Executive Board
Robert Byrd Breyer, MBA - President
Robert Byrd Breyer is the son of Katharine Byrd Breyer, second oldest daughter of Admiral Richard E. Byrd. As the second oldest of 13 Byrd grandkids Bob was old enough to get to know his grandfather before the Admiral died in 1957. He was an Eagle Scout and has B.S. in Business and MBA degrees from USC. He has hiked, camped and climbed from Switzerland to New Zealand and many places in between. In 1973 he landed a job with Holmes & Narver Inc., a contractor in Orange County, that had a contract with the National Science Foundation to build a science station at the geographic South Pole in Antarctica. Bob traveled to Antarctica three times, became construction manager of the Dome South Pole Station, and is the only Byrd grandchild to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and actually work down on the Ice. Bob's beautiful blond daughter, Betsy, recently graduated from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and his son, Bobby Jr. was recently honorably discharged from being a seargent in the United States Marine Corps.
Dick Rutan - Vice President
Voyager Aircraft's non-stop and unrefueled flight around the world in December of 1986 placed Mojave proudly on the map and placed Dick Rutan in the history books. The Voyager is now proudly suspended in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's "Milestones of Flight" gallery in our nation's capitol. Four days following the historic flight of the Voyager, President Ronald Reagan awarded Dick the Presidential Citizen's Medal of Honor at a special ceremony. The medal has been presented only sixteen times in the history of the United States. In December of 2005, Dick set another world record in the EZ-Rocket for the longest distance in a ground launched rocket powered aircraft. He flew from the Mojave Spaceport to the California City Airport. Touted as the shortest long distance flight, this record is recognized by the National Aeronautics Association (NAA), and is in the record books. For that flight Dick was awarded the NAA Most Memorable Flight of 2005 award in 2006, and in 2006 Louis Bleriot Medal. In 2003, Dick Rutan became an Eagle at the Gathering of Eagles in Montgomery, Alabama for his service in the Air Force. This prestigious honor was also his in 1988, two years after the Voyager flight. In 2002, Dick Rutan was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. This esteemed enshrinement honored Dick and three other Americans "whose heroism helped define twentieth Century America." Dick obtained his balloon pilot's license in 1995 (Commercial free air balloon; helium and hot air) and in 1998, Dick attempted to make the first ever flight around the world in a balloon in the Global Hilton. That attempt ended three hours after takeoff when the balloon's helium cell ruptured, due to a manufacturer's defect. Within minutes of landing on terra firma, Dick pledged to try again, but the project ceased when a rival team captured the milestone in March of 1999. In 1997, Dick completed The Spirit of EAA Friendship World Tour, along with flight lead, Mike Melvill. This "Around The World In 80 Nights" flight was completed in two small experimental Long-EZ aircraft that Dick and Mike built side by side two decades ago. Dick received both his solo pilot's license and driver's license on his sixteenth birthday. At the age of nineteen, Dick joined the Air Force Aviation Cadet Program, was commission Lieutenant and later received a Bachelor of Science Degree at the American Technological University. As a Tactical Air Command fighter pilot during most of his two decades in the Air Force, Rutan flew 325 combat missions in Vietnam, 105 of them as a member of a high-risk classified operation commonly known as the MISTY's. While on his last strike reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam in September of 1968, Dick was hit by enemy ground fire, and was forced to eject from his burning F-100. Before retiring from the Air Force in 1978, Lt. Col. Rutan had been awarded the Silver Star, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, 16 Air Medals and the Purple Heart. After retirement, Dick joined his brother, Burt, as Production Manager and Chief Test Pilot for Rutan Aircraft Factory. Dick Rutan flew the test flight development program of many military and civilian experimental aircraft and set numerous world speed and distance records in his Long-EZ, a popular Rutan designed home-built airplane. Dick was awarded the Louis Bleriot Medal by the prestigious Federation Aeronautique Internationale during a ceremony in Brussels, Belgium in recognition of these record-setting flights. In May of 2000, Dick Rutan was a last minute addition to a sightseeing airplane trek to the North Pole, which ended when the Russian AN-2 Antonov biplane broke through the ice. For more than a dozen hours, the crew was stranded at the top of the world. In 2003, Dick Rutan was elected as a director of the East Kern Airport District (EKAD). Dick's wife, Kris, is a kindergarten teacher. Together, they have four daughters and nine grandchildren.
Inez Sharp - Secretary
Inez Sharp is a life long fan of aviation, which led her into an 18 year career as a flight attendant and Purser with Pan American World World Airways from 1968-1986. During the Pan Am years she traveled to every corner of the globe- six continents and 80 countries. Although Pan Am actually had scheduled service to Antarctica in the late 1950's that one destination has proved to be very elusive, leading to a facination with the seventh, remote continent. Inez holds a BS degree in History from East Carolina University, Greenville,NC. During the Pan Am years she was also the Flight Attendant Health and Safety representative for the Independent Union of Flight Attendants , at the national level. This involved participating in discussions of health & Safety issues with the FAA and the aviation subcommittee of US House of Representatives. She testified before Congress on air quality aboard passenger jet aircraft. In 1978-79 she worked on a UCLA epidemiologic study with medical faculty and an article was published in 1982 regarding air quality in aircraft cabins. In Oct. 1979 Inez participated in special training for aircraft accident investigation under the National Transportation Safety Board. Her community commitment involved serving on the Board of Pasadena Symphony Juniors, the Junior League, The Huntington Hospital Circle and her children"s schools. She was a Docent at the Huntington Library in San Marino for the British collection for ten years, serving as program chair 1984-1985, the Silver Anniversary of the Huntington Docent program. In recent years she has worked as a medical practice manager and a financial coordinator for clinical trials related to osteoporosis fractures. Each study lasted about 5 years and involved 50 patients.
Cathy Hansen - Director
Aviation has always played a huge part in Cathy Hansen's life. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Hansen moved to California in 1951 after her father was transferred to Edwards AFB. An aircraft restorer for 40 years, Cathy started flying planes in 1976 and hold single- and multi-engine land and helicopter ratings. She owns a Cessna 182. Cathy has had a weekly aviation column, "As the Prop Turns" in the Mojave Desert News since 1994. She was elected Director of the East Kern Airport District in 1995, and was reelected in 1999 and 2003. Her main goals as Director include protecting the airport from encroachment, making sure tenants' needs are met and creating a fertile environment for job creation. She has hosted the Patuxent River US Naval Test Pilot School biannual since 2002, and set up airport tours for students. She is a founding board member of the Mojave Transportation Museum and is an active member of the larger community, having been President of the Mojave Chamber of Commerce in 1995 and 2003. Cathy is President of the Bakersfield Navy league and has been National Director since 2000. With historian Glen Settle she co-authored "Mojave - a Rich History of Rails, Mining, and Flight."
Bob Oberto, CDR USNR Ret. - Director
Bob Oberto is an aerospace engineer, consultant for NASA, and NASA trained research scuba diver. His over thirty six years of scuba diving experience range from the cold waters offshore Vancouver and California to the warm waters of Fiji, Hawaii, and Australia. Bob led a 19-year career as a Manager and Spacecraft Systems Engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While there he served in a number of roles including for several years as the manager and lead of JPL's Advanced Concept Design Team (Team-X) where he developed over 375 space exploration concepts (Time Magazine: Management Tips from the Real Rocket Scientists). Bob was the Project Manager of the Interferometer Program Experiment II that flew on board the Space Shuttle. He has been involved in all aspects of robotic interplanetary exploration, from mission concept development to interplanetary flight operations. Bob was a U.S. Navy Commander and Aviator who served in the Gulf War. He was screened for aviation squadron command and performed carrier flight operations in the West Pacific, Central America, Indian Ocean and North Arabian Sea. In addition he was the technical lead for aviation mishap investigations. In the Navy he accumulated 3020 flight hours, and made 203 carrier landings. He flew the A-3, A-4, S-3, C-130, C-12, DC-9, T-2, and T-34. Bob is now a commercial instrument rated single and multiengine land pilot, as well as a commercial seaplane and sailplane pilot. He has flown all over the world for pleasure as well as for the Navy, including recent trips in Africa, Baja, and Hawaii. He has a BS in Aerospace Engineering from USC and an MS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder. In addition to flying, Bob's other interests include sailing, backpacking, travel, and bee keeping. He has captained sailboats in Tahiti and the British Virgin Islands. Bob has been trekking and backpacking in the Himalayas, New Zealand, and throughout the United States.
