The Concept

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Flight Simulator

The following is not intended to be an offering of securities, but rather a summary of historical investment activity.

From the start, Ohio Airships has used a consistent methodology for financing Dynalifter development.

First the company develops an exciting long-term goal or vision.  Second, the company breaks down the large goal into smaller development milestones.  Third, professional advisors estimate the cost of producing the next milestone.  And fourth, private investors fund the milestone.

It is worth noting that the earlier the milestone, the greater the risk was to each investor.  Imagine what it must have been like for the first investors, who 'rolled the dice' on a vision alone.  With the successful completion of each milestone however, the total project risk became exponentially smaller.

Ohio Airships owes much of its success to the "Founders Group", a group of 47 visionaries who invested a great deal of money and effort in bringing Dynalifter "Roadless Trucking" to the world.  Over 50% of the Founders Group members are either business owners, lawyers, doctors, professors, CPA's, engineers, or stockbrokers.

The following is a breakdown of the company's previous goals and milestones:

By completing this goal, the company believed it would have all the necessary pieces in place to attract large investments, global customers, and major aerospace companies.

Shortly after the idea was conceived, advisors recommended protecting the concept with a patent.  Internal research uncovered many previous patents for "hybrid" airplane/airships, and one in particular which most closely resembled the Dynalifter which was now "public domain".

Patent attorneys suggested that the Dynalifter, because of its unique internal configuration, was patentable, and they quoted the process.  Ohio Airships then handed this quote to several interested investors and successfully raised the money.

After two years and three revisions, Ohio Airships received the Dynalifter patent.

While the patent was still pending, Ohio Airships was advised to obtain a professional endorsement of the concept.  The company believed however that it was critical to receive endorsement from a top, industry-recognized aeronautical engineering group, no matter what the cost would be.

After receiving quotes for feasibility studies from three reputable "conceptual design" firms, Ohio Airships selected Dr. Daniel Raymer's Conceptual Research Corporation.  Raymer was formerly Lockheed Martin's Director of Advanced Design, was Rockwell's "Engineer of the Year", and was one of the few engineers who had the courage to bet his reputation on a radically-new concept.

Raymer's quote, while extremely reasonable, was far beyond the capabilities of the existing investor pool and current founders.  Sure enough, a brave investor emerged and paid for the Dynalifter general feasibility study.

Before beginning work, Raymer warned Ohio Airships that his findings would be unbiased and potentially unfavorable to the project.  However, if the findings were favorable, that his neutrality would lend far more credibility to the project.

Dr. Raymer's study lasted six months and answered many of the general questions regarding the feasibility of Dynalifters.  His "Phase-1" study covered:

• Performance requirements
• Airframe layout
• Helium vs. wing lift optimization
• Engine selection
• Initial structural recommendations
• Preliminary cost estimation
• "Go" or "no go" of the project

Of course, Raymer found that the Dynalifter concept was feasible, both technically and economically.  In a single moment, investors' risk was cut in half.

After a successful general feasibility study, Dr. Raymer immediately quoted Ohio Airships on a follow-on, detailed feasibility study.  This study proposed to:

• Confirm or challenge previous findings using completely different approaches (CFD's)
• Enlist two reputable aerospace contractors to provide greater detail on the "aerodynamic" and "structural" segments
• Provide preliminary materials and components lists
• Produce a detailed production cost estimation
• Provide operational cost estimations
• Study the FAA certification process
• Conceptually design a small, manned prototype
• Recommend a "Go" or "no go" for the project

Once again, Ohio Airships was faced with having to raise a relatively significant amount of capital to achieve the milestone.  A bold father and son duo emerged to pay the bill.

Raymer's second study lasted six months and concluded once more that the Dynalifter concept was technically and economically feasible.  And again, the investors' risk was cut in half. Confident that his professional predictions were both accurate and would be of interest to future customers, Dr. Raymer agreed to present his findings in an exclusive press conference at Washington DC's "Pentagon City".  Present were national reporters and US Military planners.

The primary goal of the "manned prototype" project was to gain international attention for the Dynalifter project.  The secondary goal was to "prove the concept".  Ohio Airships considered this secondary for the simple reasons that 95% of the engineering was focused on the feasibility of large Dynalifter Freighters, and that a relatively tiny Dynalifter wouldn't provide much scaleable data (performance proof-of-concept).

Nevertheless, the company enlisted Don VanFossen, a former NASA, McDermott, and B&W aeronautical engineer, to produce a detailed design for the small, Dynalifter prototype.  New Ohio Airships Founders stepped forward to provide production capital and airport facilities.

After three years of production on a shoestring budget, the prototype received its FAA Experimental Airworthiness Certificate, and was ready to begin flight testing.  Shortly after receiving certification, Ohio Airships achieved its primary goal of "gaining international attention" by making the Associate Press and United Press International newswires, and appearing in the New York Times, National Geographic, Wired Magazine, and on the cover of Popular Mechanics Magazine.

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