Part I of a four-article series: Can the Guy Next Door Build His Own Cruise Missile? YES! [and why that may not be the disaster youre expecting!]

jetZILLA Online Magazine begins a 4-part series taking a critical look at one New Zealanders controversial plan to scratch-build a small 'Low Cost Cruise Missile, to try to prove that a domestic terrorist with ordinary skills could produce and deploy such a weapon, without detection, at a cost of less than $ 5000 US.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Larry Cottrill, Editor
jetZILLA Online Magazine
Mingo, Iowa USA 50168-9500
email: Editor@jetzilla.com
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Part I of a four-article series: Can the Guy Next Door Build His Own
Cruise Missile? YES! [and why that may not be the disaster youre expecting!]

Mingo, Iowa, USA, 16 June 2003 - In a Special Edition published today, jetZILLA Online Magazine begins a 4-part series of articles taking a critical look at New Zealander Bruce Simpsons controversial plan to scratch-build a small 'Low Cost Cruise Missile, to try to prove that a domestic terrorist with ordinary skills could produce and deploy such a weapon, without detection, at a cost of less than $ 5000 US. The series will be written by Larry Cottrill, Editor of jetZILLA e-zine.

Several weeks ago, widely known New Zealand experimenter Bruce Simpson announced on his pulsejet Web site that he had sufficient support to undertake what has come to be seen as his most controversial project ever: a serious attempt to build a small, very low cost, jet-powered cruise missile, using ordinary and easily available materials and technology. This device is to be of sufficiently simple design and construction that, if successful, it is supposed to essentially prove that a domestic terrorist with a reasonable level of craft and technical skills could develop, build and deploy such a missile against a domestic target without detection. The idea is that such a missile, traveling at near-treetop level and at reasonably high speed over a relatively short range, could reach its intended target before any practical defensive measures could be deployed against it; launching the missile could be simply achieved from the top of a land vehicle speeding down a rural highway in the dead of night.

This series of articles by jetZILLA Editor Larry Cottrill takes a critical look at the Do-It-Yourself Cruise Missile project, and addresses the main issues that this attempt raises in the areas of appropriateness, feasibility, and potential social impact. This is not muck-raking; the idea behind the articles is neither to patently endorse nor moralistically condemn the project [which is now well underway], but rather to provide a reasoned opinion on the probability and impact of someone succeeding at doing this, and the foreseeable public reaction. We will try to be cognizant of social and historic forces as well as the availability and importance of new technology, without resorting to either philosophizing in the abstract or, at the other extreme, jumping on some 'state of the art enthusiast bandwagon. Mr Simpson is invited to counter or comment on the views expressed at any time [and has done so for this issue] and we will gladly publish his views, whether in relation to each article of the series or on our treatment of the topic in general. Well-expressed comments from readers are also welcome, and will be printed at our discretion as space and time allow, with the remainder of this series or in future issues. [Neither the magazine nor the Editor have any ongoing business relationship with Mr Simpson.]

Our July 16, 2003 Special Edition featuring Part I of this series can be found at:
     http://www.jetzilla.com/Vol01Num04/jetZilla.html
Bruce Simpsons D-I-Y Cruise Missile Construction Diary page appears at:
     http://www.interestingprojects.com/cruisemissile/diary.shtml
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jetZILLATM Online Magazine is the new online newsletter of amateur jet propulsion, published by Cottrill Cyclodyne Corporation, of Mingo, Iowa. Editor: Larry Cottrill. For a free subscription, send a blank email to: jetZILLA-subscribe@topica.com You will receive approximately one issue per month, via email.

Cottrill Cyclodyne Corporation is a for-profit Corporation registered in the State of Iowa, USA - striving to create the world's smallest, safest and most practical hobby jet engines. Previous projects include design of the full-size CyclodyneTM jet powerplant, submitted to NASA in 2001 under the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Grant program.