Rutan hits 200k feet! Almost there!

On Fri, 14 May 2004 14:31:20 +0000, Steven P. McNicoll wrote:


"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

Someone might have said the same thing to the Wrights.


Where's the similarity? The Wrights were the first to achieve powered,
sustained, controlled heavier-than-air flight. Nobody had accomplished that
before the Wrights on December 17, 1903. But manned suborbital flight HAS
been accomplished before, four times before, and it was last done over forty
years ago. If manned suborbital spaceflight had any real usefulness why did
it stop?


Actually, I believe they were the first to achieve powered, sustained,
controlled, heavier-than-air-flight, which was properly documented and
recorded.

"Greg Copeland" wrote in message
news

Can't believe you guys are feeding this troll.

The answer is obvious and been stated many times already.


Well, since nobody has provided an answer it's obviously far from obvious.

On Sat, 15 May 2004 00:12:59 +0000, Steven P. McNicoll wrote:


"zatatime" wrote in message
news

Yes it was.....


You're mistaken.


snip
["Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in
message
ink.net...

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

Somebody step on your tail? It really is going to be tough. If
Rutan were attempting something easy, it wouldn't be worth all
that attention, would it? What, are you trying to belittle his
accomplishments or what he is trying to do?


Just what is the point of the whole X-Prize competition anyway? I
understand the requirements, but why do it all? The Rutan Voyager
flight
wasn't particularly useful either, but it was something that hadn't been
done before.

Someone might have said the same thing to the Wrights.

The idea is to prove that privately financed space travel is both
feasible
and reasonable. No government has managed to do what Rutan and the
others
are attempting. The prize has the additional advantage of attracting
media
attention so that, once it has been won, public interest in space
tourism
will be generated.]

end snip

If you're going to participate you need to learn to retain the
responses you receive in a thread. What is outlined above not only
demonstrates the significance of the X-Prize, but is also significant
in demonstrating that you should be PLONK'ed by everyone in this
forum!


You're new here. If you're going to participate positively in these
discussions you'll have to learn how to present a cogent argument. The
question was; "Why is civilian suborbital flight a significant milestone?"
Nothing in the material quoted above answers that question.



I volunteer to lead the way.


It doesn't appear you're capable of leading.

Shesh...already folks. He's a dumbass troll. Ignore him. Don't feed the
trolls!!!

Send him back to his bridge already!

"Greg Copeland" wrote in message
news

LOL! Troll! I can't believe so many are being reeled in by this guy.
He's a troll. And, he's right. Either killfile him or ignore him. He's
adding nothing to thread and asking questions which are common
sense or been previously explained 100 times over.


Actually, he's asking questions that have everyone stumped.



He's a silly, ignorant troll. Let him stay under his bridge.


Just the opposite. He's from the UP.

"Greg Copeland" wrote in message
news

Actually, I believe they were the first to achieve powered, sustained,
controlled, heavier-than-air-flight, which was properly documented and
recorded.


If anybody had achieved it before the Wrights you can be sure they'd have
documentation.

On Sat, 15 May 2004 03:46:54 +0000, Steven P. McNicoll wrote:


"Greg Copeland" wrote in message
news

Actually, I believe they were the first to achieve powered, sustained,
controlled, heavier-than-air-flight, which was properly documented and
recorded.


If anybody had achieved it before the Wrights you can be sure they'd have
documentation.

Feel free to check history and get your facts straight.

"Peter Stickney" wrote in message
...

And that was also, in fact, the Big Deal behind teh Orteig Prize.
Transatlantic flights had been done for nearly a decade before
Lindberg (Or Byrd, or Nungesser & Coli, ir Wooster) entered into the
picture.


The Orteig prize was not for the first transatlantic flight, it was for the
first non-stop flight between New York City and Paris.



While not reoutine, there had been a number of crossings,
but of either so limited value (Alcock & Browm - a great flight, mind,
but so razor-edged that it wasn't in any wise anything but a valiant
first attempt)


Alcock & Brown won the Daily Mail prize with that flight, the first between
North America and the UK.

"Greg Copeland" wrote in message
news

Feel free to check history and get your facts straight.


I'm intimately familiar with the history, what "facts" are you disputing?

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote...

If it's so mundane, why hasn't anyone claimed the prize yet?

It hasn't been claimed because it hasn't been done.

I could have sworn you were claiming the requisite trip had been done
before...

On Fri, 14 May 2004 14:05:46 -0700, Jim Weir wrote:

The point is the same point that Edmund Hillary and his small civilian band had
when they climbed Everest. Sure, Patton's Third Army could have done it by
sheer muscle power and expensive engineering, but Hillary did it with finesse.
[snip]
So far as I am concerned Rutan's brave little band has balls of brass for trying
it.

You do it...

because...

it is there.

Wrong guy. George Leigh Mallory said "because it is there", not
Edmund Hillary.

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer