The Bloodhound SSC/Thrust/Noble Thread
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malcolm uk
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Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
What else could the nose adornment have been? The yellow of the South African flag might get lost on the stripe.
Malcolm Pittwood
The Bluebird Project
Operations
The Bluebird Project
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Renegadenemo
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Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
An interesting article. I especially enjoyed reading that...
'Someone in NASA, an outfit not exactly famed for lyricism, once said: “The rising tide of technology raises all boats along with it”. Grammatically a bit suspect, but nonetheless true.'
Grammatically a bit suspect, eh? This, of course, is grammatically spot-on.
'You could maybe do something similar with the design of a new spaceship or jet fighter or Formula 1 car – except that Britain don’t have no new spaceships, and jet fighters'.
Erm... don't forget that Eurofighter Typhoon thingamabob built by the mighty BAE Systems or Will Whitehorn's new spaceship over at Virgin Galalctic while we're about it. And as for grammatical issues this one is not exactly pretty either
'Which possibly marks me down as an outstanding expert in self-delusion, and anyway gets us not much forwarder in answering the question.'
Oh for the sake of some editing...
'Someone in NASA, an outfit not exactly famed for lyricism, once said: “The rising tide of technology raises all boats along with it”. Grammatically a bit suspect, but nonetheless true.'
Grammatically a bit suspect, eh? This, of course, is grammatically spot-on.
'You could maybe do something similar with the design of a new spaceship or jet fighter or Formula 1 car – except that Britain don’t have no new spaceships, and jet fighters'.
Erm... don't forget that Eurofighter Typhoon thingamabob built by the mighty BAE Systems or Will Whitehorn's new spaceship over at Virgin Galalctic while we're about it. And as for grammatical issues this one is not exactly pretty either
'Which possibly marks me down as an outstanding expert in self-delusion, and anyway gets us not much forwarder in answering the question.'
Oh for the sake of some editing...
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
Well-to be picky the Eurofighter is a joint venture with the French,Germans ,and a few other non-Brits-the Virgin Galactic thingy is probably-and I'm only guessing at this,a joint Uk-American venture-but the guys having a good old rant,like someone else we know!-and rants don't make for impeccable English!-more power to him,even with the "Dubyaisms"! 
"I hate two faced people-don't know which face to punch first!"
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Renegadenemo
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Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the piece and agreed with it wholeheartedly. I just didn't get along with the way it reads in places. I'm not completely sure who all the Eurofighter partners are except that we make the cockpit, engine and avionics, the Germans make the reheat section while the Spanish and Italians make a wing each. Don't know who makes the other bits. Nor am I sure who VG have as partners these days but their headquarters has the coolest address I've ever seen at Mission Control, Half Moon Street, London, Planet Earth...Well-to be picky the Eurofighter is a joint venture with the French,Germans ,and a few other non-Brits-the Virgin Galactic thingy is probably-and I'm only guessing at this,a joint Uk-American venture-but the guys having a good old rant,like someone else we know!-and rants don't make for impeccable English!-more power to him,even with the "Dubyaisms"!
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
Now thats a dinner date !!!! 
All men dream: but not equally,Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.
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Renegadenemo
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Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
I think that Noble bloke has a damn cheek! What's wrong with begging and working with part-timers? I'm only kidding...It’s important to remember that the BLOODHOUND is not a weak charity begging and living off hand outs, nor is it a collection of part timers
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
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quicksilver-wsr
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Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
Sorry - and there's no dig at Richard here, because we get on well - but I think what the other gentlemen wrote there smacks of arrogance.
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quicksilver-wsr
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Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
I am assuming that it wasn't actually Richard Noble who said those words, Mike. And - as you say - I don't suppose that it was a reference to any organisation specifically.
However, the remark - whoever said it, it makes no difference - was extremely stupid. It is wrong to denigrate people who work on worthy causes in their spare time, unpaid, and to refer to charities as "weak". A lot of amazing work is done by volunteer groups, whether they are charities or not: people restoring aircraft, locomotives, iconic speed-record boats, you name it.
A few years ago we raised a lot of extra money and started paying engineers a lot of money to work on our project. It was a nightmare. We got some people that were in it for completely the wrong reasons.
I thank my lucky stars that all the guys on my team, working unpaid, are in it for the love of the project and its goals. They devote their spare time to it because they love what they do and they believe that the cause is a worthy one.
However, the remark - whoever said it, it makes no difference - was extremely stupid. It is wrong to denigrate people who work on worthy causes in their spare time, unpaid, and to refer to charities as "weak". A lot of amazing work is done by volunteer groups, whether they are charities or not: people restoring aircraft, locomotives, iconic speed-record boats, you name it.
A few years ago we raised a lot of extra money and started paying engineers a lot of money to work on our project. It was a nightmare. We got some people that were in it for completely the wrong reasons.
I thank my lucky stars that all the guys on my team, working unpaid, are in it for the love of the project and its goals. They devote their spare time to it because they love what they do and they believe that the cause is a worthy one.
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Renegadenemo
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Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
Don't worry, I've mailed the bugger and lodged a formal complaint - in a friendly sort of way.Give him a tinkle Bill and see if he's got five minutes(!) to come and say Hi!
What he said is fair enough as he has to pitch his project at the right level I just can't help thinking that he momentarily forgot where the support for Thrust II and SSC came from and, as Mike so correctly pointed out, a paid crew couldn't have done more in our workshop today than we achieved for the love of it.
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
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quicksilver-wsr
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- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:29 pm
Re: Noble/Bloodhound SSC/Rocket Science
I happen to believe we are a friendly bunch - all of us, whether we are working on restoring the fabled Bluebird K7 to running order, building a new WWSR boat or building a 1,000 mph car - so no-one must form the wrongful impression that I'm spitting daggers at anyone, least of all Richard.
I agree that he has to pitch his project in a way that will attract the type of support he needs to fund a venture that is very dependent on big funding.
The reason for my ... unease? ... is that I know that one of the things we British do best is rolling our sleeves up and battling away on projects against the odds, often on the most meagre of budgets, and with enthusiasm as the primary form of liquidity. If we bash that concept, we're bashing Britain, and I'm sure that is the furthest from Richard's mind, as he is a patriot to be sure.
Projects like Quicksilver, the Bluebird restoration effort and countless others around the country - renovating long-derelict canals so they are once again navigable, the list is endless - are run on next-to-nothing, with talented volunteers devoting thousands of hours of their own spare time. So people need to remember that. People like us don't have a choice. It's the only way we can run our projects.
And there is room for everybody.
The big well-funded teams and the minnows who move mountains.
Here endeth the Sunday sermon.
I agree that he has to pitch his project in a way that will attract the type of support he needs to fund a venture that is very dependent on big funding.
The reason for my ... unease? ... is that I know that one of the things we British do best is rolling our sleeves up and battling away on projects against the odds, often on the most meagre of budgets, and with enthusiasm as the primary form of liquidity. If we bash that concept, we're bashing Britain, and I'm sure that is the furthest from Richard's mind, as he is a patriot to be sure.
Projects like Quicksilver, the Bluebird restoration effort and countless others around the country - renovating long-derelict canals so they are once again navigable, the list is endless - are run on next-to-nothing, with talented volunteers devoting thousands of hours of their own spare time. So people need to remember that. People like us don't have a choice. It's the only way we can run our projects.
And there is room for everybody.
The big well-funded teams and the minnows who move mountains.Here endeth the Sunday sermon.