Test Pilot and World's First Commercial Astronaut
Visits Ten Broeck Farm

Mike Melvill and his wife, Sally, spent an afternoon at Ten Broeck Farm in mid-October. Mike has relatives in nearby New Hampshire, one of which is a Ten Broeck Farm business partner. If you aren’t familiar with Mike's distinguished and unbelievably exciting career as a test pilot and commercial astronaut, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Melvill.

Sally Melvill comes from an equestrian family. When she and Mike were teenagers growing up in South Africa, he had a horseshoe pin made for Sally after they began dating. Over the years, as Mike grew into one of the world's top private test pilots for Burt Rutan at Scaled Composites, Mike and Sally had developed a tradition before every dangerous flight: Sally pinned the horseshoe on the left shoulder of Mike’s flight suit.*

Shortly before Mike and Sally left the area, Mike took family friend and Ten Broeck Farm student Marcia Donaldson for a spin in his Long EZ. And then buzzed Ten Broeck Farm, finishing it off with a 360 degree roll while Phil and Orintha waved from the ground.

Ten Broeck Farm looks forward to seeing the Melvills again. Thanks for visiting us, Mike and Sally!

* There is a growing amount of material being published about Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites and Mike Melvill. A recently released book entitled “Rocketeers” by Michael Belfiore includes Mike and Sally's story at Scaled Composites and Mike’s history making flights.

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