Spaceship One Makes Successful Flight One of Two

[Bob Chilcoat]

I just noticed on Yahoo News that a few minutes ago Spaceship One
successfully made the first of the two flights it needs to make to win the X
Prize. The plan is for the second flight to be made on Monday.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
America

[Michael 182]

videos:

http://xprize.primary.net/index.php


"Bob Chilcoat" > wrote in message
...
>I just noticed on Yahoo News that a few minutes ago Spaceship One
> successfully made the first of the two flights it needs to make to win the
> X
> Prize. The plan is for the second flight to be made on Monday.
>
> --
> Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)
>
> I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
> America
>
>

[B Lacovara]

Just talked with some folks onsite… While the flight was successful,
apparently it was not a piece of cake, with a couple of dozen uncommanded rolls
on the ascent.

Bob

[John Harlow]

Bob Chilcoat wrote:
> I just noticed on Yahoo News that a few minutes ago Spaceship One
> successfully made the first of the two flights it needs to make to
> win the X Prize. The plan is for the second flight to be made on
> Monday.

Did it count? It only carried the pilot.

VERY cool though!

[Ron Natalie]

"John Harlow" > wrote in message ...
> Bob Chilcoat wrote:
> > I just noticed on Yahoo News that a few minutes ago Spaceship One
> > successfully made the first of the two flights it needs to make to
> > win the X Prize. The plan is for the second flight to be made on
> > Monday.
>
> Did it count? It only carried the pilot.
>
I believe the X Prize allows one human and two appropriately weighted
dummies. I was going to look it up for sure, but the XPrize website seems
to be crumbling under the load today.

[john smith]

When asked about it, Melville said he thinks he stepped on something.

B Lacovara wrote:
> Just talked with some folks onsite=E2=80=A6 While the flight was succes=
sful,
> apparently it was not a piece of cake, with a couple of dozen uncommand=
ed rolls
> on the ascent.=20
>=20
> Bob
>=20
>=20

[Robert Briggs]

John Harlow wrote:
> Bob Chilcoat wrote:
>
> > I just noticed on Yahoo News that a few minutes ago Spaceship One
> > successfully made the first of the two flights it needs to make to
> > win the X Prize. The plan is for the second flight to be made on
> > Monday.
>
> Did it count? It only carried the pilot.

The rules require two passengers *or* the ballast equivalent
thereof, so a sack or three of spuds would do.

[Ron Natalie]

"Robert Briggs" > wrote in message ...
> John Harlow wrote:
> > Bob Chilcoat wrote:
> >
> > > I just noticed on Yahoo News that a few minutes ago Spaceship One
> > > successfully made the first of the two flights it needs to make to
> > > win the X Prize. The plan is for the second flight to be made on
> > > Monday.
> >
> > Did it count? It only carried the pilot.
>
> The rules require two passengers *or* the ballast equivalent
> thereof, so a sack or three of spuds would do.

....or one Jim Campbell.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Ron Natalie wrote:
>
> I believe the X Prize allows one human and two appropriately weighted
> dummies. I was going to look it up for sure, but the XPrize website seems
> to be crumbling under the load today.

The blurb on the AOPA site says that the X Prize allows this and that that is what
they did.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"John Harlow" > wrote in message
...
>
> Did it count? It only carried the pilot.
>

The X Prize requires space for three people but not that it carry three
people. A pilot and the equivalent ballast of two people is sufficient for
a qualifying flight.

[Peter R.]

john smith ) wrote:

> When asked about it, Melville said he thinks he stepped on something.

Call me dense, but what does this mean?

--
Peter

[George]

"Steven P. McNicoll" > wrote in message et>...
> "John Harlow" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Did it count? It only carried the pilot.
> >
>
> The X Prize requires space for three people but not that it carry three
> people. A pilot and the equivalent ballast of two people is sufficient for
> a qualifying flight.

Not only that but it seems to be aerobatic as well. What a glorious sight

[Dean Wilkinson]

With all the dummies in the world, it should have been very easy to
find two for this flight... ;)

> I believe the X Prize allows one human and two appropriately weighted
> dummies. I was going to look it up for sure, but the XPrize website seems
> to be crumbling under the load today.

[Aviv Hod]

George wrote:
> "Steven P. McNicoll" > wrote in message et>...
>
>>"John Harlow" > wrote in message
...
>>
>>>Did it count? It only carried the pilot.
>>>
>>
>>The X Prize requires space for three people but not that it carry three
>>people. A pilot and the equivalent ballast of two people is sufficient for
>>a qualifying flight.
>
>
> Not only that but it seems to be aerobatic as well. What a glorious sight

I believe, to be perfectly correct, that it demonstrated that it's not
just aerobatic, but astrobatic once it crossed the 100km mark. :-)

What a glorious sight indeed!

-Aviv

[gatt]

"Peter R." > wrote in message

> > When asked about it, Melville said he thinks he stepped on something.
>
> Call me dense, but what does this mean?

Rudder pedal, is what he suggested. At that speed it probably wouldn't take
much.
Awesome job getting it back under control. Talk about unusual attitude
recovery!

-c

[gatt]

"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message

> With all the dummies in the world, it should have been very easy to
> find two for this flight... ;)

I qualify! Sign me up!

-c

[John Harlow]

gatt wrote:
> "Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
>
>> With all the dummies in the world, it should have been very easy to
>> find two for this flight... ;)
>
> I qualify! Sign me up!
>

Oh hell yes, I'd love to be spacemeat too.

[Gary G]

They had a "bunch of stuff" provided by company employees
that weighed about what a person would - enough to
qualify. Clever . . .