Zach Reeder is a test pilot and engineer at Scaled Composites where he started working after graduating from Texas A&M in 2005 with a BS in aerospace engineering. He is a commercial multi-engine instrument rated pilot who has flown 42 different aircraft types.
Zach’s first solo flight was in a hang glider that he designed and built for $100. At Scaled he currently flies the Firebird Demonstrator, Proteus, and Task Vantage in addition to a Baron, Duchess, Extra 300, and L-39. Outside of work Zach currently flies several types including his RV-8 (completed in 2010), Rutan’s record setting Catbird (Restored in 2011), and the family Super Cub back in East Texas. He spent several weeks in the spring of 2016 flying an AN-2 around northern Canada and Baffin Island.
As an engineer at Scaled, Zach has significantly contributed to the design and construction of at least six new types of airplanes. These contributions include the wing structural design of the Firebird Demonstrator and WhiteKnightTwo as well as the preliminary sizing and structural configuration design for the Stratolaunch wing structure.