For the first time, a privately developed aircraft has flown faster than sound
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/01/for-the-first-time-a-privately-developed-aircraft-has-flown-faster-than-sound/Open linkView original on lemmy.worldhttps://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/01/for-the-first-time-a-privately-developed-aircraft-has-flown-faster-than-sound/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
* for the second time
When was the first time?
The Concorde
But that was a publicly funded joint venture. The governments of the UK and France basically paid for development.
Concorde : private companies funded by public money from France and UK -> Not privately developed
XB1 : private company funded by public money from Saudi Arabia -> privately developed
To be fair. There is a meaningful difference between venture capital and joint ventures.
Like the concord was amazing for its time. But we have to acknowledge the accomplishment here.
Absolutely. It's technically very impressive.
But I wonder why the PR insists on the 'first private' thingy. I am not sure how it's relevant, seeing how the funding for these projects have changed in all these years.
I think it’s because they reallly want to say “first!!” But have to add an adjective to be able to truthfully say it.