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LOHAN sponsor Lucidica explains the benefits of being French

There are benefits? Mais oui, says IT support firm

Back in October, the Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team welcomed our magnificent Kickstarter sponsors to Vulture Central, and among those who rolled up to be frisked by security at the door were representatives of London-based IT support firm Lucidica.

The Lucidica team at Vulture Central

With fighting livers at the ready, the company's Laurent Boncenne, James Browning and Thomas Jeffs (pictured from L-R) braced for a mammoth session of merriment, which concluded rather messily at a local boozer with all three commendably among the last men standing.

Before things completely degenerated, CEO and founder Thomas was sufficiently composed to deliver the obligatory blurb, viz: "We’re Lucidica, the IT department for small business. Our friendly team work with SMEs across London, providing total technology solutions, from computers, servers and websites, to mobile devices and SharePoint sites.

"In particular we love the latest and greatest that technology has to offer. So when we heard that El Reg was working on the world's first rocket-powered, 3D-printed aircraft; we simply had to get involved."

Quite so. As the liquid refreshment flowed copiously, the topic of conversation turned from IT support to Lucidica business development head honcho Laurent, whose somewhat louche demeanour marks him as a proud son of France.

Laurent Boncenne at Vulture Central

Cue the obligatory joshing (Trafalgar/Agincourt/Waterloo, etc), countered by a robust defence from Monsieur Boncenne trumpeting the many advantages of hailing from the other side of La Manche.

These include, we were informed, robust five-hour lunches of stuffed songbirds washed down with calvados, a natural talent for blocking motorways with lorries and burning tyres at the slightest provocation, and the ability to dismiss preposterous queries with a swift Gallic shrug and a Je ne sais pas.

Well, it's hard to argue with that, but Laurent's final words on the matter proved more thought-provoking. "As a Frenchman, you are relieved of the expectation of victory," he declared, before wandering off to pluck a stuffed songbird from the Vulture Central buffet table. ®


The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator, sponsored by...

  • EXASOL logo
  • Pulse_Eight
  • SecQuest logo
  • Lucidica logo
  • NXT logo

...and with the invaluable support of...

  • Edge Research Laboratory logo
  • Space Graphic Solutions logo
  • 3D Robotics logo
  • 3T RPD logo
  • University of Southampton logo
  • Applied Vacuum Engineering logo
  • Escher Technologies
  • Flashpoint Fireworks logo
  • HAB Supplies logo
  • Rock 7 logo
  • Random Engineering logo

More from the lovely LOHAN:

  • You can find full LOHAN coverage right here.
  • If you're new to LOHAN, seek out our mission summary for enlightenment.
  • There are photos our our magnificent Vulture 2 spaceplane here, and detailed structural plans here.
  • For your further viewing pleasure, we have all our photographic material stored on Flickr.
  • Our LOHAN and Paper Aircraft Released Into Space (PARIS) videos live on YouTube.
  • We sometimes indulge in light consensual tweeting, as you can see here.

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