The Pilotless Plane That Only Looks Like Child’s Play
5 Comments Published by Dr. Beyster April 16th, 2007 in Government, San Diego, Technology.I just read the article “The Pilotless Plane That Only Looks Like Child’s Play” in the April 15th issue of the New York Times. The article describes how Neal and Linden Blue established General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which manufactures the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and other products. I want to commend Neal, Linden, and president Tom Cassidy for persisting in the development of this badly needed aircraft even when larger organizations — including General Dynamics, Northrop, and Lockheed — had competing products. When I read about you guys I’m reminded of the activities of Howard Hughes. Mr. Hughes had a way of persisting on new aircraft design, no matter who opposed him — even Senator Brewster. You deserve much credit for your contributions to National Security, and I will have a lasting respect for all three of you.
Bob,
I found the book very interesting, and it reads well. It should be a requirement in any self-respecting business school! Your achevements at SAIC are quite remarkable which this acoount makes clear for all to see.
On the assumption that there will be a second edition, I attach a list of errors that should be corrected. Since I read the book just once, I’m sure there must be others than those I’ve found, and, no doubt, you’ll be hearing from other people too. Importantly, however, none of the errors I found, whether factual, grammatical, or typographical, materially alter your story.
As an aside, most books I read today have obviously lacked a decent job of copy editing, and, sadly, your publisher let you down too in this regard. Too much reliance is placed on automated tools, like spellcheck, instead of old-fashioned careful reading, to the detriment of a quality product.
As a long time employee, there were no great surprises, of course, but I was particularly fascinated by the Appendix on your life before SAI.
It is a worthwhile read which I am passing on to my son-in-law who has started his own company.
Best,
Hugh Kendrick
Hi Dr. B.,
I’ve been looking forward to reading your book since I first heard about it (and started following your blog). I received it in the mail recently and it has been fascinating for me as a young employee to be able to find out more about the origins of the company and its inner workings. I agree with Hugh’s comment about the Appendix on your life before SAI; that was actually the first part I read (after the preface/introduction).
My main reason for writing is in response to your request for editorial comments to be submitted through this blog. I thought I’d point out one that I came across. On page 6, there is a line that says SAIC crossed $4.7 billion in revenue in 1999. However, in the graph on page 7, the revenue for 1999 is just slightly over $3 billion. This is a minor point, but I thought I would pass it on for the 2nd edition.
Finally, is there another way I should submit comments of this nature (such as a specific email address)? Also, would you prefer one consolidated list or piecemeal as I come across them? (I wonder if it would be possible to open a section of the blog for book comments that would allow blog readers to see comments that have already been submitted to avoid duplication.)
Thanks for publishing such an interesting and informative book.
Chris G.
Hugh: Thank you for your well thought out suggestions and corrections to the text of the book. We will incorporate all of your suggestions except we are going to research further the issue of global warming. The oceanographers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography are convinced that the world is heating up as witnessed by the rapid melting of glaciers, icepacks in Greenland, and the polar icecaps over the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Regardless of the cause, there is a problem about which we should do something. I’ll spend some time understanding this more thoroughly before we change the book. Thanks again for the time and effort you spent helping us make the book a better one. This is just the kind of critique we’ve been looking for.
Bob Beyster
Dr. Beyster,
I attended your book event at the MIT event 5/23/07 in La Jolla. I found it profound for a variety of reasons. I felt I should post here as I was one of a very few that designed and built the first six predator air frames for Tom Cassidy; His buddy Ed Noel recommended me. Since that time… I have struggled to operate two of my own corporations for the very same reasons you started SAIC including one with an ESOP trust. One company failed which was very hard to deal with financially. The other has only ever made money (small but profitable) yet growing it requires financing. I have recently been corting VC’s until last Wed when you pretty much destroyed them… I actually saw them cringe during the meeting…heheheh. But now what do I do?
I guess this was the part were I was supposed to ask for some worldy advice… But instead I’ll leave with you with my enormous gratitude in taking the time to write this book. I’m so close… I can feel it.. I will use this book as a guide to further develop Pyramid Space…
Thanks again and Cheers,
Eric Heininger
BTW…I turn 45 this year..I have a wife and three kids..and we both left GA..just too strange..
Eric: Glad to hear from you. It’s interesting that we both left GA at the same age and became entrepreneurs. I was lucky because I had money myself and the Bank of America as a friendly investor. I would not go too much further without knowing if your product is unique enough to sell well. You need to have adequate financing and I expect you will have to borrow money from someone — friends, relatives, or other friendly investors who have confidence in your product. In addition, you can get good advice from the Small Business Administration, CONNECT, or the Beyster Institute. One has to know how to do a business plan and how to finance a startup. I wish you well and — if you persist — I am sure you will succeed.