I Want Some Free Money From NASA!

[KennyFlys]

I know this borders on Spin Zone material but I'm looking for a broader base of replies why such a venture would be allowed to go forward. I took this from AvwebFlash this morning.

Okay, I'm pretty much a peon when it comes to aviation, business and certainly venture capital plans. Can anyone tell me why a business person making a serious attempt at operating an air taxi in a northern region such as North Dakota would buy aircraft not certified for known ice? Let's go a bit further... notice one of their funding sources (all of them being government) is NASA. Wouldn't those overseeing such a deal at NASA have knowledge of operating non-certified aircraft in known ice conditions? Or, did they just expect a seasonal operation?

Then, I have to wonder how you squander two million bucks that appears to have been enough to pay for the aircraft in full; generously assuming around $400 grand for the Cirrus and around $500 grand for the Diamond. That should leave plenty for operating expenses for a year or two. It smells!

Last, anyone got a clue how I can get some free money out of NASA? I'd love to start up my own little air courier operation with a light twin. I might even make it profitable!

[FONT=arial,helvetica,geneva]Point2Point Airways’ Aircraft Repossessed[/FONT]

A North Dakota air-taxi service that was heavily funded by state and local governments has defaulted on its aircraft lease payments, and its aircraft, a Cirrus SR22 and a Diamond DA42 Twin Star, have been repossessed by the bank holding the leases on the airplanes. The Fargo Forum reported last week that Point2Point Airways owes Northland Financial $362,000. A judge ordered the company to repay the money and started the clock on interest on June 26 at the rate of $70.90 a day. Point2Point quit flying at the end of April after a tough winter. The company was unable to fly its two aircraft in icing conditions, and that put a major crimp in the operations of the Bismarck-based on-demand operator. The company attracted more than $2 million in start-up funding from government sources. The city of Bismarck contributed $1.25 million after it received a $250,0000 federal grant to study the proposition. The State of North Dakota chipped in more than $200,000 and NASA is on the hook for $350,000.

 

[Ken Ibold]

Can anyone tell me why a business person making a serious attempt at operating an air taxi in a northern region such as North Dakota would buy aircraft not certified for known ice?

It was launched on a schedule that assumed Eclipse would deliver a usable jet or two more than a year ago. The Cirrus and Diamond were intended to be cheap short-run fair weather transport, with the Eclipse stepping in when needed. Didn't quite work out that way.

 

[KennyFlys]

It was launched on a schedule that assumed Eclipse would deliver a usable jet or two more than a year ago. The Cirrus and Diamond were intended to be cheap short-run fair weather transport, with the Eclipse stepping in when needed. Didn't quite work out that way.

That's pretty short-sighted considering the Eclipse had already gone through several set-backs for the previous five years. I'm guessing deposits were also lost on the Eclipse; unless the contracts are saleable with a premium or at least net.