Wow, that was a very impressive machine! I’m glad Dan Beaumont’s POV is stored on YouTube. Perhaps we will all get the opportunity to witness something like it if SpaceX find a way to build their “MCT” super-heavy lifter in this coming decade. I visited Cape Canaveral in 1994 whilst on a business trip, never witnessed a launch but did all the things a tourist can do there … I’d definitely make another trip to witness the launch of a Mars or Moon mission.

I think your personal Apollo launch account was definitely worth at least a $1 micro-payment .. your excitement comes across well in your writing. I downloaded the PDF file onto my Kindle but the text is just too small to read in that format, so I read it on my PC and watched the referenced youtube video to better get what you experienced.

Here’s a link to a guide on publishing Kindle editions yourself.

https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A17W8UM0MMSQX6

Thanks for your Hughes, Lear and Musk comparison.

“I’d pay to download all your published books onto my Amazon Kindle if you found a way to make them available as Kindle editions … and I’ll also pay to read your comparison of Howard Hughes and Elon Musk and the effect the two individuals had/are having on their respective eras.”

I wish my books were available as Kindle editions. And I’d also love to see the hundreds of magazine articles that I’ve written for Air Enthusiast, Air International, Airliners, Airways, Sky & Telescope and similar publications available online or for Kindle. Here’s one of my articles that you can read online. I wrote it for Harrison Schmitt’s website and have posted the link here previously:

http://www.americasuncommonsense.com/blog/wp-content/pdfFiles/Mellberg_Apollo17LaunchArticle.pdf

As for your comment about Howard Hughes and Elon Musk …

You won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve thought about that comparison myself. Two very different personalities. Both unique. And both having/had an effect on their respective eras.

Of course, there are some similarities. Elon Musk, like Howard Hughes, is a wealthy man and is using that wealth to pursue his dreams/vision. Musk made his fortune on his own. Hughes inherited his wealth. But he multiplied it, and used it to pursue his dreams/vision.

Hughes made an effort to develop steam cars (unsuccessfully). Musk is developing electric cars (with better results).

Both men were somewhat controversial (Hughes more so). Both men shook up the status quo. But Musk has been better at building support for his efforts.

The comparisons go on and on, and someone probably will write a book (or at least an article) about them some day.

I would also compare Elon Musk to Bill Lear. Lear got his start inventing the car radio … Motorola. Then he got into avionics. Of course, his greatest success came with the Lear Jet. Many people questioned his concept for a small, business jet — all the more so since it was loosely based on the design of a fizzled Swiss fighter jet. But the Lear Jet quickly became a best seller. Lear also came up with the idea for a ‘wide body’ business jet called the LearStar 600. He sold the concept to Canadair in Montreal. That firm developed the design and produced the aircraft as the popular Challenger series. Which, in turn, evolved into the highly successful Canadair Regional Jet. (Canadair was bought by Bombardier, which also owns LearJet.)

Elon Musk’s personal life also resembles Bill Lear’s to some degree. Let’s put it this way. Musk is more like Lear than like Hughes.

Incidentally, some people believe Howard Hughes suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome. It would tend to explain some of his behavior as a young man. He later slipped into drug dependency as a result of the pain killers he took following his near fatal crash in the Hughes XF-11. Needless to say, Musk does not display the sort of eccentric behavior for which Hughes was known.

In the end, Elon Musk is a unique individual. What he shares with other entrepreneurs and inventors of the past is vision … plus the passion to turn his dreams into reality. Given his age (41), there are probably many more interesting chapters to be written in the Musk story.

The amount of resources needed to design and build a true launcher far exceed the amount of resources needed for a late medieval ship or an early aircraft. The first could be built by a village, the second by an individual or small shop.”

Actually the ships of Columbus were privately owned. The crown simply took possession of them. The voyage itself was financed by private investment, Columbus and the crown. The King and Queen of Spain did not build the ships they simply took possession of ships that were previously used for fishing and cargo from their owners. In short it was a public/private partnership all be it a forced one for some of the parties. Also the time period was not medieval but was early renaissance. Also in the case of launchers Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Space X and Orbital designed and built their launchers mostly y on their own dime(the government gave some cash but didn’t tell Space X which engines to use or where to launch act…….)

The Voyages of the Vikings and the Chinese have more in common with Apollo and the current space program and are medieval. In the case of the Vikings medieval technology that cause them to need about as much crew as Columbus for their ships yet be much smaller than his. This greatly limiting how long they could stay at sea,what routes they could take and how much they could carry(both non salors and cargo). In addition the gun had not been invented yet so the vikings were at extreme disadvantage to natives compared to later settlers.

China’s exploration used many ships all government backed and cost a fortune. There was nothing they could find that was worth as much as they sent out.Certianly nothing that would cause you to voyage back and forth repeatedly. If humanity is going to move out into space, we are going to have to need to be able to do it with fewer people on the ground. Congress by attemting to keep SLS up impares that natural evolution.

I’d pay to download all your published books onto my Amazon Kindle if you found a way to make them available as Kindle editions … and I’ll also pay to read your comparison of Howard Hughes and Elon Musk and the effect the two individuals had/are having on their respective eras. FWIW I recently paid $0.99 to download am ancient David Brin short story that took 15-minutes to read.

“Hi WM – Anything about the political maneuvering of Howard Hughes in any of them?”

Not in “High Horizons” or “The Age of Flight.” But I included Howard Hughes in my book, “Famous Airliners.” He is mentioned in several chapters — in particular, Chapter 20, which describes the Avro Canada C102 Jetliner (the first jet transport to be built and flown in North America). Page 86 has what I’ve been told is the only known color photograph of Mr. Hughes. It was taken by my late friend, Don Rogers, who was Avro Canada’s chief test pilot, and who sat in the right-hand seat as Hughes flew the Jetliner. Don described Howard as “a natural-born pilot.” And my dear friend, Jim Floyd (98 years old), chief designer of the Jetliner and the legendary Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, described Hughes as a “very talented engineer.” Howard desperately wanted to acquire the Jetliner for TWA, but the Canadian government prevented him from doing so by halting production of the aircraft. C.D. Howe (sometimes referred to as “Minister of Everything” by his critics) wanted Avro Canada to focus all of its resources on building the CF-100 Canuck. Howe had played a key role in building Canada’s aircraft industry during World War II, and in recruiting American executives to help create Trans-Canada Air Lines (today’s Air Canada) following the Roosevelt Administration’s attack on the U.S. airline industry in 1934. The Jetliner could have been in service as early as 1954. (It first flew in 1949, just two weeks after the de Havilland Comet.) National Airlines had actually ordered the type, and the USAF wanted to buy Jetliners, as well. Hughes tried to get a licensing agreement that would have seen Convair producing the Jetliner in San Diego. But Canadian politicians killed the Jetliner, just as they shot down the Arrow a few years later. The good news was that two dozen of Avro Canada’s top engineers came to NASA in 1959, including Jim Chamberlin (designer of the Gemini spacecraft), John Hodge (one of Chris Kraft’s original flight directors) and Owen Maynard (who played a key role in the design of the Lunar Module, and who laid out the Apollo flight schedule). Other ‘Avroites’ wound up at Boeing, Douglas, Lockheed and McDonnell (to name a few). Jim Floyd returned to his native England where he led Hawker Siddeley’s Advanced Projects Group and helped design Concorde.

Which brings me back to Howard Hughes …

Jim Floyd spent long hours meeting with Hughes to pore over the details of the Jetliner design. Hanging over the desk in Jim’s home office is a photo of the Jetliner at Hughes’ airfield in Culver City, California. It is inscribed: “To Jim Floyd — with commendation for this very good design. Howard Hughes.” It was the Jetliner that ‘Hughes’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) was referring to over and over at the end of “The Aviator” … “the way of the future, the way of the future.” Even though the Jetliner did not go into production, it did point “the way to the future” … and created quite a sensation during a series of demonstration flights across the United States in the early 1950s.

Hughes also asked Jim Floyd to design a supersonic transport for TWA in the mid-1950s, as well as a medium-range jet transport — which Convair later built as the 880. The 880 turned out to be a financial disaster for Convair, as did the follow-on 990. But Howard’s influence could be found inside every 880 that was built … gold trim in the cabin appointments. Hughes originally wanted the 880s to have gold anodized exteriors. The type was to have been known as the “Golden Arrow.” The gold finish proved to be impractical; but the gold trim stayed.

Of course, Hughes also influenced the design of the Lockheed Constellation, which he acquired for TWA. And, as you probably know, he fought Congress tooth and nail — in particular, Senator Owen Brewster who championed Pan Am’s monopoly on international air routes.

If you can find a copy, I highly recommend “Howard Hughes and TWA” by Robert W. Rummel (Smithsonian, 1991). Bob Rummel was head of engineering at TWA for many years and worked directly with Hughes. He was also one of Jim Floyd’s good friends. Rummel claimed that aviation “was Howard’s one and only true love.” Rummel’s book offers a definitive look at the influence Hughes had at TWA during the quarter century that he owned the airline.

While the media focused on Howard’s eccentricities and mental illness during his later years, I was pleased that Martin Scorsese chose to focus on his passion for aviation in “The Aviator.” For aviation is where Hughes made his greatest contributions. He was, as Jim Floyd says, “a genuine visionary.”

Incidentally, my Father worked as a consultant to Hughes Aircraft Company for many years after he had led the design and development of the camera systems for the Surveyor spacecraft (built by Hughes). He, too, has nothing but respect and admiration for Mr. Hughes, who was a pioneer in missiles and communication satellites, as well as airplanes.

Finally, I would also recommend “Howard Hughes: Aviator” by George J. Marrett (Naval Institute Press, 2004). It provides an excellent look at the role Hughes played in the development of aviation.

In short, there is no real mission for HSF. Only economic fantasy.

We’ve seen recovery. Where were you when they blew the first three Falcon-1 launches…?

The analogy with 1930’s aviation is not valid for the same reason that analogies with ships in the 1400-1500’s is not valid.

The amount of resources needed to design and build a true launcher far exceed the amount of resources needed for a late medieval ship or an early aircraft. The first could be built by a village, the second by an individual or small
shop.

Lockheed pioneered monocoque in a small shop.

The resources to build the Boeing 247 came from defense contracts, which developed metal monoque.

Competing airlines then financed the DC1/2/3. They received government support through airmail contracts.