Rutan does it again!

[FlyinLo]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Do you mind if I use one as my wallpaper?

Email with which image you're looking for and what size you need and I'll send you a bigger file.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Email with which image you're looking for and what size you need and I'll send you a bigger file.

Jeff, if you want, send it on to me and I'll put it up as POTW... (Picture Of The Whenever )

We're about in need of a change anyway ey..

Wayne

[Peashooter]

Re: Rutan does it again!

A few shots of the gliding appraoch and landing. We got a bit of a different view than the VIP/press area. Space Ship One was in its flare right in front of us from where we stood.

Jeff: How high were they on the downwind? Any guesses as to glide ratio of SSO? Looks like you had a mondo lens to pull in the SSO/Extra formation shot. What camera/lens combo were you using? That is awesome! Peas

[FlyinLo]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Jeff: How high were they on the downwind? Any guesses as to glide ratio of SSO? Looks like you had a mondo lens to pull in the SSO/Extra formation shot. What camera/lens combo were you using? That is awesome! Peas

Looking back, I remember thinking that they were awfully high on downwind. I would guess that his final approach glide ratio was a lot like my Pitts, maybe 5:1.

I was shooting with a Nikon D100 with a Nikon 80-400 VR lens (equivalent to 120-600 on 35mm). Of course, I also cropped liberally in Photoshop after the fact

[ecvsteve]

Re: Rutan does it again!

"Great pics" and "besides media" are good comments. But do you relize that we are seeing a lot of stuff before it's publised and because media don't carry that many pics we get a lot that isnt pubished at all.
I lurk in here with so much aww I feel like a kid, I mean we have the pilots, crews, photohogs and even our Military connection pitching in on this web site. It's A DAMN exciting place to be and gets better as September grows nearer.

bless all you guys and your efforts .
Now, go try and catch that Dago.

[Race 29]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Jeff,
The picture I like is the one in the middle on the bottom row of the series of SS1 on final. Maybe Wayne's idea for POTW is the one to go with. I'm sure I can't be the only one out here with the same idea. I'll offer to buy you lunch at Reno this year for letting me use the photo.

Race 29

[First time Juke]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Check www.scaled.com in a few days. They post the flight test report and select photos. Their server is way overloaded today. Peas

Pretty cool !

Here is the videofootage:

http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/video.htm

cheers,

Juke

[n110bc@aol.com]

Re: Rutan does it again!

You brought tears to my eyes again. Thanks Buddy Cottle

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Both great gains and great losses in the world of space travel this week


Plus - Civilian space flight grew a bit closer today...sign up for your tickets now if you want to go "up there" this decade....


Minus - We just lost Gordon Cooper, one of the original 7 astronauts...


Godspeed Gordon....Blue skys and bright stars for you forever.....

--------------------------------------------------------------

(by the way, a fascinating tale about Cooper, photography, the Gemini flights and area 51 can be found at http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/...ed_000929.html )

[First time Juke]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Hello,

Check this out ? What do you make of it ?

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=60980

rgds,


Juke

[tex-fan]

Re: Rutan does it again!

I saw the show last night, before the John Penny deal, and BOY do these guys deserve a lot of credit for what they did. So to all the guys and gals over at SpaceShipOne congrats from a Texas boy!

[Kilo Hotel]

Re: Rutan does it again!

I saw the show last night, before the John Penny deal, and BOY do these guys deserve a lot of credit for what they did. So to all the guys and gals over at SpaceShipOne congrats from a Texas boy!

Without a doubt, tex-fan. What a class outfit Scaled Composites is. The Discovery program told us a lot that hadn't come out before: that Siebold was named as the first X-prize flight's pilot but had to bow out due to an unspecified medical problem; that there were glitches and at least one near-disaster along the way.

Imagine how the other X-prize contestants must have felt when they heard Rutan was in the hunt. Pretty low, I'm guessing.

I wonder what the per-flight operational costs are for Space Ship One? I, for one, will be surprised if Burt doesn't get himself a ride in the thing before they donate it to the Smithsonian. Paul Allen, too.

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Rutan does it again!

I recall reading about the trim problem and the near tragic consequences when they made the first space flight in June...It was pretty well documented in news articles.

I never knew about their data-display failure though....Flying vertically into space by the seat-of-your-pants?...Mike is quite a pilot, eh?


What I DIDN'T understand is why they went with SpaceDev for their engines, when the TV program made it appear that the Florida company (eAc) was far more advanced in rocket engine development. They never explained why, (or I missed it somehow, even though I watch it twice.).


Did you see the faces on the eAc folks when Burt announced that SpaceDev was the final choice? I really felt bad for them. That, and the mention of the tragic loss of Dave Thompson were the only two bummers in this extremely fascinating TV program, but I'm glad they weren't edited out. The more historic info I can learn, the better.


I've been following the progress at Armidillo Aerospace for years (http://www.armadilloaerospace.com), but they never seemed to make any headway. They do seem to be having a lot of fun doing it though. Damn the X-prize! Let's built rockets!

It would be nice if Burt and Paul got a ride, but I suspect they will wait until their more improved commercial flight designs are brought to fruitation. SpaceShipOne just became too historically valuable in my eyes to risk any more flights, as was the case with Voyager.

I could have sworn that I read something before the september flight, that at least one of them was going to be a passenger on the second X-prize flight. Perhaps the undesired rolls during the first flight changed their minds...


------------------------------

JUKE, while I do see some visual similarities between the aircraft, Burt's machines are most definitely a whole different breed of animal.

Both carrier aircraft have twin booms and anhedral in the wing's central portion to provide greater ground clearance for their payloads, and both parasite aircraft have wingtip fins, but those are the only similarities I see. I believe Rutan's designs were original, and not inspired by these WW2 era machines.

[First time Juke]

Re: Rutan does it again!

JUKE, while I do see some visual similarities between the aircraft, Burt's machines are most definitely a whole different breed of animal.
Both carrier aircraft have twin booms and anhedral in the wing's central portion to provide greater ground clearance for their payloads, and both parasite aircraft have wingtip fins, but those are the only similarities I see. I believe Rutan's designs were original, and not inspired by these WW2 era machines.

Airdogge,

It is a coincident and I am 100% with the same opinion as you Airdogge...there just isn't any other way to do it..in fact after Columbia disaster I drew a mothership / shuttle design of my own..did not know about Rutans kite back then at all.

rgds,

Juke

[RichH]

Re: Rutan does it again!

Is anyone else as surprised that this made it to TV so quickly? They just made the X Prize on Monday, and here it was on Discovery Channel Thursday in a 2 hour special. Thursday was a great night of TV viewing for enthusiasts!