h (Rand Simberg) wrote in
:

On 18 Dec 2003 00:36:29 GMT, in a place far, far away, "Jorge R.
Frank" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:

(Rand Simberg) wrote in
t:

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 23:34:25 GMT, in a place far, far away, "Jon G"
made the phosphor on my monitor glow
in such a way as to indicate that:

I remember reading somewhere that one of the test-pilots reported
the ATV was a nightmare to fly.

Yes, perhaps the same test pilot that broke the sound barrier today
in SpaceShipOne. Or it may have been Marti--I forget which.

I believe it was Marti, in an article in Air & Space.

Well, it's worth pointing out that based on all contemporary attempts,
the Wright's first plane was a nightmare to fly as well. Or at least
replicas of it are.

It is also worth pointing out that Gary Hudson had always intended to add
an autopilot to the final Roton C-9, but did not develop it for the ATV
because his initial funding and schedule were too tight and it was more
important to simply prove that ATV could fly.


--
JRF

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