The Falcon Project

[Believer57]

Hi,

 

The Falcon Project was mentioned in something I saw...perhaps MonsterQuest or the "Legend Meets Science" book or video. Either way, it was dated yet I still see the Web site page is up so someone is paying for it. 

 

Does anyone have an update on this project or did it just go the wayside?

 

Cheers!

 

[Believer57]

After some further reading, it looks like I saw it on the "America’s Books of Secrets" show a few months ago. The episode originally aired about 7 years ago.

 

[Arvedis]

Pretty much an idea that died on the vine. Has some potential but it would need generous funding.

Edited December 17, 2020 by Arvedis

[Arvedis]

 

Quote

 

From Jan, 2015: https://www.idahostatejournal.com/members/falcon-project-hopes-to-find-bigfoot-with-unmanned-airship/article_9123b55e-a47f-11e4-bc8b-5746d2cac692.html

 

Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum emphasized the word “investment” in reference to a Wall Street Journal article published Wednesday about Carmine “The Godfather of Bigfoot” Biscardi, a partner in the newly formed Bigfoot Project Investments, which seeks investors to raise up to $3 million in a proposed initial public offering, or IPO. 

 

"It is unfortunate that his story attracts such inordinate attention from the media when serious research and analysis of credible evidence is overlooked or trivialized," Meldrum said. "We will have no association with him or his activities.”

 

So if it doesn’t intend to take any money raised by the discredited Biscardi and his planned IPO, how does the Meldrum’s Falcon Project intend to raise money for its venture?

 

“Donations made to the ISU Foundation, which has established an account for the Falcon Project, provide a tax benefit to the donor, and assurance of institutional oversight, but we are not approaching the funding of this project as an ‘investment’ with expectations of individual dividends.”

 

“The Falcon Project is tapping the crowd sourcing pipeline, in addition to a select few significant and generous benefactors who desire only to be part of this historical exploratory project. Crowd-sourcing offer incentives to individual donors like autographed books, VIP experiences in the field, in recognition of larger donors.”

 

 

 

One way to reduce overhead is to focus on making the project as much AI driven as possible.  If it is a matter of monitoring imaging scans, that is exactly what AI is good at. It would still be an expense to build it but that takes a load off researcher time.

 

 

 

[Believer57]

I do agree with your assessment. The project caught my eye when watching the show because I specialize in UAVs and VTOLs, now only as a hobby. Back around the same time frame of 2015, we used drones (hexacopters and octocopters) with expensive multispectral cameras for checking agriculture, algae, and various inspections like rooftops and electric utility lines. Although the equipment was owned by a local college, I still have several of my own drones including a large DJI S900 hexacopter. In the 5 year span to 2020, the technology has changed so fast that it was difficult (and expensive) to keep up even when you were in that industry.

 

My first concern when seeing the Falcon Project was that it would never work on windy days. We have a similar issue when flying VTOLs that are part copter and part plane. A large blimp-like aircraft like the Falcon would get blown away with only small fans to control it.

 

Next, I saw that the project looked like it just stopped in its tracks. The Web site hasn't been updated since its inception and I can only find dated articles on it...much like your 2015 article. Yet, someone seems to be paying for the domain name (I also have my own) and host area to keep the files.

 

More recently, there have been suggestions of using a Parrot - ANAFI Thermal Drone for searching the surrounding woods. At only $1900, perhaps some field researchers could use it on a calm day. Much more capable, and expensive, solutions exist but it is still unknown what these creatures would do if they heard the whine of a drone overhead.

 

Cheers!

[Arvedis]

It's a really interesting idea. Just cost prohibitive. Drones seem easy to implement but when you start getting into planning how to use it for research, it becomes a bigger effort to design than just sending it up to take footage. Seems to be a good project for a retired techie who is not dependent on being paid to show Meldrum how to get it done cost effectively.

[Arvedis]

Did some BFF digging and found an outstanding interview by member @Lake County Bigfooot with William Barnes who is the driver behind the Falcon Project.

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lakecountybigfooot/2015/02/17/the-falcon-project-a-discussion-for-the-bigfoot-forums

 

It's almost 90 minutes total.

 

I am not aware if anyone has actually seen the drone that was allegedly being built?  The way he describes it, it sounds like advanced tech that would have made it world class 5-10 years ago. At that time, drone tech was not up to what it is today. I am curious about flight testing and control of the craft, the ability to maneuver and use the sophisticated surveillance that is claimed. Seems like a lot of coordination to manage between hardware, software and ground control, on top of conditions like weather and so on.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Arvedis

[hiflier]

I get the sense that the project came under pressure of some kind, resulting in the decision to cancel it. I only say that because I do think the undertaking had the potential to address the BF existence question in an important way. Which means, I don't think lack of funding was perhaps the chief reason for giving up on it? Someone does not want this creature found if its amazing history of non-discovery has anything to say on the matter.

[Believer57]

hiflier,

 

I have to agree with you, which is why I started this thread...to simply ask if I am missing something.

 

Arvedis,

 

Thanks for the interview link. It was indeed interesting!

 

All my searches for this project seem to end in 2015. Along the way, I found other interesting links that I had not seen before.

 

"Stephen Barclay is the designer of the Aurora MK II airship. The Aurora is a 35-foot dual-cell catamaran-style airship."

 

Bringing in Bigfoot With a Blimp Gets a Boost (2015)

Bigfoot Lunch Club (latest news on this site is from 2016)

 

[hiflier]

22 minutes ago, Believer57 said:

hiflier,

 

I have to agree with you, which is why I started this thread...to simply ask if I am missing something.

 

I'm actually pleased you re-opened the subject. There was certainly a lot buzz when the project was first publicized. It also may have become obsolete in it's concept before it got off the ground, so to speak. In other words, drones and the new-at-the-time NEON  https://www.neonscience.org/  program's capabilities may have meant that the MKII would have been redundant? Maybe the thinking also was that the data received wouldn't have been digitally secure? It couldn't be deployed without attracting a lot of attention? One tear, one bullet, and the whole thing eventually comes down? Weather notwithstanding.

 

So the reasons for backing off from the project may have been as mundane as those above. There is a member here who occasionally visits that worked on the project in some capacity. Maybe he could revisit at some point and add his thoughts on the matter.

 

And please forgive my rudeness, welcome to the Forum

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by hiflier

[Believer57]

Thank you!

 

My perspective on the forum topic is relatively recent as I have only been very interested in the Sasquatch for about a year now. I'm embarrassed to say that my initial interest was spawned by watching Season 1-5 of "Finding Bigfoot" on Amazon Prime. By the second season, I was already pissed off at the format and hoped it would change with each new episode I watched. While they did cover some credible evidence on the show, it was the overall exposure to the subject that got me searching Google and YouTube channels. Each entity I found, like the BFF, BFRO, and various YouTube channels had a unique wealth of information. I then started reading books on the subject. I still find that I have many gaps in my knowledge so it is nice to be able to ask questions here instead of always viewing information coming at you. The BFF seems unique in that aspect.

 

Cheers!

 

[hiflier]

5 minutes ago, Believer57 said:

I still find that I have many gaps in my knowledge so it is nice to be able to ask questions here instead of always viewing information coming at you. The BFF seems unique in that aspect.

 

Indeed it is, Believer57, and for the time that I have been here I still have questions although for me the picture has seemingly take on the luster of a level of malfeasance where Sasquatch discovery is concerned. Generally speaking, IMHO there is something logically "off" about the whole discovery/proof aspect regarding the creature's reality. Not that it isn't real mind you, and I have my reasons for saying as much even without a personal encounter of my own. It's goes more to who knows about the Sasquatch vs. who would be hurt most by public knowledge of its existence. I'm sure in your travels around this fine Forum that you'll run across quite a few discussions that delve into the subject of possible cover ups and who would stand to gain or lose in the process of discovery. But hey, that's just me. Enjoy your time here- lots to learn from some very cool people  

[Marty]

The Falcon project has always been a mystery to me, thank you for that interview link.

[Arvedis]

On 12/19/2020 at 3:03 PM, hiflier said:

I get the sense that the project came under pressure of some kind, resulting in the decision to cancel it. I only say that because I do think the undertaking had the potential to address the BF existence question in an important way. Which means, I don't think lack of funding was perhaps the chief reason for giving up on it? Someone does not want this creature found if its amazing history of non-discovery has anything to say on the matter.

 

In this case, funding for the drone, equipment, expenses was just not attainable. There are only a few people into BF research with an open wallet. 6 figure budgets are not so easy to get, especially for a project leader with zero experience with drones.  Barnes was a gold prospector. He's a smart guy and his plans are worthy of further discussion but he never had an aircraft or a budget to work with. I don't see anything where he was derailed.  

 

This is another example of Meldrum being too eager to be involved in a promising project and making announcements prematurely, without doing due diligence.  I can see his motivation. The role of Idaho State would have been owners of the data collected. So if Barnes could have pulled it off, the research data would have been worth it for ISU to own, even for other scientific research purposes if BF was never found.

Edited December 21, 2020 by Arvedis

[Believer57]

12 hours ago, Arvedis said:

There are only a few people into BF research with an open wallet.

This statement I have also found to be true and I still don't understand it. Most of the field researchers use their own money on their own time and often get shamed when they ask for donations. There is also a need for many different skill sets in the field which either requires a unique individual or a team all focusing on the same goal. Without grants, these field researchers or teams still need to earn a living.

 

  

12 hours ago, Arvedis said:

This is another example of Meldrum being too eager to be involved in a promising project and making announcements prematurely, without doing due diligence.

I have found merit in anything that mentions the name Bigfoot or Sasquatch. As social media brings stories together, even from a hundred years ago, a consensus forms that says something like, "What in the world have we got here?" In other words, raising the noise level may not be a bad thing.

 

20 hours ago, hiflier said:

Indeed it is, Believer57, and for the time that I have been here I still have questions although for me the picture has seemingly take on the luster of a level of malfeasance where Sasquatch discovery is concerned. Generally speaking, IMHO there is something logically "off" about the whole discovery/proof aspect regarding the creature's reality.

I agree but was afraid to post it. Thank you.