Assuming it will eventually fly, does sitting in a plane with an RC controller in hand makes you a pilot or RC hobbyist?

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ATPLguy@reddit

Technically its a FBW control system.

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wasthatitthen@reddit

Wireless friend with benefits??

Wrong sub, mate.

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GARGLE_MY_GOLF_BALLS@reddit

It's also only elevators and rudder, much like a theoretical Airbus on which enough has failed that the sidestick is just a fidget toy

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BigJellyfish1906@reddit

It would make him an idiot. Because what happens if a bump knocks the controller out of his hands, or there is some signal interference? That would be stupid failure point to introduce.

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FoximaCentauri@reddit

Next time watch the video before you call someone an idiot, because he addresses exactly this in there.

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BigJellyfish1906@reddit

I said it would make him an idiot (if he flew it like that) per OP’s question.

How does he address it?

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Federal_Cobbler6647@reddit

Cardboard and cardboard derivates are in and yet front has not fallen off! Have we been wrong all the time?!

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wileysegovia@reddit

The front was towed out of the environment.

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GeriatricusMaximus@reddit

That makes you a Darwin Award contender.

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Crazy__Donkey@reddit (OP)

p/s

i guess they didn't learn the lesson from titan submarine incident.

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While putting all your control into the hands of a hobby-grade radio transmitter isn't the smartest idea, let's not pretend that the Logitech controller on the Titan had anything to do with why and how it failed.

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Affectionate_Spell11@reddit

This. In fact, using that thing was probably one of the smarter things they did. Game controllers put a lot of controls at your fingertips in a way that is intuitively familiar to a lot of people, and their general ergonomics have been pretty much perfected by now. There's a reason all controllers look pretty similar these days and wacky stuff like the N64 controller isn't done outside of retro recreations. In fact, the US military has been using gamepad-style controls for quite some time now for exactly this reason

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Several_Leader_7140@reddit

But the Logitech one is the shittiest choice possible. Ask anybody who has own one, it will break, writhing a few months, for no reason

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Kalkin93@reddit

Yeah I like Peters videos but not having manual control (unless I missed something when I watched the video) seems a bit stupid. I guess even if it did fly he wouldn't take it too high to risk serious injury (or at least minimise it) but still.

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Crazy__Donkey@reddit (OP)

dude doesnt even wear an helmet or other protective gear....

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jacobthellamer@reddit

He has a helmet on.

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Guthix_Wraith@reddit

Pilot. Your flight control system may not be the standard but you'd be piloting that craft.

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DPPThrow45@reddit

Peter doesn't build Darwin Award generators . He builds weird stuff but he's not an idiot

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Guthix_Wraith@reddit

Fair enough. No idea whom this person is but personally I couldn't be convinced of the airworthiness of a cardboard glider let alone a powered craft.

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jacobthellamer@reddit

From his video series it sounded like he only planned to fly for very short distances very close to the ground very slowly.

Enough to prove it can fly with as little risk as possible.

Catastrophic failure would probably be akin to falling off a bicycle but with a little more cushioning.

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billiyII@reddit

Under pilots (at least at my local place) we jokingly say "don't worry i wont fly to high or too fast" because being low and slow has the highest risk of a stall & crash.

I doubt he can fly while being as slow as a bike without stalling.

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jacobthellamer@reddit

Low and slow in this case is like under 2m and 20ms. Maybe more like falling from a horse than a bicycle. Low and slow enough for a crash to be unlikely to cause injury.

I think the biggest risk is having his throttle stick and somehow gain unwanted altitude, I think he has an emergency disconnect that would mitigate that.

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DietCherrySoda@reddit

20 m/s ain't no horse doing 72 lol.

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billiyII@reddit

20 m/s is 45 mp/h or 72 km/h. I would not consider it safe, with or without helmet regardless of altitude.

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jacobthellamer@reddit

You are right probably not enough power for 20 with how draggy that thing is, probably between 5 and 10ms.

I have spirited over 80km/h on the flat on my bicycle so still in the same ballpark for risk. And he is wearing a helmet, you can see the chin strap.

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BrewCityChaserV2@reddit

Well, at least if you're smart enough to wear head protection.

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KHWD_av8r@reddit

It’s very low weight (in fact, he jettisons the undercarriage after takeoff to reduce weight), has long-ass wings, an airfoil which is efficient at low speeds.

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Kanyiko@reddit

he jettisons the undercarriage after takeoff to reduce weight

... now why am I imagining a Flintstones landing?

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billiyII@reddit

Even considering that, i still doubt it. Body weight is a lot.

Physically possible, but i think he's still going to be fast and in mild danger. Which might be okay for him for a hobby project, but for a pilot even 99% safe is not enough.

I don't mean to attack the achievement, im just with the other guy on the safety issue and i acknowledge that taking that risk is up to the pilot. And that's okay.

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OTheodorKK@reddit

Look at it this way. Skiing down a slope and hitting a jump would usually both be higher and faster than this plane will ever fly. Bmx bikes usually also hits jumps higher and faster than this. Motocross bikes hits jumps faster and higher than this. I have faceplanted in all of these situations with just some light injuries. (And some bigger ones). However i am not saying it is 100% safe. I just think most people overestimate how hard he can physically hit the ground with this thing.

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BrewCityChaserV2@reddit

Those people also are performing calculated moves which allow them to gently land on the ground in a predictive manner (and with proper body and head protection).

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insomniac-55@reddit

He's been around producing all sorts of flying vehicles (mainly RC, but a few flying ultralights) for years now.

He knows full well that this particular aircraft isn't, and never will be airworthy. He basically wants to do a short hop at a survivable altitude should anything fail, then retire it as a completed project.

It's not completely safe, but he isn't going to take this thing more than 10 ft into the air - it's a calculated level of risk and he'll probably get away with it.

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DPPThrow45@reddit

Peter Sripol on YouTube. He already built an ultralight-type plane that worked well

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Subject-Inflation805@reddit

Guy's an aerospace engineer 🥴

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SpruceGoose__@reddit

As an aeronautical engineer that watches all his videos I can tell that he is not. Wich is a shame, he is brilliant and could easilly be a reference in the field if he become an engineer

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Subject-Inflation805@reddit

Oh, okey, that's just what i read.

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Ceskaz@reddit

There are some plywood and wooden pieces here and there (he said it's more than 95% cardboard by weight). There's also a strap that go around the fuselage and the piece connected to wing spars.

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Guthix_Wraith@reddit

So I'm not trying to be a f dick or anything but a few people have made these types of comments about either "he's done light craft before" or "it's not all card board" or "it's a low altitude just to say they can't kinda thing.

Does it matter? It's stupid. Will he die from a 10' fall in that, probably not. But a prop could break and it could wind up in his throat. Now that's not likely. It'll probably bend instead of break but a bad temper can happen. Or it's carbon fiber and that will break.

There's also a strap that go around the fuselage and the piece connected to wing spars.

Again I'm not trying to be a dick but so what? I'd almost argue that added strap creating tension could be stressing the cardboard wings. I acknowledge I haven't even looked at the video and I'm still reasonably confident this is just not something that should be done.

We know how smart the average person is and people will get ideas.

That's just my opinion tho.

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countingthedays@reddit

The strap is in place like a strut on many high wing designs. This airplane didn’t work, and everyone know it’s a silly idea. Death seems pretty unlikely though.

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Mission-Flow-3519@reddit

It won’t fly.

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Jackmino66@reddit

Yes

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chillvilletilt@reddit

Peter Stripol is not just a pilot he’s a man of class and style. Back in his FliteTest days he may have flown an RC here and there. However, he is well beyond worthy of a 5th stripe. Truly an honor to be alive at the same time as him.

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SpruceGoose__@reddit

The Burt Rutan of out time

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happierinverted@reddit

No worse than Airbus fbw if you think about it ;)

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perthnut@reddit

Possibly..... the same way a submersible can be controlled by a game controller perhaps?

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Nytalith@reddit

That’s like 3rd airplane this guy built. Previous ones were a bit more serious.

Not sure about American laws but where I’m from main distinction is whether aircraft is manned or unmanned. In this case there’s clearly man on board so it would fall into much more regulated “manned” category.

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Unusual-Pumpkin-7470@reddit

As far as i remember this is his 5th plane, and is considered an ultralight, and as such is not very strictly regulated.

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DorasBackpack@reddit

You can fly anything that's "experimental" and an ultralight, under 254 lbs, and it doesn't have to confirm to real aircraft regulations

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Aggressive_Hall755@reddit

Oh thats the material that Airbus wants to built the A350F on? Damn, he‘s truely ahead of his time

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crystaloftruth@reddit

Pilot the moment it leaves the ground

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Aggressive_Hall755@reddit

It makes you a madman

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pasta_water_tkvo@reddit

Ask the ocean gate guy if he feels like a real helmsman

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Kanyiko@reddit

This very much looks like something from the Stockton Rush class of engineering.

One thing's for sure - fair weather only. The flying characteristics of this craft become a little... sluggish... in precipation. You might even say it would fly like a wet spunge in weather.

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