**Blimp launch information** (and new banner photo)

[Lacrosseus]

Just to clarify. It is actually the fault of the initial blimp company. If they had not been untruthful about their timeline and capacity to make the banner we would not have had to switch. The company that is making the banners for the blimp now has been working day and night to make something happen in days that they normally have months to accomplish.

If they made a commitment to have this done (not just a 'we will try') then I would have their ass on the line for all actual costs incurred by Liberty Advertising above and beyond their estimated costs and I would consider other legal remedies for possible damages.

If they did not make a firm commitment then they should not have been given the task to begin with; there was no room for error.

How many other situations like this are still sitting out there to bite this project in the butt?

AND, this is not the best place to post this -- but you should be playing the delay up... feeding the media... and trying to get coverage. A well managed project always attempts to manage risks by turning those that cannot be avoided into something positive so that they will have less of an impact.

 

[Mckarnin]

At least she is giving something. Trevor and Elijah have been non-exististing through the last 5 days. But to be fair they are probably very busy obviously.

Trevor and Elijah both flew out today and just arrived in Norfolk, VA tonight and will be in Elizabeth City, NC first thing tommorow AM. Originally they were going to drive straight there tonight and be in Elizabeth City to go over stuff with the crew before tommorow's launch but now that we've been delayed there isn't as much of a rush.

You are correct in thinking that they have been busting their tails. I am just able to be on here more because my job involves being on the phone and online all day.

 

[michaelwise]

Sorry, I've gotten behind on the forums. All of us have been working like crazy to get the logistics set. Remember we weren't even sure this was happening until Thursday when we got the money.

Thanks for doing all you can to get that blimp in the air as soon as possible. It will make all our jobs, to get Ron Paul elected, much easier the sooner it gets airborne. I'm glad to see that it will be fully dressed on launch day. I'm OK with the delay and would not like to see my blimp half naked outside in the middle of winter.

 

[RP4Pres2008]

Can we just have a straight forward list of what still needs to be done? Can anyone help me out here? Is it just the banners? Are they being made? Are they done and we are just waiting for them to get to the blimp?

 

[Mckarnin]

Security delays? What are you talking about? Since when do you need four weeks notice to ship cargo on a plane? That is incredibly absurd. What company was it going to be shipped with? What kind of plane was it going to be shipped on? How big is a blimp banner when it's folded up inside a box? This makes absolutely no sense!

From the blimp owner's mouth. I guess the banner company could have shipped it that moment if it had had a person to accompany (security reasons again) it but it didn't so they shipped it the next fastest way.

 

[Lacrosseus]

I work in procurement for a living, and as the adage goes . . . shit happens.

Thing is, when schedules are tight and the stakes high, Murphy's Law kicks in full gear.

I stopped reading the thread a few pages back because of all the negativity, but my assumption is that the clock hasn't started ticking yet on the 30 days?

Big deal. I think the odds are against Boston, whether the blimp is flying in time or not. The blimp is not a campaign killer -- it's still a campaign lifter; however, I think contingencies should be in development for high profile fly-overs.

Ummm.... Yes, but a well managed project has had a lot of risk management planning to make sure that the shit does not impact the project.

I agree... Boston is going to be difficult. It is a bit hard to do with a blimp, but I would go ahead and call off plans for the blimp at the tea party -- and then try to get it there as a surprise. That sets expectations... and beats them if possible. But again, we are talking about a 300 foot long blimp, so it is a bit hard to do that.

 

[BeFranklin]

Just to clarify. It is actually the fault of the initial blimp company. If they had not been untruthful about their timeline and capacity to make the banner we would not have had to switch. The company that is making the banners for the blimp now has been working day and night to make something happen in days that they normally have months to accomplish.

I don't doubt you'd have to 'bust it' if a project like this really happens, like you've said in many posts. I object however to the statement that a banner takes MONTHS to create. I'll just take it you meant that as a way of emphasis. :o I'm sure a project like this would be very difficult to do

 

[RP4U&ME]

Can the deadline on the 21st for the balance payment be pushed back a few days?
People may hesitate to contribute more until they see this puppy airborne.
And the blimp site really needs updating, it still says you're taking off tomorrow.
Thanks again, in the end this will all be worth it.

 

[Mckarnin]

Here comes 48 travelling hours (out of 100 hours in total). And half of the time is night time flying.

They are being very flexible with us and we have an agreement for at least 160 air hours. In addition getting to Boston takes the same amount of time no matter when it happens...unless their are tailwinds one day and not another. At 30 MPH the trip to Boston is about 20 hours for the blimp.

 

[BeFranklin]

Can the deadline on the 21st for the balance payment be pushed back a few days?
People may hesitate to contribute more until they see this puppy airborne.
And the blimp site really needs updating, it still says you're taking off tomorrow.
Thanks again, in the end this will all be worth it.

??

 

[libertyfilms]

Trevor and Elijah both flew out today and just arrived in Norfolk, VA tonight and will be in Elizabeth City, NC first thing tommorow AM.

Trevor and Elijah aren't even there?

This blimp was never going to launch on Dec. 10th, 11th, 12th etc.

More lies.

 

[Man from La Mancha]

I don't doubt you'd have to 'bust it' if a project like this really happens, like you've said in many posts. I object however to the statement that a banner takes MONTHS to create. I'll just take it you meant that as a way of emphasis. :o

Ben could it be that the banner companys have so many orders that it takes months to get if taken in sequence of ordering?

.

 

[BeFranklin]

Ben could it be that the banner companys have so many orders that it takes months to get if taken in sequence of ordering?

.

Yes thats possible It be nice if all this was spelled out in a well written log. It would probably generate more donations and buzz

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

hell, its less than a thousand miles from MA to NC, why didnt someone just go pick it up

As an aside it might be too late for Boston, but its not too late to get to Phoenix for the superbowl and LA for super tuesday....

 

[Mckarnin]

A lot of people who have donated do the blimp do not come to ronpaulforums.com.

Katharine, could you please post some updated information on ronpaulblimp.com?

I would think that while you all are sitting around waiting for the banners to come, you should have sufficient time to post updated information on the ronpaulblimp.com website, or, as has been suggested, start a blog that details some of the problems and gives at least daily updates if not more often.

Changes to the website, like changing out the "Love Revolution" way of describing the message, have not been done. The "mother ship 1" term, previously on the Flight Plan, has already been picked up by some news stories.

I second the advice of other posters here about honesty. Once credibility is lost, it's very hard to regain it, and this will be very important as you/we have to raise money to keep the blimp afloat.

I started informational threads that got up to over 500 posts on this forum and others that cleared 200 on Daily Paul. That was a big dose of honesty and based completely on the information I had access to. I haven't had information that is as certain for a few days so I held off. That may have been a mistake.

 

[austin356]

Anyone for a class action lawsuit against the blimp company?









.....




jk

 

[Charles Wilson]

NO!

 

[Mckarnin]

(maybe I can volunteer?

Seriously, this is her job, to keep people informed. What percent of people who have donated to the blimp come here to Ron Paul Forums? There's a poor person posting on Daily Paul tonight (a few hours ago) who is there in NC and wants to know if he should still go there for the launch tomorrow, since the launch date on ronpaulblimp.com is STILL listed as December 12th.

RonPaulBlimp.com at 10:20 EST tonight (still).
"Artwork is being prepared and theinaugural launch is scheduled for December 12th from Elizabeth City, NC and then to be in Boston, MA by December 15th/16th! Location will be released soon!"

Post on Daily Paul (1 hr. ago)
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/12889

They're too busy to post the info on their website? What are they doing? They're just sitting there waiting for their banners. How long does it take to update a page on a website? It shows a complete lack of concern for people who have donated and other supporters. And it also shows a fairly serious lack of PR savvy for what's supposed to be a PR firm.

I got promoted from straight up Customer Relations to also being the Project Manger. I can handle a lot but it is kind of hard to delegate disemination of information when the story is this complicated.

 

[Menthol Patch]

The blimp MUST be in BOSTON FOR THE TEA PARTY!

NO EXCUSES!

 

[alieas007]

Sad, I highly doubt at this point the blimp will ever make the tea party. Glad I did not waste any money on this

I highly doubt its a waste.