flight of an experimental jet-engine derivative of the Long-EZ aircraft.
• First flight of the VisionAire Vantage business jet.
• First flight of the Williams International V-Jet II.
• First flight of the Adam Aircraft Model 309 piston twin-engine aircraft
• First flight of the Scaled Model 318 White Knight
• Total Flight Time: approximately 3500 hours, in more than 130 types of aircraft
• Hold FAA Commercial certificate, with ASEL, AMEL, Instrument Airplane
• Built and operate Rutan Long-EZ aircraft; own and operate 1948 Stinson 108-3
• Fellow, Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) and currently President-Elect of SETP
• Winner of prestigious Iven C. Kincheloe Award in 1997 from Society of Experimental Test Pilots