Addressing the Practical Challenges of Commercial Space and Private Aviation Start-ups

NEW YORK, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Imaginova Corp. and Esther Dyson of
EDventure announced today that they will jointly present Flight School
2008: Where the Rubber Meets the Clouds. The intensive three-day workshop
allows participants to identify and address the major challenges facing
entrepreneurs in private aviation and commercial space. Flight School 2008
will take place June 4 to 6 at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder, Colorado.

Flight School 2008 participants will include entrepreneurs, marketers,
equipment manufacturers, aircraft and facilities operators as well as
analysts, investors and regulators. They will come together to share
experiences, refine strategies and better understand each other's common
pursuits and competitive positions.

"Personal spaceflight and private aviation start-ups are transforming
the establishment in an exciting way," said Dyson, creator of the Flight
School workshops, chairman of EDventure and former host of PC Forum. "Years
ago, I watched the Internet and the PC transform information technology
from a world of scientists and government-funded high priests into a
vibrant, innovative sector of commercially energized and fearless start-ups
who have changed the world. Flight School 2008 is assembling the pioneers
who will lead a similar transformation in air and space."


Planned discussion topics for Flight School 2008 include:
- The air traffic control challenge: Growing up around an old model
- Air taxis: What have we learned so far?
- Air charter economics: Can they last?
- Safety, reliability and innovation
- Environmental issues: Facing the facts
- Finance: Where the money meets the clouds
- Insurance and legal issues
- Sizing the commercial space market
- The aftermarket: Hotels, tours and training
Flight School 2008 workshop sessions will be moderated by Dyson; Lon
Rains, Editor-in-Chief of Space News and Christian Kjelgaard, Senior Editor
of Aviation.com.

Lead-off speakers for the interactive sessions will include "new
veterans" such as:

- Eric Anderson, President and CEO of Space Adventures
- Peter Diamandis, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Zero-G Corporation
- Dan Gerrity, CEO of Naverus Corporation
- Eric Haseltine, Managing Partner of Haseltine Partners LLC (formerly
with the Directorate of National Intelligence and Walt Disney
Imagineering)
- John Higginbotham, Chairman of SpaceVest
- Ed Iacobucci, President and CEO of DayJet
- Vern Raburn, CEO of Eclipse Aviation
- Andrew Steinberg, Attorney-at-Law (Former Assistant Secretary of
Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs and Chief Counsel
of the Federal Aviation Administration)
Participants will also have the opportunity to register separately for
a Zero-G weightless flight after the close of the workshop on June 6.

"As publisher of Space News, Space.com and Aviation.com, Imaginova has
been at the forefront of chronicling the growth and development of personal
spaceflight and commercial aviation. It was a natural fit for us to co-
present Flight School 2008," said Dan Stone, President and CEO of Imaginova
Corp. "Esther Dyson is one of those exceptional talents whose curiosity,
imagination and business acumen make her a true visionary. Assembling the
best minds and rallying them around solutions will undoubtedly help propel
innovation and we're proud to be a partner in this exciting endeavor."

Early bird registration for Flight School 2008 begins January 31, 2008.
For session details, an agenda, an updated list of speakers and their bios
and registration information, please visit:
http://www.aviation.com/flightschool.

About Imaginova

Imaginova is a leading digital media and commerce company and the
preeminent online destination for the Intellectually Curious. The Imaginova
Network of media properties, including LiveScience.com, Space.com,
Aviation.com, Newsarama.com and Space News (SpaceNews.com), delivers
engaging and entertaining editorial and multimedia content to a robust
community of curious and well-informed users. Imaginova's original content
is syndicated through major online portals and licensed by educational
publishers and institutions. Imaginova is also the premier source of
innovative consumer and educational products available at
OrionTelescopes.com, LiveScienceStore.com, and StarryNightStore.com.
Founded in 1999, Imaginova Corp. is privately held and based in New York
City, with offices and news bureaus in Virginia, California, Toronto and
Paris. For more information, please visit http://www.Imaginova.com.

About Esther Dyson and EDventure

Esther Dyson is a long-time catalyst of start-ups in information
technology in the US and other markets, including Russia. Since selling her
company EDventure Holdings to CNET Networks in 2004, she has taken on newer
challenges in private aviation and space as well as health care (as a
director of 23andMe, a consumer genetics company). Her IT investments have
included Flickr and del.icio.us (both sold to Yahoo!), Medstory (sold to
Microsoft), as well as Meetup Inc., Eventful.com, Boxbe and Voxiva; she
sits on the boards of the latter four companies. Dyson is also an active
investor in air and space, with holdings in Space Adventures and Zero-G
Corporation, as well as XCOR Aerospace, Constellation Services, Coastal
Aviation Group, Airship Ventures and Icon Aircraft. She does business under
the (reclaimed) name of EDventure.

For more information, please visit http://www.edventure.com.