Chicago Sun-Times article

[JStarStar]

https://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-rockets02.html


Story from a couple days ago on federal regulation.

 

[Stymye]

who is this "aerospace consultant" he has no clue about rockets
where do these people come from?

 

[rabidsheeep]

i dont want to turn this into a massive political thing, but this is just another case of people that dont know trying to think they do...

edit:

you can email the writer by clicking his name ontop... i can bet you if this guy got an estes starter set that entire article would sound different...

 

[Stymye]

I'm referring to this:

An aerospace consultant familiar with the issue also says he believes the rockets could have some appeal as weapons for terrorists because it would allow them to strike from a distance.

A rocket powerful enough to soar a mile into the air likely could travel two miles if fired laterally as a weapon, said Leon McKinney, a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ''You could probably lob several pounds of nerve gas or high-explosive and do some serious damage,'' said McKinney.

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by stymye
I'm referring to this:

An aerospace consultant familiar with the issue also says he believes the rockets could have some appeal as weapons for terrorists because it would allow them to strike from a distance.

A rocket powerful enough to soar a mile into the air likely could travel two miles if fired laterally as a weapon, said Leon McKinney, a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ''You could probably lob several pounds of nerve gas or high-explosive and do some serious damage,'' said McKinney.

He's obvously wrong, and I wrote the story's author to tell him.

Rockets are ballistic. They do not generate lift. If one is fired laterally, it will fall at exactly the same rate as if it were dropped from the same height.

 

[illini]

Expert consultants in the news are often nothing but hustlers. I have a cousin who falls into this category. The guy - usually referred to as "Knuck" in my family...short for Knucklehead - hasn't held a job in years...long story. Short version: he's a small time con. Anyhoo, during Desert Storm he suddenly popped up on Channel 5 news in Chicago as an expert military consultant! He got on there and repeated things he'd read in the papers. One direct quote: "Saddam has all this stuff!" Somehow he pulled it off without anyone being any the wiser...except our family who was hoping nobody would associate him with us.

Knuck reappeared a year or two ago in another public role as a prominent expert on shipwrecks. Suffice to say that this time our expert consultant wrangled himself a gig on a National Geographic special. Expert consultant for the media??? Definition is publicity seeker with a life so miserable that they require validation in a public forum.

 

[illini]

...oh yeah...and I've been a member of AIAA. I have the same credential this guy cites. So what?