OT Paul Allen Shows Off the World's Largest Airplane For the First Time

[bodyman5000 and 1]

It does when the rats die. It remains to be seen whether they die from rising sea levels, a giant airplane crashing into them, ethnic cleansing by college students, or overwork.

barfo

Overwork would suck. Ethnic cleansing might at least be interesting.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I'll take all 4 of them at once.

Ooh, better.

 

[theprunetang]

you forgot apathy and asexuality....rat depression...rat suicide

Anyone want to start a death metal band called Rat Suicide?

 

[riverman]

Anyone want to start a death metal band called Rat Suicide?

Lab Rat Suicide just rolls off the tongue

 

[barfo]

Lab Rat Suicide just rolls off the tongue

It's been done.

barfo

 

[SlyPokerDog]

It's interesting that all of you "experts" didn't know that the plane is based on an already successful rocket launch vehicle called WhiteKnightOne. The WhiteKnightOne sucessfully launched SpaceShipOne.

Paul Allen won the Ansari X-Prize with that vehicle.

White Knight One -

SpaceShipOne -

SpaceShipOne on White Knight One -

SpaceShipOne hanging in the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC -

The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. It was modeled after early 20th-century aviation prizes, and aimed to spur development of low-cost spaceflight.

Created in May 1996 and initially called just the "X Prize", it was renamed the "Ansari X Prize" on May 6, 2004 following a multimillion-dollar donation from entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari.

The prize was won on October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch, by the Tier One project designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, using the experimental spaceplaneSpaceShipOne.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansari_X_Prize

 

[SlyPokerDog]

But I'm sure you guys know more about what will and won't fly.

 

[Chris Craig]

I thought this thread was going to be about Paul Allen's penis...thank goodness

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

But I'm sure you guys know more about what will and won't fly.

Uhh, fly? Never said it wouldn't fly. Wouldn't be worried about it crashing into a major city if it couldn't fly.

From all the articles I've read, seems like they don't really have any use for this thing. Everyone backed out it seems.

Also, I read that Burt Rutan is retired and his company is a corporate entity. Corporations never fail so you're right.

 

[riverman]

But I'm sure you guys know more about what will and won't fly.

 

[ripcityboy]

It's interesting that all of you "experts" didn't know that the plane is based on an already successful rocket launch vehicle called WhiteKnightOne. The WhiteKnightOne sucessfully launched SpaceShipOne.

Paul Allen won the Ansari X-Prize with that vehicle.

White Knight One -

SpaceShipOne -

SpaceShipOne on White Knight One -

SpaceShipOne hanging in the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC -

The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. It was modeled after early 20th-century aviation prizes, and aimed to spur development of low-cost spaceflight.

Created in May 1996 and initially called just the "X Prize", it was renamed the "Ansari X Prize" on May 6, 2004 following a multimillion-dollar donation from entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari.

The prize was won on October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch, by the Tier One project designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, using the experimental spaceplaneSpaceShipOne.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansari_X_Prize

Doesn't impress me. Howard Hughes could have designed that shit, as well as new bra for Jane Russell and paid for the whole shebang before lunch time. Then gone off to get his junk knocked around by high class hookers with William Randolph Hearst Jr.

 

[riverman]

I read that he wants to take the Russians monopoly on trips to the space station away....good...he won't have luxury tax issues ever again!

 

[rotary111]

Engineer,designer and airplane genius Burt Rutan is a pioneer in his field. The Canard wing'd planes he designed were way ahead of their time.

Paul was in good hands.

 

[Minstrel]

We should get a Kickstarter going to have the participants of this thread design and build a plane.

(I have some awesome ideas.)

 

[riverman]

Paul was in good hands.

Paul's pretty impressive himself....without the Paul Allens out there genius' would probably be teaching 3rd year physics in colleges....Burt got to put his talents to real use

 

[Cippy91]

This is what happens when you have billions of dollars. Fuck