I am going to be a little more forthright than usual in defence of the people who have given up their free time for our project. No-one on this project is a professional web designer or editor – if you are we’d be delighted to hear from you if you are prepared to work for free..
They are, however, all people with jobs, lives and families. Any free time they have is normally taken up with getting the real work in hand – building a Whirlwind, not a website – as right as possible. Basically this means doing the unglamorous and thankless stuff Matt was talking about. Anyone who wants to help with that is very, very welcome to do so. In fact, moves are afoot to itemise the outstanding avenues that anyone is welcome to pursue, whether they are registered on the site or not. This is not a clique of those in the know – there really is nothing to know.
There are some very good reasons why part of the site was fenced off – as has been explained several times already, chief among these was the fact that AgustaWestland asked us to. This was when all parties assumed we would be needing to discuss the reams and reams of detailed production drawings we would find!
In those early stages we weren’t too clear on what info should go where, none of us as far as I know having done a website like this before. In the light of AW’s concerns we erred on the side of caution. We are taking on board the criticism and are addressing this right now (chaps, if you are reading this, I can’t get to my Hotmail – but I am in full support of Matt’s proposals in this direction). As for making the forum read-only to the unregistered – I don’t know that any of us even knows HOW to do this (see my first point)!
When there are some nice pics of assemblies to show, we will show them. Until then, apart from Matt’s CAD work (which he is now publishing to the site) progress could only be illustrated by dusty boxes full of largely irrelevant paper, and the very occasional ‘find’ which we are then probably obliged not to publish! Please don’t get the idea that there’s loads of stuff no-one is allowed to see – there really isn’t. Of course, if you are prepared to put in the legwork and find a new document or drawing in an archive, you can look at it all you want! This is the basis on which we have proceeded so far, and all are welcome to join in.
To correct one suggestion made earlier before it becomes ‘fact’ and self-fulfilling, support isn’t waning at all. Those who know about these things – and Steve, thanks for acknowleging that as someone who does know their stuff – know that progress is slow and painful, especially in the early stages, and therefore do not get downhearted or feel that things are being kept from them if they don’t see exciting bits of aeroplane in the first months or even years.
However, positive criticism around the website and registration from all those with the best interests of the project at heart has been gratefully received. Thanks to all who contributed.
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