Team Prometheus is growing stronger!

Welcome new member's of Team Prometheus! It look's like Monroe has finally got some real working team members! I look forward to working with you and the rest of the team. Welcome, Stew from what Monroe has said you look to be a great asset to the team! Thank you also David for your great work on the NSFF contest! I look forward to meeting you. Congratulations Dave on becoming Chief Engineer!
BMA

Basil,

Thanks and I'm very glad to be a part of this team. This is the kind of thing I have wanted to do my whole life. If no other opportunity presented itself I was gonna try to set the ultralight aircraft world altitude record, I figured that would be doable as a one-person project on minimal funding.... but I'd much rather go into orbit. I plan on bringing to bear all the resources I can on this project, because it will take as many people as we can muster and all of our combined skills and talent to really have a prayer. But then again, if it was easy someone would have done it already, and repeating someone else's work is whole lot less fun than pioneering (at least to me).

Stew

Stew
Careful what you wish for around me! That’s in line with a balloon launch. I don't want to be the one doing the jumping though. I had a small HG accident at low altitude, but hey an ultralight? Maybe an ultralight Near Space craft? Near Space tourism flights could be longer and safer, Interesting. I do design aircraft I have a "Seabird" amphibian LSP. I hope to work on some day.

Monroe

EDIT: Wow you said Ultralight and for some reason I read Hang glider? Yes, Ultralight! But hey, Near Space tourism is an interesting possiability.

Yes, I was thinking a flying wing design with advanced materials, and a tesla turbine-based turboprop. If you compute the amount of energy in the allowable 5 gallons of fuel, with maximum power plant efficiency and maximum propeller efficiency, it ought to be possible to about double the current altitude record. Would have been fun to try! I did find a cool website about some guys that flew an ultralight over mount everest a few years ago while doing research.

Stew