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This is the standard "engineers other than software are idiots" type HN FUD. For the record, Boom is staffed by aerospace veterans from the likes of Scaled Comp
by nether 9y ago
This is the standard "engineers other than software are idiots" type HN FUD. For the record, Boom is staffed by aerospace veterans from the likes of Scaled Composites, P&W, Adam Aircraft, SpaceX and Boeing. https://boomsupersonic.com/about/ https://boomsupersonic.com/about/ They might know thing or two about cost analysis.
- drivebycomment 9y agoIndeed. It's much easier to criticize a new effort. It's not that the components of the criticism itself is necessarily wrong, but the conclusion that what the new endeavor is doing is impossible is purely based on armchair quarterback. We should remain skeptical whenever someone says they will do great things that hasn't been done before, but immediately going to the conclusion of "it's impossible because I can't imagine how to make it work" is just plain arrogance - a true skeptic should be skeptical of his/her own judgement.
- WalterBright 9y agoI am listening, I'd like to know more from them.
- Judgmentality 9y ago>This is the standard "engineers other than software are idiots" type HN FUD What? I don't think that has anything to do with it at all, and the distinction between types of engineering seems irrelevant. I think he's pointing out that they're trying to make a profitable business without understanding the necessary costs. Given the nature of startups to overpromise and underdeliver (as that's a common tactic to help raise money), his skepticism seems reasonable to me. I see just as many criticisms of software businesses on this site (actually many more, since there are far more articles about software companies here than hardware companies). I have very little aerospace experience so I do not claim to be an expert, and while like to see people tackling big problems eventually succeed, his points seem salient to me.
- olympus 9y agoThis has nothing to do with a software engineer looking down on other types of engineering, since I'm not a software engineer. My post was all about Boom's marketing mouth making claims that it won't be able to back up, or possibly making half-truths that are going to leave people disappointed. I'm also an "aerospace veteran" and have seen more projects cancelled than succeed (most recently the Lear 85). Designing a new plane is capital "H" Hard. That goes doubly so for planes that are big departures from the previous experience of the company. Cessna makes great light business jets. They are currently trying to design a line of bigger jets and are finding it very hard. Lear can't figure out how to make anything without mechanical flight controls. It takes a couple generations of design to figure things out. So a bunch of engineers from Scaled and Boeing aren't going to help. How many ex-Concorde engineers have they hired?
- simonh 9y ago>How many ex-Concorde engineers have they hired? All right, when you said you are an aerospace veteran I was prepared to take you seriously, but this cancels that out completely. Firstly any Concorde engineers would, if they started their career right out of college on Concorde, be about 80 years old by now. Then this plane is using different and much more modern engine technology, different control systems and different materials. Almost nothing learned from Concorde would be up to date and relevant to this plane, from an engineering perspective.
- notatoad 9y agoIn fairness, HN usually assumes software engineers are idiots too. The general sentiment is more "engineers other than me are idiots".