Following on from the previous posts on the America’s Cup theme, and how we should be taking advantage, I appeared on TV3′s The Nation this morning, sitting alongside Tim Smyth from Core Builders Composites. The show will eventually be found on The Nation’s on-demand page.
We had a good chat before, during and after the show, and he had read the post below (not the update) and agreed with the thesis that the greater race is how to step up the industry. His own company uses digital manufacturing techniques – automating the creation of the moulds and the manufacturing of composites. Composites are what we know as carbon fibre, kevlar in things like bikes, boats and buildings, and the material can be lighter, stronger and cheaper for many applications. Moreover there is now accelerated local knowledge in aerodynamics that we can use.
Tim’s take on the automatic control foiling system is that is was there the whole time, and that the dramatic improvements can be put down to the normal (hyper fast) continuous improvement processes with a large contributing fact to the tuning of the wing sail. That does make sense to me as recall that the commentators said that the Oracle USA wing sail was using a less advanced technique than Team NZ’s – at least near the beginning of the regatta.
We also talked about the frustration with finding money to invest in business and buy capital plant – their business cost just $7 million to set up here – versus the ease of finding money for beach houses and electricity company IPOs. We both agree, for instance, that the electricity industry is nearing the point where it will be disrupted. More on that point at some stage.
Overall let’s maintain focus on the prize – the $40 billion in exports
Lance Wiggs 
Hi Lance, I just read your post and saw you on television yesterday with America’s cup guy. As a technologist and inventor of the only single piece dual spinning mass possible which I have applied in the development of several inventions one being an emissions reduction catalyst which bolts on to any engine I do have the advanced knowhow and expertise to build a radical new wingless flight craft straight off the bat out of my head. I was born gifted with 3D/4D visualisation ability and what I can conceive and visualise in my mind I can construct with compete detailed accuracy including run real time flow scenarios and the go out gather the required materials and build with my own hands and be certain the device or invention, process works properly first time everytime. This new craft when built and flown for the first time over the next few months now ”Kickstarter” is here will be of huge economic benefit to the country it is mass produced and first used in. Which is unlikely to be NZ due to the incredibly stiff resistence and greed and skepticism of potential funders in NZ. This reticence to fund may however have to do with my name having been trashed by technology thieves both local and international who I must point out are still engaged in the pirating of some of my inventions. Their continue activities to keep me pinned down ensuring the can continue their nefarious thievery without to much threat of legal action and thus via their ongoing interference it has proven difficult to make headway here. Anyway what I want to ask is would you rather invest more money towards another rich boys game of cat and mouse played out using old technology developed by my ancestors of Te Arawa of build something worthy of good and intelligent men who know and can face the difficulties or rapid climate change now upon us. Please do yourself and family and friends a favour and read the latest IPCC United Nation report which states they are now 95% certain climate change is real and the planet is rapidly heating up. My questions to you is would you rather have a fancy catamaran on the ocean to aid your efforts to survive or a radical new super safe anti-crash solar powered vertical takeoff and landing craft with unlimited travel range. And at lower cost than a cheap new car??????
Kindest Regards
Michael Ken Pedlar
Inventor of Inertialess Drive and many other technologies. PS. Likely Oracle had a couple hidden in hull.
LikeLike