SpaceShipOne to take flight for X-Prize

Valley Press ^ | on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 | ALLISON GATLIN

[El Sordo]

My dad paid 900 bucks for our first VCR (~1980).

The first CD players cost about 2 grand each.

Travel across the oceans once required the backing of royalty or large business concerns.

VCR and CD players are cheap giveaway items today. Travel across the oceans can be had at whim and is in the monetary reach of almost everyone.

It might not happen in my lifetime, but before this century is out travel to the moon will be as accessible as a trip to Europe.

[RightWhale]

these guys are on the way to a viable alternative to NASA.

Not at all. There is no comparison. These people are filling a flight niche NASA has ignored. If it is a commsat, NASA is already not involved. If it is orbital flight for some reason, these people won't fly any cheaper than NASA. If it is the moon, these people will have to ride the NASA infrastructure and that would be a long way off.

[snopercod]

Thanks for the ping. I wish them well.

[snopercod]

I screwed up and never built a plane.

I screwed up and built one.

[sionnsar]

and...?

[knarf]

Which one?

[snopercod]

Lancair 235.

It's parked in my basement right now. I ran out of time and money before I could finish it. I've got over 15 years of my life and probably $70,000 invested in it. I spend two full years just sanding and finishing the da*n thing.

Sad thing is, I got as far as the fast taxi testing before a job change stopped all work.

[RadioAstronomer]

When the Ansari X-Prize is won, it will herald the start of a new renaissance of spaceflight in which the general public will have their chance to fly next

I sure hope so!

[RadioAstronomer]

For appox 20 million dollars Rutan got a working vehicle that has flown successfully. That same 20 million would get NASA a stack of paper.

Yes and no. I ended up working with NASA so I have a bit of an insight. Much of the grunt work (that cost millions and millions of dollars) was already accomplished by NASA which then was free for use by Rutan. If Rutan had been working in a vacuum, it would have cost literally billions IMHO.

[knarf]

OH man! A Lancair.
Does my envy show?

I had geared myself more towards a low and slow RANS s-12 Airaille or something like that.

I haven't bothered too much with my dream since my wife took sick about a year ago, and I'm 56 now with a ton more to do, etc.

I considered composites as a wonderful technology but I know my own anxieties and limitations (I want it now ! ) and all of the specs for comp. was YEARS to completion.

Kinda' like a loan ... didn't want to pay the high interest.

Any pictures?

[hattend]

I always wanted to build the Solitaire motor glider (front of the fleet, bottom) Too bad it was pulled from the plans market. It didn't quite make the projected performance.

The Amsoil air race plane (in front of Voyager- second from top) is hanging in the Reno Hilton hotel bar

Rutan is truly a visionary designer.

[hattend]

When I finish up my job here in Alaska, I'm taking the money saved and going for the Van's RV-9a. There are thousands of Vans' planes flying and seem like an "easy" build. I have experience with metal work and almost none with composites, so the Lancaire wasn't attractive to me (well, it's attractive to me but...you know what I mean :-)

I was going to build the RV up here and fly it down home to Calyfornie, but I only have a couple of years left on this job and the building season is only 6 months long.

[snopercod]

The pictures are down in the basement, too. Give me a couple of days to find a good one and I'll post it.