Few companies in aviation history can claim an average of one new aircraft flown every year for four decades. Enter Scaled Composites.

Founded in 1982 by legendary designer Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites specializes in designing, building, and flight-testing proof-of-concept, prototype, and milestone-achieving aircraft—often pushing the edge of what’s thought possible.

On this episode, Scaled Composites President Greg Morris and engineering test pilot Justin Gillen pull back the curtain on this extraordinary organization. They explain how Scaled safely develops and flies so many radically different aircraft, why real-world flight test is far more disciplined than Hollywood would have you believe, and what it takes to turn bold ideas into first flights.

We’re opening the vault for another Happy Hour—this one from 2021 with retired U.S. Navy Captain Matthew “Tom” Maxwell.

Tom flew numerous World War II– and Korean War–era aircraft from carriers around the world before eventually finding his way into his favorite platform: the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior. In the “Whale,” he famously saved a fuel-starved F-8 by breaking the rules and refueling the Crusader over North Vietnam, getting the pilot safely back “feet wet.”

He was also aboard USS Oriskany during the devastating October 1966 fire that claimed the lives of 44 sailors. Tom captured these stories and many others in his memoir Grandfather’s Journal: A Grandson’s Journey into His Grandfather’s Life, a short and delightful read naval aviation aficionados will enjoy.

Sadly, Tom passed away a year after this Happy Hour originally aired and now rests at Arlington National Cemetery.

We close out our month-long tribute to the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday with a special replay of a 2021 Happy Hour conversation featuring Lieutenant General Richard E. Carey.

Across nearly four decades in uniform, General Carey rose from enlisted grunt to three-star general, serving everywhere from the Inchon landings and Chosin Reservoir to the skies over Vietnam. He went on to amass more than 9,000 hours in every fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft the Marine Corps flew. Yet what stands out most is his quiet warmth and the timeless wisdom he shared—like sitting down with a beloved grandfather who’s seen it all.

General Carey passed away in early 2025 and now rests in the very cemetery he once helped establish. Rest in peace, General Carey. And Semper Fi, Marines.