REFLECTOR: DeltaHawk statement

Dean May deanmay7 at owc.net
Sat Jul 15 18:32:47 CDT 2006


I have been asked to post this message onto the Reflector from DeltaHawk Engines.  Hope it clears up some confusion.

Dean May
N474MA   
STDRG
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have not posted here before and I am not going to make a habit of it.  My name is Dennis Webb, and I joined DeltaHawk last October as Senior Vice-
President and Chief Operating Officer.  I am an engineer, a pilot for 23 years, and have a 30 year Fortune 500 background in Engineering, Sales, Marketing, and Senior Management, having run a $300M per year global business for many years.

Why the background information?  I wanted to let you know why I was hired, and that is to help transition DeltaHawk from a small R&D company into a full-
fledged, strong, growing business.  I can guarantee that I would not be here if I didn't think that would happen.

There is no doubt that DeltaHawk has missed many dates and commitments.  I can assure you that no one misled anyone on purpose.  I'd like to call it naive 
optimism and enthusiasm.  For those of you that have suffered through the delays, we can only apologize so many times.  What I can tell you is that there is no lack of commitment, dedication, and hard work from this small group of individuals.  That would be seven days a week, many holidays, and I might add sometimes for more than a month without a paycheck as this company has survived on a shoestring budget for many years.  From my perspective they have pulled off 
a miracle based on the number of people and the amount of funding, and I could not be more proud to work with these fine people every day.  As for 
finances, I will get back to that later.

One of the wine makers used to advertise "We will sell no wine before its time."  We obviously did sell wine before its time.  We advertised a product that 
was not ready to be sold.  We will not do that again.  I learned a long time ago that a product is not a product until it is done.  That includes all engineering, all testing, all internal documentation, all manufacturing processes, all governmental requirements, all user documentation, all support infrastructure, all marketing, all training...well, you get the idea.  As we put the structure, people, and business processes in place we will become predictable...that is a guarantee.  But no 
doubt about it, on the business front, there is still lots to do.

So how is the engine doing?  In short, in my 30 years in product development, I have never been more excited about a product.  This product will 
revolutionize aviation...in more ways than are obvious right now.  We are currently in the middle of a very brutal 300 hour test.  This test is twice what the FAA requires for certification.  So far we are very pleased with the engine and its performance.  We are uncovering some 
minor issues...and that is the purpose of the test...but overall the engine is surpassing our own expectations.  Once we get through this, we have some minor 
engineering tasks, drawing cleanup, documentation finalization, and a few other issues, and we will then have a product that is ready to be shipped.

We have a few other extraordinary product developments on the way as well.  When they are products ready to be sold, we'll announce those.  And not a 
minute before.

As always, we will be at Oshkosh this year.  To be very upfront, I am down-playing our presence there, as our number one priority right now is not selling and 
promotion, but getting the engines out.  The time for selling and promotion will be on another day.

On the financial front, we have just completed a restructuring of the company for a major fund raise. We have just received a significant investment, and 
continue to have a stream of very interested parties. We fully expect the fund raise to go very well and very fast.  Once capitalization is no longer an issue, the door is opened to fund badly needed resources, most importantly getting the staff in place we need to move forward and grow at an accelerated pace.

DeltaHawk has always tried to be a very open company.  In some ways that is good, and in other ways that is not.  While we do try to communicate openly, 
in the heat of the battle it is many times overlooked.  What I can tell you is that our doors are open.  Let us know if you want to visit, and we will be happy to accommodate as best we can and show you around.

Best regards,

Dennis



Dennis Webb
DeltaHawk Engines Inc.

2903 Golf Ave
Racine, Wisconsin 53404
USA

phone 262 634 9660
fax 262 634 9625
e-mail Dennis at Deltahawkengines.com


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