An inside report on progress being made at Scaled Composites on the revolutionary SpaceShip Two vehicle will be given to Aero Club members and guests at the Club’s annual general meeting on Nov. 17 at the Flight Path Learning Center at LAX.

Guest speaker will be Ben Diachun, V.P. of engineering at Scaled Composites, the firm founded and run by Burt Rutan before his retirement earlier this year. SpaceShip Two is designed to carry paying passengers to the edge of space after being launched at high altitude from its mother ship, White Knight (see photo).

Aero Club president Nissen Davis said the dinner meeting also will include election of directors, presentation of our four annual scholarships to selected students, and presentation by NAA President Jonathan Gaffney of certificates to California pilots who have set speed or altitude records during 2011.

It will be the Club’s final scheduled event of this year, Davis said. Reservations can be made via the Events Calendar page of this website.

At a dinner meeting in mid-September, members got a preview look at the region’s newest aviation museum, now in its final stages of construction at the Santa Monica Airport. Executive Director Dan Ryan told the Aero Club visitors that the $3.8 million Museum of Flying, scheduled to open to the public later this year, will house two dozen historic aircraft and a variety of exhibits.