Re: tesla-d Digest V02 #791

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Greg Leyh by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <lod-at-pacbell-dot-net>

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>Original poster: "Dave Hartwick" <ddhartwick-at-earthlink-dot-net>
>
>Greg,
>Is the ALF on track in terms of funding and all the non-technical logistics?
>It will be stupendous if it actually comes to fruition. Interesting about
>the new Fo.

There is no funding for the ALF at this time.  I've not
been in a good position to properly pursue the project
for the last 2 years.  Instead, I've been using that time
to work out the technical details and identify suitable
technologies, vendors and subcontractors.  Securing funding
for this project will be the most difficult task, by far.
Fortunately the material costs have dropped slightly,
as the design has evolved.  I'm just now starting to finalize
a Conceptual Design Report, and begin the monumental task of
locating potential funding sources.  Even more difficult will be
finding an investor who won't attempt to tamper with the design,
scale it down or shoehorn it into some unrelated venture.  I'd
just as soon leave it in CAD, rather than build a broken version.

>I assume the military has been approached vis the aircraft lightning testing
>angle.

Neither the military nor any US government agency has been
approached at this time.  I currently work for the US Dept
of Energy, and I regularly cost out proposed projects here.
The Byzantine regulations placed on our research facility
by the DOE result in real construction costs far exceeding
the Means Cost Data book, often by a factor of five or higher.
Classified or controlled access research would be worse.

The goal of minimizing bureaucratic and legal support overhead
would naturally place certain funding sources near the bottom
of the priority list -- such as government agencies, casinos,
or large entertainment conglomerates such as Disney.


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