Latest News from DaVinci

Link:
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,13 ... _tophead_1

Article Synopsis:

Feeny hasn't given up and will give a pres announcement July 21. Hints at a launch on Sept 20.
Hmmm...

So, Feeney and Co. redesigned the Wildfire, eh?

No fight-tested liqud-fuel engines and no bollutes?

I admit I'm slightly disappointed at this, however, it;s still cool they are still in and X-prize is still a race of sorts.

I have to admit, I never thought that balloot thing would make it to final design. Not enough time for anything bleeding-edge.

Well, it's July 21... Anything?

I think it's moved to next week...
http://www.xprizenews.org/index.php?p=346

I was wondering about the whole ballute thing. It's still on their website, but I couldn't figure out whether it's still in the final design.

Too bad if they dropped it. It looked just almost too cool...

I've seen they still have the bullute up at the site, so yeah I'm begining to wonder..

I would be neat if DaVinci could keep most of their original design. It would a perfect contender for Scaled--an opposite set of technologies, seeing that these two are the lead for winning the prize.

Scaled's SpaceshipOne: a hybrid motor powered glider air-launched by a carrier airplane that can configure into a shuttlecock for re-entry.

DaVinci's Wildfire: a liquid-prop motor powered ballastic vehicle air-launched by a huge helium balloon that uses an expandable (a Biglow term) ballute for re-entry.

See what I mean, one goal with two different ways of doing it (for example) is just more exciting that if they were using simular approaches. Here hoping.

absolutely ! The diversity of the designs from the different teams is one of the coolest things about the whole endeavor. Imagine if there was only one kind of restaurant or one kind of way to travel. I'm sure within the next 50 years or so, there will be some standardization. But in the mean time, here's to the private sector's ability to come up with those crazy and diverse plans!

Did you all see the good news on the X Prize News home page about Lincoln Electric pitching in with da Vinci? I was a little curious as to whether this helped whittle down the 500 grand they still need. So I emailed them.

Brian Feeney was nice enough to answer me (on a Saturday, no less!) pretty quickly. While the LE deal is definitely a very good thing ($50,000.00 worth of top-notch equipment, etc), it doesn't go towards the 500 big ones they still need.

I'm really really hoping that someone steps up to the plate and sponsors the rest soon...

That's really cool,Kevin.


You know, 500 grand ($500,000) isn't that much considersaiding how you got it. One possibility is a public fundraiser on Devinci's behalf. I'm sure they could raise $500,000 (maybe a little more) depending on how you do it.

What do you think?

I agree. I figure that since they're going forward with the roll-out they feel confidant that the money will come. I sure hope so.

the diversity of the concepts is one of the greatest consequences of the XPRIZE and the CUP hopefully will help to keep it by giving those additional chances that need a few motns or years more.

The Foundation not only is opening the space for the genral public but is giving a very big incentive to technical and technological innovations too - it should receive donations by federations of engineers, technical oriented institutions etc. to finance the cash prizes of the CUP and future XPRIZEs. It sholud receive prizes itself!

What we see going on in this competition is what a well-hated prominent Economist formulated many decades ago describing th character of economic competition: "competition as a method of detetction" (my own translation from German to English - the Economist was Freidrich August von Hayek).

In another part of this message board a few weeks ago I've made an avalution of all the concepts - at the supposingly optimal level I've listed 16 or 17 combinations of launch, landing and staging. Someone should help to let be there at least one successful launch of each of these concepts - to find out, how it is working. And I really have in mind the concepts here and not the teams - there are several teams having nearly the same concepts...



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

Interesting. Do you know the title of the thread you posted in by any chance?

Hello, offsprey5,

it has been in "Next XPRIZE competition" under "XPRIZE CUP" the subject "Results of a short private evaluation" on th 17th of June at 1:17 pm.



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

More news about da Vinci posted on xprizenews.org for anyone that can make it to their "Roll Out" on August 5th (this coming Thursday).