It has been estimated but not formally disclosed that Paul Allen has spent about $20-25 million to win the X Prize. Think about it for a minute and you'll be amazed at what Scaled developed for that money:

1. The White Knight "mothership", which also can be configured to mimic the flight characteristics of SpaceShipOne, making it a crew trainer as well. It was designed so that you can easily extend the wingspan, allowing it to carry heavier loads or carry the same load to a higher altitude.*

2. SpaceShipOne, including the engine.

3. Custom avionics used in both the White Knight and SpaceShipOne (I've met the man who made them).

If you go to an ordinary aircraft company, $25 million wouldn't buy a fraction of that.

*I read in the Sept 20 issue of "Aviation Week & Space Technology" that the government will probably contract with Scaled to use the White Knight to do drop tests on the X-37. It'll be MUCH cheaper than using the traditional B-52 for the job. The same issue has a "hunter/killer" version of Rutan's earlier Proteus aircraft on the cover with a good article inside. Northrup/Grumman is proposing it for an Air Force contract.

Rutan is on a roll! (No pun intended about today's flight)