Aerospace legend to speak in Coeur d’Alene

Few living inventors have changed aerospace the way Burt Rutan has.

Thursday, we will host a special screening of the newly released documentary "Beyond Blue Sky" at the Innovation Den Theater in downtown Coeur d'Alene, followed by remarks and conversation with Burt himself.

Community members can register here:

The Godfather of Private Space Travel Movie Night Registration luma.com/2mgfzim0.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for refreshments and a chance to meet Burt Rutan, with the film beginning at 6:30.

For those who may not know his story, Burt Rutan is widely regarded as one of the most important, if not the most important, aircraft designers and inventors in history. Over the course of his career, he designed more than 45 aircraft that were built, tested and flown, along with hundreds of additional concepts and configurations that helped permanently reshape aerospace innovation through unconventional engineering, radical experimentation and small, high-performance teams willing to challenge assumptions others considered untouchable.

His achievements include Voyager, the first aircraft to fly around the world nonstop and without refueling, and SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded crewed spacecraft to reach space. This breakthrough helped ignite the modern commercial space industry.

Through his company, Scaled Composites, operating from the Mojave Desert, Burt became famous for proving that small independent teams could often move faster and innovate more boldly than massive institutions.

Long before private space companies became mainstream, Burt Rutan was already demonstrating what was possible when builders ignored conventional limitations and pursued ambitious ideas anyway.

On one official list of the world's greatest engineers, Burt Rutan sits alongside legendary inventors such as Nikola Tesla and Leonardo da Vinci for his rare ability to combine imagination, technical mastery, artistic thinking and fearless experimentation into world-changing breakthroughs.

And today, this legendary innovator quietly calls Coeur d'Alene home.

What makes this event especially meaningful to me is not simply Burt's accomplishments, but what his story represents at this moment in history.

At its core, Burt's story is not really about airplanes.

It is about what small groups of determined people can accomplish when they unite around a difficult mission.

Again and again, Burt and his teams achieved things experts said could not be done. Not because they had the largest budgets or the biggest institutions behind them, but because they were willing to dream boldly, work relentlessly and trust one another enough to attempt hard things together.

I believe that lesson matters deeply for our community right now.

We are entering a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, automation and rapid technological disruption. Many people are asking what humans uniquely contribute in a future where machines can increasingly perform routine work.

I believe the answer lies in the exact kind of spirit Burt Rutan embodied.

Creativity.

Courage.

Experimentation.

Teamwork.

Curiosity.

Vision.

And perhaps most importantly, the willingness of communities to unite around meaningful challenges rather than drifting into isolation, cynicism and passive consumption.

One of Burt's most famous ideas is what he called having "confidence in nonsense" — the willingness to pursue ideas that initially sound irrational, impossible or unconventional before the rest of the world understands them.

That mindset may become one of the most valuable human skills in the modern economy.

This event is not simply a movie night.

I hope it serves as a reminder of what communities can become when they decide to build together.

The next era will not be created by isolated individuals staring at screens alone; It will be created by teams.

By mentors.

By builders.

By neighbors.

By young people learning to solve hard problems together.

By communities willing to attempt ambitious things.

I especially hope families bring their kids.

Bring robotics teams.

Bring aviation clubs.

Bring engineering students.

Bring your employees and leadership teams.

Bring people who are trying to figure out how they can create meaningful value in a rapidly changing world.

Public appearances from Burt have become increasingly uncommon, and I genuinely believe evenings like this matter.

Not because they entertain us.

Because they remind us of what human beings are capable of, when imagination meets discipline, courage and shared mission.

The documentary Beyond Blue Sky tells the story of the small Mojave Desert team behind SpaceShipOne and the race to prove private citizens could reach space. But beneath the aerospace story is something much bigger.

It is a story about ordinary people deciding to attempt extraordinary things together.

That spirit matters right now.

Communities that learn how to dream together, experiment together, build together and sacrifice together will shape what comes next.

I hope that people leave this event not only inspired by what Burt accomplished but challenged to pursue ambitious ideas of their own.

To start companies.

To build technologies.

To create art.

To solve hard problems.

To mentor young people.

To form teams.

To strengthen this community.

To contribute something meaningful to the future.

Because at the center of Burt Rutan's legacy is a simple but powerful belief:

The future is built by people willing to pursue ideas others initially call impossible.

So, spend an evening with a legend.

Bring your kids.

Bring your neighbors. 

Bring your team.

Bring your curiosity.

I don't think you'll regret it.

• • •

Nick Smoot is the leader of the membership group "Innovation Collective."