Countersigned by the Voyager's pilots, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager

On December 14, 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager squeezed into the phone booth-sized cockpit of Voyager in man's first attempt to circumnavigate the globe without refueling. Voyager, which weighed only 2,500 pounds empty and 10,500 pounds fully fueled, was the culmination of a dream that began in 1981. Voyager was not the work of government. Bert Rutan, Dick Rutan's younger brother, designed the special aircraft, which was then built by volunteers from other aviation projects. Several manufacturers provided parts and materials. Cramped in a tiny space, buffeted by winds and storms and facing dwindling fuel supply, Voyager's pilots flew on and returned to Edwards Air Force Base nine days after setting out, making their dream reality and setting a record with the 26,000 mile flight. Typhoon Marge, a 600-mile wide storm, ominously blocked their path, but Voyager succeeds in beating the storm by turning south and breaking into clear weather. Two people alone, a man and a woman, faced the challenge of nature head-on and defied all obstacles in their path. Dick Rutan's and Jeana Yeager's flight on Voyager did as much for the human spirit as it did for aviation. - CK