Category: Aviation

Osama bin Laden is dead but his Legacy will Live on: How the TSA and Homeland Security will honor him.

I’m glad that after 10 years, Osama bin Laden is finally gone.  He brought it on himself.  But, the impact on our airline industry will forever live in memorial to that black-hearted terrorist. 

To give a bit of a preview into what promises to be a major story breaking on Channel 9 at 6 pm one week from today, on May 9th 2011, I’m providing you with a look into the work of Brendan Keefe.

Brendan, the I Team reporter does some great reporting. One of his stories that I feel most passionate about involves transportation. Anyone familiar with my site here knows that I’m a tremendous supporter of Skycar Technology, which will dramatically reduce congested roadways. But one of the other big reasons is that the airlines are too highly regulated, and now with the TSA becoming too aggressive coming alarmingly close to becoming unionized, options seem limited. Airports since 9/11 and the creation of the TSA along with Homeland Security have become a real pain in the neck.

Well, it doesn’t need to be. In fact, many of us have watched this whole transformation occurring right before our eyes, the kinds of things that brought us Social Security, Medicare, and even the IRS are happening to our airline industry right now by panicky politicians. Their motive is to obtain a vote from a terrified public by clamping more and more regulations onto air travel to the point where flying is no longer enjoyable. In fact, it’s to be dreaded. It is now normal to catch a flight to Chicago which is only a 4 to 5 hour drive by car, arriving at the airport an hour and a half before the flight, to ensure that you can get through security. Then by the time you are seated, the plane taxi’s to the runway and you actually get into the air, make your flight, land, taxi into your terminal, pick up your luggage, you could have driven your car and arrived at the same time and not had to deal with intrusive TSA agents or lost luggage.

Instead, this clip by Brendan Keefe is how flying is supposed to be. People that need to be in New York, or Chicago for a morning meeting don’t need their time wasted by government bureaucrats. Bureaucrats make their living wasting time, so that is why they don’t value it. The people in the clip below should be able to get to the city of their destination, have their meeting, do some shopping, and be back home for dinner with their families without any trouble what-so-ever. The only difference between the traditional airlines and the clip below is the government regulation and interference which they impose on everyone under the guise of “protection.”

Terrorists have accomplished what they intended scaring our policy makers into over-reacting like cowards at every dropped pin, taking every precaution of a useless neurotic to further expand the intrusion of government. But for the movers and shakers of the world, where time is valuable, government openly wastes their energy in lines like cattle to be processed, when in reality they should arrive at the airport, park their car, get on the plane and be in the sky within minutes. Anything less is unacceptable.

Instead, this is what air travel has been reduced to. Here is a clip of former Miss USA being groped by TSA agents. Not only is her time wasted in the lines, but she is physically molested. Is this what the value of her ticket buys her?

The function of flight is the same between the large airport with the major airlines and the smaller airport with the smaller, individually owned planes. The only difference is government interference, and nothing displays the complete failure of government endeavor better than this obvious difference shown in the clip by Brendan. The function of flight is to get where you want to go and to get there without your time wasted. It is not acceptable to endure extra pain or suffering because our government couldn’t do its job to begin with failing to recognize the role of radicals in the world and how to spot them in an airport.

I’ve thought about the 9/11 hijackings a lot over the years, which is what started all this mess. The terrorists used box cutters to run airplanes into the World Trade Center buildings which caused so much devastation to the American psyche it’s almost unfathomable, even to this day. I can say that if I had been on that plane a knife would not have held back a whole plane full of people from stopping the terrorists. I mean a knife cuts, but there’s ways to deal with that, even with multiple attackers. I can only offer that people were so shocked by the act that they were frozen with surprise. If America should have learned anything from 9/11 it’s how to deal with that kind of situation in the future, and that instead of complying with a terrorists demands, two or three of the passengers would overwhelm the attackers before trouble got out of control in the future. Not what has happened, which is to avoid every possible danger in every possible circumstance, and to stop being Americans.

The terrorists succeeded.

Americans need to stop being wimps that just take this kind of stuff without a fight. It’s not a big deal to get 20 or 30 stitches if you can stop a plane from crashing. If the pilots are killed, the tower can talk down a bold passenger into a large river or lake for a controlled crash landing. But the key here is in being bold. There are still bold people in America. But, because of the TSA rules, they’ll fly themselves instead of being inconvenienced by the larger airlines which isn’t good for business.

So once again, government hurts business. The movers and shakers of the world will stop flying first class and just get a private plane. The strong will find some other form of transportation. That leaves everyone else to travel with the traditional airlines and to put-up and shut-up to follow the ridiculous rules of the TSA which is just one more nail in the coffin of freedom.  That coffin was buried at sea long before the body of Osama hit the water. 

Rich Hoffman

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com

Skycar Update: China is going to beat us to the future

I received a note the other night that disturbed me greatly from one of the people in this world that I truly admire. I won’t reveal the details of that note since it contains personal information. But the gist of the correspondence is that it appears that China is on the verge of investing over a billion dollars in Skycar technology’s Rotapower engine to begin the process of development of that engine which makes the Skycar possible. To understand what Skycars are, click here to review my article on them.

I have been seeking to pull together all the interested parties to get the United States into the game going as far as contacting President Obama, and General Motors after the bail-out, to help us rediscover ourselves. But there was no response from Obama or General Motors. They aren’t interested in new technology, only the old.

So China is getting ready to usher in this technology for all the reasons that you’ll hear in the below broadcast of Doc Thompson as Doc discusses how the EPA shut down oil drilling in Alaska. We are our own worst enemy in the United States because too many special interests are getting in the way of development of new technology.

I have been speaking to this company Mollar International for well over 15 years, and what prompted my recent discussion with them was the need of an accurate launch period for their technology so I could do what I could to bring everyone together in America. But as was explained to me in the undisclosed letter, most of the investors in Mollar International, and Freedom Motors, are foreign investors, even though the inventor is as American as there is in our modern age. So as he explained, it’s not his first choice, but it is out of necessity. He has to go where the money is, and the desire to produce his product will take him, and right now it’s China.

Below I will disclose the non-confidential portions of my correspondence with Mollar International so the reader can see what is coming in the near future. Unfortunately because the United States is over-regulated and drags it’s feet in too many ways, it will be China that will be first.

First the letter from me to Bruce, then the response from Bruce.

Hi Bruce,

I was wondering how close your company is to a working model that could perform as a shuttle service beginning with a line running from West Chester, Ohio to Columbus.

Once Skycar performed the shuttle service for key people of this region and gained media, and political support, it would become viable for an amusement park such as Kings Island to offer a transport to Cedar Point. Both amusement parks are owned by Cedar Fair Amusements and would benefit by offering pass holders an economic way to visit both parks within the same day with their Platinum season pass offerings. The two parks are about 300 miles apart and they have a platinum package that allows season pass holders to visit those two parks for free. So a Skycar shuttle would be a great asset to their business model, and a great way to introduce the technology to the public at large and establish trust in the vehicles. Those two amusement parks are two of the largest and most spectacular in the country. A successful implementation of this type of shuttle service would then convince the Disney Parks in Florida to offer a similar shuttle service from their parks in central Florida to their cruise line in Port Canaveral.

This is something I have been considering for a while, but I believe all the above is very possible. I suppose the big question would be as to whether or not your Skycar is technically able to perform the task as of now, and if not, is there a time line that is reasonable so that I could begin to pitch this concept to the interested parties.

I’d be interested in knowing more details if you could provide them.

Thanks,

Rich

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Rich,
As you know the Moller M400 Skycar is in development, and the working prototype of the M400X has successfully completed its initial hover tests. Unfortunately we are still having difficulties raising the required capital to move forward with our announced plans, therefore our present business plan calls for production of 1,000 of the M200G Neuera over the next 3+ years (2011 through 2014). We can produce this vehicle at much lower cost because of the very limited regulatory oversight that a vehicle of this type appears to require (it is a “ground effect” aircraft and therefore exempt from the traditional certification process and may not require a pilots license to operate).

The interest shown to date in this vehicle suggests that the early production models could be sold at a premium price. It is proposed that the first 40 units of the M200G be sold by auction. If a buyer indicates an interest in acquiring a M200G he will be put on a list of potential buyers. When that list totals some yet-to-be-specified number, the auction will begin. While this will require our resources to focus on the M200-series products for the next couple of years, it should enable us to raise sufficient funds to regain momentum on the M400 Skycar thereafter.

The next phase of the M400 testing will be to extend the hover flight characteristics with manned and untethered flights. We have prepared the M400X for the new, more powerful Rotapower engines required for this phase, and are working to integrate these engines with updated electronics being made for the M200 that make up the artificial stability system. When we get to the next set of tests with the M400 we will endeavor to safely demonstrate the new features with a set of piloted test flights defined by the FAA for an Experimental Aircraft.

After the completion of these tests, will hope to build up to three M400 pre-production aircraft that will incorporate changes to the fuselage and cabin and prepare us for high-speed, and mid-air VTOL to high-speed cruise transition maneuvers. It is our intent to test the full-scale preproduction Skycar in a wind tunnel to validate the transition characteristics prior to performing this transition in flight, but high-speed flight tests may be performed that originate with the nacelles (engine pods) in the horizontal position rather than their VTOL-mode orientation of 45 degrees of rotation. These tests will require that the Skycar use a conventional runway for take off and landing and will be required only for these tests. The Skycar’s VTOL mode take off and landing capabilities will continue to be demonstrated during other low-speed test flights. The earliest we anticipate an FAA certified production Skycar is now 2013, and due to the many milestones yet to be achieved it is very difficult to set an actual schedule of availability.

Regards,

Bruce Calkins
General Manager
Moller International
www.moller.com

 

Skycar is a very exciting technology. Unfortunately for the United States, Wilber and Orville Wright wouldn’t be able to fly a plane in Kitty Hawk, and Edison probably couldn’t develop a light bulb today, because the EPA would worry about the displacement of sand on a beach from where the plane lands or the elements of a bulb would be considered dangerous for the environment. So we are our own worst enemy.

I will always feel pride to know that the United States still produces people like Paul Mollar who invented the Skycar, but it will be the Chinese that will most likely take the bold first step.

Rich Hoffman

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com

We Are Ohio and we’re Sick of Unions: The terrible cost of repealing S.B.5

We Are Ohio and sick of Unions. That’s what I was thinking as I watched the news reports of the various unions all over Ohio gathering up signatures to repeal S.B.5. Utter foolishness is what came to my mind while watching them carry their signs indicating that collective bargaining is a “right.” That “teachers are not the enemy.” That “they are the middle-class.”

 

If they are not the enemy, who is? A look at this chart shows why the teachers are fighting to get rid of S.B.5. Look how much more teacher’s make than the rest of labor in Ohio. Even people who have difficulty reading charts can see that Ohio Education Association employees make a lot more than the average middle class employee working in Ohio. And teaching is a theoretical part-time job. They have a real scam going at tax payer expense, that’s what we’re fighting, so are they the enemy? Yes, because they are taking money from our pockets! They are an enemy just as a thief that robs us in an ally. It happens in education, it happens in Medicare, in fact in virtually everything that has the word GOVERNMENT attached to it. Listen to Bill Cunningham discuss with a doctor the cost of the Obama health care plan to begin to understand what we’re facing just in the medical industry.

I listened to a speech at the Ohio capital steps where a man spoke “who runs to danger when we run away, Police, who teaches our children while we are working, teachers, who runs into fires when we run away, fireman. So let’s support them.” Fine, let’s support them. But that doesn’t mean writing them a blank check of infinite amounts of money. Those groups are taking too much money and mismanaged their funds raking up huge drains on tax payer supplied revenue. If they stopped doing their jobs, I’d form a militia to do the policing of my community. If the fireman stopped answering calls, I’d form a volunteer department to do the job. If teachers stopped working, I’d teach my kids at home. Those jobs are not as needed as they pretend. School Choice would allow children to get education anywhere. In fact, this is why teachers unions are against S.B.5, and school vouchers, because they’ll lose their monopoly on education, which is exactly what they have now.

I remember when the government went after Microsoft for their monopoly status in the 90’s. I remember when Teddy Roosevelt went after the railroads for their monopolies at the turn of the century. Well, who is going after the teachers unions for their monopoly? Nobody. Obama? No, he’s trying to build monopolies of union labor, not reducing them. That’s the situation we’re in. Ironically, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, knew that we were in trouble and dissolved collective bargaining for federal employees. And Mr. Big government himself, FDR, warned us in the 40’s that unions should never be attached to the taxpayer. Yet that’s what’s happened.

There is only one place where the “rights” of the worker states the words that are listed on the signs of these people seeking to repeal S.B.5., and that’s the Communist Manifesto. Check out the 10 Planks of communism from that book and you will see where those people think their rights come from. But those rights did not come from the United States Constitution and certainly not the Ohio Constitution. They come from the Communist Manifesto and only there.

I don’t want my tax money to pay for communist thought. That’s what they have been doing, and that’s what they want to continue. When this issue goes to the ballot in November that’s what we’re all fighting is an attempt by these groups to preserve a communist cause in the United States.

That doesn’t mean that your average teacher, cop or firefighter is aware of the fact. After all they are waving the flag of patriotism in these rallies and they truly believe that they are fighting for an American right. But ignorance is not an excuse, and they are ignorant of the issue. Because many of them don’t read, they don’t know the facts. They only know what they are told by their leaders, and their leaders are open communists and they do read. They read the Communist Manifesto, they read the Coming Insurrection, they read Rules for Radicals, in fact the OEA puts out literature that quotes Alinsky. So while the fools carrying the signs and screaming about “rights” they have no idea that they are the pawns of socialism that is embedding itself in American culture the same way it has in Europe.

When my son-in-law first came to America I took him to the top of Carew Tower in downtown Cincinnati and we went to the top and had a look. He couldn’t believe that America had such large buildings. This is a kid that went to London every other weekend, one of the largest and most prestigious cities in the world. He told me that no city in Europe had such things.

I had always thought that Cincinnati was a pretty small town for American standards, and Carew Tower is hardly worth mentioning when compared to the sky scrapers of New York and Chicago. It was fun to see my son-in-law’s parents come to visit him in the United States and to drive them around to all the things that the United States has that Europe does not. His parents were even more thrilled than he was when they first went to the top of that tower. Baffled was more like it. They found it hard to believe that we had a building at Kings Island that was taller than what they had in London, and Kings Island is just an amusement park. Socialism is what the Labor Party in England is. They just call it a different name. And in the United States, Democrats are socialists. And Progressives are Communists. That is their shared ideology even if they don’t name it so.

I had a teacher that actually sent me an email telling me that I thought McCarthyism was an acceptable practice. Well, it was. Joseph McCarthy wasn’t doing some frivolous endeavor. He knew that communists had penetrated the United States, and Hollywood was swarming with them. Ronald Reagan was leaning in that direction when he was a man in his twenties. It was only after he did a film at Elstree Studio’s in England that socialism scared the crap out of him and he became a spokesman for Capitalism. It was this change in political ideology that drove him and his wife Jane apart. That’s how advanced socialism was in Hollywood. Ayn Rand, fresh from leaving Russia to escape socialism was working in Hollywood during this era, and it was among her friends and associates that she was speaking to in Atlas Shrugged. She had been there when socialism ruined Russia, and she was warning them of the danger. So the McCarthy hearings were not a waste of time. There was a lack of “political will” to follow through with the information the hearings produced. That lack of political will is the same as the lack of will to force Obama to deal with the birth certificate issue. Anyone that questions the issue is called a “birther” by the media and the whole thing is chalked up as a conspiracy, just like the McCarthy hearings. When Bush was president in the first decade of the 21st century we heard story after story about his draft dodging, drug and alcohol use, and anything that could discredit him. But when Clinton was president and wouldn’t produce his medical records, which appear to be to cover up his syphilis problems, nobody questioned it. And now Obama appears to be a completely illegal president, which should be of great concern. I mean, Obama isn’t spending 10 million dollars for nothing to hide the issue. Even if he was born in Hawaii, he probably claimed a foreign status to get into college, so somebody lied somewhere about something, and nobody cares.

The reason there is a lack of political will to follow-up on these kinds of stories, or even to call these public unions what they are, which are communist organizations that grow with tax money, is because half the nation is taking part in some form of government program and they vote in favor of big government types for their own selfish reasons, because of what they expect to get from that government. With all the problems with Obama, the Republicans are having a hard time finding a candidate that can beat him, because everyone knows that the various voting blocs, Hispanics, blacks, women, the youth, unions and all those types of voters will tend to vote for the Obama regardless of what is wrong with him. Why, because those voters are looking for government to do something for them and those same demographics tend to be emotional voters that don’t use critical thinking in casting their ballots.

That’s why there is a danger in overturning S.B.5., because those public workers, which are well over 300,000, which isn’t that many compared to the 11 million that live in the state, it is that same demographic of voter that the unions are reaching out to, the mindless, the uneducated, the lazy, the emotional, and all those who are weak-willed and have their hand out for government to fill it, with our tax dollars. The risk as I see it is have we gone too far now, are there simply too many of the weak ones, the people who are attracted to communism, to actually do anything to save ourselves and capitalism in the United States? Is this it? If Ohio does not show up for this election in November it could literally mean the end of America.

That is not an inflated statement. If the unions are allowed to continue to rob us all blind it will take at least a whole year to arrive back to the point where another bill like S.B.5 could be a law again. And without S.B.5, our education system will go bankrupt because the communist leaning teachers unions do not understand finance. All they know is that they need to continue to make extraordinary amounts of money for the common service they provide. And another year will be too late.

Those among us out there that still think with logic still outnumber the mindless and if we all show up and vote, we’ll defeat their attempt at repeal easily. But on their side, the losers, malcontents, needy, weak, and outright thieves among them will come out in great numbers, and their wives and parents will vote too, to protect their hook into our lives.

The right that public sector unions are fighting for is their right to rob us, their right to stick their invisible hands into our property and take our money without our consent and spend it on destroying our country to fulfill their communist dream like a disease upon the flesh of mankind.

Vote and vote wisely come November. This is a fight between the life and death of our country from the thieves of capitalism. We are at war, logic against stupidity, capitalists against communist, small government against large government. Be thankful at this point you don’t need a gun or even violence to fight them. All you have to do is vote. The vote can still beat them, so use it before we have to resort to the other.

Rich Hoffman

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com

Kasich’s Epic Clash with the Voice of the Common Man

It is rare that any state, locality, or federal entity runs into a politician that is competent and intelligent. It is rare to find a politician that is a self-made man not looking at politics as a stepping stone to career advancement. It is rare that a politician actually puts the honor of their office first, before anything else. It is rare to meet a politician that has the guts and fortitude to endure the criticism of special interest.

It also is rare to see a politician that will take on an old-time friend and conservative that prides himself as the conservative voice of the common man, and in the times when it really counts between those two old friends, it is obvious who meant what they said over the years and who was all talk.

That’s what the State of Ohio has in Governor John Kasich and it’s evident in this video shot at 700 WLW when Kasich was on the Bill Cunningham show for a fiery showdown of ideas over the casino issues, retirement and the controversial stance the governor has taken on “collective bargaining” specifically the S.B.5.

I’m not one that tosses praises around easily. So it is with great merit that I say that I can’t recall a politician in my lifetime that matches the passion of their mouth with actual action. John Kasich is a rare person that has greater ability in management than he does in his ability to speak, which is exceptionally good. I was deeply impressed with this exchange between Kasich and Bill Cunningham.

I suspect that Kasich is like many in Ohio and he doesn’t want casinos in the state. That would explain his behavior toward the casino deal that Cunningham is so against. I can remember when Cunningham in the mid 90’s was completely against the casinos so that would explain why Kasich is so surprised in Cunningham’s defense of a socially liberal concept, such as casinos are.

Kasich should be representing the position that all businesses have an equal opportunity even if he doesn’t like them. There is a Hustler of Hollywood store near my house that I can’t stand. I think it ruins the small town of Monroe, Ohio with its presence. But, every time I drive by it, it’s full of people looking for their pornography fix and all the tax collected through each sale is paying taxes. I don’t agree with the pornography, but I vote by not going, and I won’t be going to a casino in Cincinnati for many of the same reasons. If the business model fails, it fails. I’d be happy about it, but I won’t do anything to bring it about either, because it’s a business that has the right to attempt. If it finds a market, even if that market is evil, so be it. It’s not for me to decide what’s evil for someone else.

Kasich needs to have the same position on the casinos. You can’t expect to tax them out of existence like we attempt to do with cigarettes and alcohol. Those are all anti-business stances. But, that does not ruin the great banter that Kasich engaged in. It was refreshing to see such a person in the position of a governor.

This clash of ideas is something that will resonate for quite some time because of the truths revealed. And we are better for it.

Rich Hoffman

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com

The Space Race is Just Beginning: As the Space Shuttles End.

Darryl Parks of 700 WLW hit on something sensitive with me on his March 10, 2011 show. He was reminiscing about the recent Space Shuttle landing with just two more shuttle missions to go. Listen to that broadcast here.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think NASA in Florida and Epcot Center also in Florida are two of my favorite places on Earth. I am very supportive of massive cuts to the federal budget. But of all the programs that I think the government has done right it’s the work done at NASA that is the best. For NASA, I do not regret the tax money spent at all. It gives me a tremendous amount of pride to walk the NASA facility.

The work done at NASA directly propels our science and does create jobs making America much of what it has been regarding a technological powerhouse in the world marketplace. And it is a sign of the times that funding to our space work was one of the first things cut, well before the entitlement culture, which is a terrible shame. It will be a sad day when over 6,000 NASA employees are laid-off in the Florida facility and I will be deeply touched to watch one of the next two space shuttles land at Wright Patterson Air Force Base within the next couple of months.

So the obvious question that Darryl asks, and I’m asking and tens of thousands of aviation enthusiasts are asking is, “What’s next? What’s the plan?”

Well, the government is getting out of the space business and is turning it over to the private sector, which is the same thing many of us that are education reformers want to see happen with education regarding School Choice. I believe that once the government is out of the space business, private industry will suddenly find the chains cut and a technological leap will ensue.

So to give hope to that possibility read the below article from www.Space.com. This is the future, like School Choice is the future of education. While I am sad to see the great organization of NASA coming to an end as we know it, I am excited to see the unlimited possibilities that the private sector can unleash upon our civilization.

It looks to be a very exciting time. Many of the jobs at NASA should find work within the private industry within the next few years. It may not be as secure as the employment they had at NASA, but it will be filled with adventure!

Link for the below article: http://www.space.com/10548-private-spaceflight-ready-2011.html

The private space industry has long been viewed as fledgling. But this once-pejorative term has taken on new meaning this year, as a roster of successes and fast-paced growth throughout 2010 suggests private spaceflight is ready to take off in 2011.

This year saw the very first launch of commercial space company SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster, and later the first liftoff of the firm’s Dragon spacecraft, which launched atop a Falcon 9 to Earth orbit and then was recovered from the Pacific Ocean. Another company, Virgin Galactic, achieved some major milestones, including the first glide test of its suborbital spaceliner, SpaceShipTwo. [Gallery: First Solo Flight of SpaceShipTwo]
Multiple private-sector space firms are moving into full power, going well beyond powerpoints and hand-waving. Still, the coming year, according to experts and analysts contacted by SPACE.com, is likely to feature battles between “same old space” and the ascension of “new space.”
Commercial landscape
“The space industry has never seen such a rich and varied commercial landscape,” said Carissa Bryce Christensen, managing partner of consulting firm The Tauri Group in Alexandria, Va. “New markets are emerging and established ones are changing.”
Christensen said that entrepreneurs are testing new launch and on-orbit capabilities in the real world, trying to move beyond development and demonstration and into sustainable, profitable operation. Large firms are changing their game plans in response.
“The successes and setbacks of 2011 are going to make it the most interesting year in the history of commercial space,” Christensen predicted.

Commercial space is finally coming into its own, and 2011 represents a year of enormous potential for this developing industry, said David Livingston, founder and host of the radio/Internet talk show “The Space Show.”

“The key will be to systematically move forward, building success upon success,” Livingston said. “I believe the coming year will reward patience, achievable goals, business fundamentals, reasonable business risks and a safety mindset.”
In terms of trends for the space industry, Livingston foresees a move away from big government programs in favor of economically managed and leaner commercial space ventures and projects.

“I believe this trend will continue through 2011 and beyond. That said, I do not think our space program should be one or the other, government or private,” Livingston said.”I believe we can now, more than ever, effectively create public/private partnerships to guide us into space and our future.”
Squarely in the spotlight

The scheduled retirement of NASA’s three-orbiter space shuttle fleet next year will also likely affect the landscape.
“I think the environment for 2011, although much improved from the religious war in 2010, will still see continued debate about the future direction of NASA with shuttle retirement,” said Brett Alexander, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group that includes commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers and service providers.

Alexander said he thinks commercial space will be “squarely in the spotlight” with an expected ramp-up of both suborbital flight testing and multiple orbital launches and re-entries under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) partnership agreements with U.S. industry.

NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program is investing financial and technical resources to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate safe, reliable and cost-effective space transportation capabilities.
“So, with steady progress on the technical front, it should help to solidify NASA’s new direction to develop commercial capabilities,” Alexander said. Battleground “2010 was the year that war broke out between commercial and cost-plus space,” observed Jim Muncy, president and founder of PoliSpace, an independent space policy consultancy based in Alexandria, Va.

“A rational White House, which nobody can accuse of having an ideological bias in favor of commercial business and privatization, decided that the nation couldn’t do much, let alone everything, the ‘traditional’ way,” Muncy said. “To actually use the International Space Station and explore space, the private sector needed to play a greater role in both.”

Muncy said that as nasty and counterintuitive as the long debate of 2010 was, next year — especially in the context of the new Congress, which has vowed to cut government spending — will see “the rubber hit the road” in several fronts of this war.

For 2011, Muncy forecasts:
• At least two companies that operate suborbital reusable launch vehicles will fly science payloads for NASA, and piloted vehicles will have their first flight tests.
• A SpaceX Dragon will carry a mammal to low Earth orbit and possibly to the International Space Station.
• The effort to build a commercial crew spacecraft will move forward, while overall budget pressure on NASA will slow down Florida Senator Bill Nelson’s grand compromise (which, among other things, gave money to commercial companies and NASA to develop and build new rockets).
• The Commercial Space Launch Amendment Act’s “informed consent” regime for Federal Aviation Administration regulation of commercial human spaceflight will clash with some politicians’ desire to kill commercial crew efforts.
• The fight over human-rating of commercial crew will get heated, as will a scrap for control over this rating between NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the agency’s Kennedy Space Center.
“Not a prediction but a hope,” Muncy said, is that “Republicans will remember they like the private sector and stop mindlessly bashing commercial.”
Fiscal meltdown

Rand Simberg, a space policy and technology consultant and a former aerospace engineer, isn’t optimistic that Republicans will get fully behind commercial space.

“Despite the growing confidence in the ability of the commercial sector to do human spaceflight, the incoming Republicans may continue to wage war on the new NASA direction, in opposition to their usual stated principles of free enterprise and competition, for no reason other than it came from a weakened Obama White House,” Simberg said.
Overall, next year “may be the year that business-as-usual collides with budgetary reality,” he predicted.

Simberg said that “even the most pork-devoted politicians will have to recognize that the only way for NASA to have a viable human spaceflight program going forward is to rely on fixed-price launch contracts from new, more cost-effective providers for the now-mundane task of simply getting astronauts to orbit and back.”

On the suborbital front, Simberg said that 2011 may be the year that regular flights of fully reusable vehicles — both horizontal- and vertical-landing — will take off.

That being the case, Simberg added, such suborbital flights “will start to develop the experience in high-tempo launch operations that will inform the eventual development of cost-effective space transport all the way to orbit.”
Availability and schedule

Likely to be a nexus of private sector space action is Spaceport America, now under construction near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic will run commercial operations from Spaceport America, with billionaire founder Sir Richard Branson recently setting his sights beyond suborbital passenger takeoffs.

“Virgin Galactic has shown in the past few years how private sector investment and innovation can lead to a rapid transformation of stagnant technologies,” Branson said. “We are now very close to making the dream of suborbital space a reality for thousands of people at a cost and level of safety unimaginable even in the recent past.

“We know that many of those same people, including myself, would also love to take an orbital space trip in the future,” Branson added, “so we are putting our weight behind new technologies that could deliver that safely whilst driving down the enormous current costs of manned orbital flight by millions of dollars.”

Earlier this month, Branson revealed that Virgin Galactic will be supporting work done by Sierra Nevada Space Systems (SNC) and Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) on commercial space vehicles for NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Program.
Both SNC and OSC are pursuing vehicle designs featuring reusable lifting-wing bodies and runway landings, which Virgin Galactic sees as possibly revolutionizing orbital space flight.

Rick Homans, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, said that the pace of activity continues to pick up throughout the industry — and Spaceport America is no exception.

“In 2011, we expect to be in the midst of our pre-operations phase — hiring contractors, developing policies and procedures and conducting all kinds of tests and drills to ensure we are ready to go operational in 2012,” Homans said.
Homans said that from the inquiries they have received, he anticipates Spaceport America’s vertical launch area should be very busy in 2011. Other companies such as UP Aerospace, Armadillo and other operators have already inquired about availability and schedule, he added.

“I see 2011 as the year to get ready for 2012, when I predict we will have our first commercial launches from Spaceport America,” Homans said.
• Gallery: Photos of the Dragon Space Capsule, Dragon Video
• Top 10 Private Spaceships Becoming Reality
• Photos: SpaceShipTwo’s First Solo Test Flight, Video of the Flight
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society’s Ad Astra and Space World magazines and has written for SPACE.com since 1999.

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For those of us that want to see this grand adventure take place, we must support the commercialization of space with the same enthusiasm that we are pushing government budget controls and education reform, because the future is in front of us, if only we can muster the courage to embrace it.

Now, listen to Richard Branson talk about Virgin Galactic.

Rich Hoffman

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com

The Majestic Adventure of Space

A sure way to clear your mind is to think from high places. Two of my favorite places on planet earth are the Kennedy Space Center and the Epcot Center because both of those places are about ideas, and perspective.

That’s why this video is a thing of beauty. It is a fine example of the best and brightest that the human mind has yet produced.

The following video is a collection of Space Shuttle launches from 1981 to 2010. I first fell in love with the shuttle program when I was able to stand in one at the Kennedy Space Center. And I will never forget the 3D Imax film they showed at the Center of a shuttle docking with the International Space Station. This video is of the same caliber and is a true thing of marvel.

And here is a camera view from the booster rockets during launch and decent when ejected after the stage 1 process. Enjoy the ride to space and back to the Atlantic Ocean again. When you see the splash down, the rockets will be approximately 150 miles northeast of the Kennedy Space Center.

Once in space there are many questions that transcend the things we think are important back on earth. Perspective is relative. The definitions of what we consider to be time changes subtly at first, then radically.

Ironically, we discover when studying the very large reaches of space that it is the very, very small that affects everything we experience.

Rich Hoffman
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com

Fly A SkyCar Today: The Future of Transportation

So how does America become a primary manufacturer again, where we are exporting something the rest of the world wants, instead of being a primary importer? It seems like a daunting task, after all, we’ve lost the car market to the East, the computer age was born here, but now is developing in the East, and we are no longer pushing the space race in America. In order to recapture the technological lead on the world stage, America would have to invent something dramatically, and radically new, that every person on the face of the planet would want.

Let me introduce the M400 Skycar. It’s a personal Skycar with a top speed of 350 MPH and has a range of 750 miles and a flight ceiling of 30,000 feet. It is the future. Now, there are a lot of videos here. This is one of the rare times that I’ll say the videos are more important than the text I provide. So take your time and watch the videos, all of them. And pass this link on to a friend so the word can get out. I believe this is extremely important to the United States in 2011 and on.

I’ve followed the work of Paul Moller for most of my life and am a tremendous fan of his. So much so, that I dedicated a large part of my book The Symposium of Justice to the M400 Skycar in hopes that the military would see the potential for applications, and get the ball rolling.

Paul Moller is the equivalent to the modern-day Henry Ford, or Bill Gates. His idea could be just as explosive if only politics would embrace the concept and accept that highways, manufacturing unions, and current aerospace manufacturers and their government contracts, are becoming obsolete. Can you imagine the changes that would have to take place in the airline industry? Can you imagine the airline industry lobby against the Skycar concept? Do you think GE would want this technology to emerge unless they had their feet already in the game, which they don’t? If the TSA employees join a union, can you imagine the protests trying to protect their jobs that would be leaving as people gained the independence of personal transport and wouldn’t need TSA Security any longer; all the vehicles would be controlled by GPS Systems? Nobody would be running into buildings with these things because they’d just be riding around like a passenger while computers do all the flying. Of the large aerospace companies, only Boeing has entertained the construction of Skycars so far, so the protective interests are actively in place.

I gave a Powerpoint, to John Boehner so he could possibly do something to help with the lobbyist politics that exist on K-Street and other places so the M400 Skycar could enter the marketplace. I also sent the same Powerpoint to the current President and to the head of General Motors, giving them the idea to “re-invent” themselves. They of course are committed to building electric cars, which will soon be irrelevant.

Does it work? Yes! Now that these tests are completed and on the record, even if Moller never gets this M400 into production, the steps have been taken, and a vertical takeoff personal vehicle will emerge for personal use. The sky is the future because it costs less to maintain and eliminates costly infrastructure need. There will always be need for highways for shipping reasons, but personal transportation of 50 miles or more needs to go to the air. That might seem like science fiction, but it’s currently science fact. All that fact needs is for public consciousness to catch up and accept the technology, and that will happen when people understand how they’ll benefit.

Here is the testing of stability in flight, hovering controls. Pretty important so the vehicle can land in a parking lot with reliability. This is one of the most difficult technical feats the vehicle had to overcome, and it has been successful.

So who is Paul Moller? Meet him here. He has testified before congress on this issue and has worked with NASA. This entire infrastructure is in place now. All it will take to bring it to a reality is for you to demand it. Paul will explain the whole concept, just listen, and enjoy.





I personally can’t wait to have one. For my life style, it will be perfect. I could be in New York within a morning, take care of my business, and be back that night for dinner without any difficulty. Same for Atlanta, Chicago and Washington D.C. since all those cities are within 500 miles from Cincinnati. In other places around the country, the trip from LA to Las Vegas would be minutes, and from San Fran to LA under an hour with most of the flight time being accent and descent. New Yorker’s could be out of the city and up into Connecticut, Vermont and Massachusetts within an hour. No traffic because the GPS system would stack all the destinations at different elevations. Weather conditions would be the only variable, but conditions would be favorable over 95% of the time. Only heavy wind and thunderstorms would prevent flight.

Image the trip from London to Paris, which currently takes a few hours by their high-speed rail system that goes under the English Channel from the time you buy your ticket, get on the train, and arrive at your destination. You could literally travel from the British Museum of Natural History and arrive at The Louver Museum in well under an hour including getting into the Skycar and exiting.

However, there is a lot of resistance to the Skycar out there, particularly from the existing infrastructure, and politics and I have a sincere concern that Paul Moller’s dream may be all too reminiscent of one of my personal hero’s, Preston Tucker. If you don’t know the story, Tucker was a GREAT car builder and was WAY ahead of his time. His car was so ahead of its time that the Big Three put pressure on the government to prosecute Tucker though Senator Ferguson, who was taking lobby money from the Big Three, before he could launch his car to the public. Listen to this clip from the film Tucker: A Man and His Dream as delivered by Jeff Bridges.


This is one of my favorite films. If you haven’t seen it you are missing a classic from Executive Producer George Lucas and Director Francis Ford Coppela.

I don’t want to see Paul Moller become a Preston Tucker. I see dramatic parallels between the two men. I think Moller is a lot more level-headed, and more classical engineering minded where Tucker was a salesman first and an engineer second, Moller has the great ability to stay out of trouble.

Eventually, the Big Three automakers would adapt to the innovations that Tucker introduced in 1948, by the 1970’s. If we were a smart society, we’d learn from history and listen to Paul Moller now, and not shove him into the corner to protect the status quo, and put off technology we need today. Because we may lose it to the East, or to a costly two or three decades only to have it emerge in the distant future anyway. It’s really up to the United States.

Tucker died shortly after his trial, which he was of course innocent, but the experience cost him market delivery of his vastly superior automobile. The Big Three grudgingly adopted many of Tucker’s features but not for another 20 years. The Big Three didn’t want to absorb the cost of competition, so they put him out of business. And that is the problem that Paul Moller will have to overcome. It’s not the technical obstacles that are the problem. It’s the political ones that hold back our country. Here is Tucker’s story.




You can have the world you want if you have the courage to put horse-sense ahead of politics. If that happens, then you could have a Skycar to drive and fly within a decade. You may have a job in the Skycar emerging field in the same time frame, and the United States could return to the world stage as a primary manufacturer of something the rest of the world wants, while China and Japan continue to make cars, which will decline in importance, and become a secondary market item similar in usefulness to a motorcycle or bicycle, and certainly high-speed rail which is next to useless compared to Skycar technology.

But I suspect that history will repeat itself and Paul Moller will go the way of Tucker obscurity, and our great nation the United States will too drift into the cloudy recesses of a foggy morning in history, which once lifted everyone, will wonder if the fog had ever been at all.

It’s up to you.

Rich Hoffman
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com