tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post6012202399256901834..comments2024-03-28T00:38:49.562-07:00Comments on Raconteur Report: About Damned TimeAesophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07834464741531503378noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-29125203997490498452017-04-29T17:08:34.367-07:002017-04-29T17:08:34.367-07:00Straight up George Jetson. Very cool. Impressed th...Straight up George Jetson. Very cool. Impressed they are able to get it that compact.<br /><br />-BAP45Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-23892690282143148872017-04-29T12:14:30.375-07:002017-04-29T12:14:30.375-07:00Fer cripes sakes, man, let them do flight testing....Fer cripes sakes, man, let them do flight testing.<br />Manning it and testing the flight envelope is only how every plane since the Wright Brothers has been validated and certified.<br />But unlike 57 examples going back the last 30 years, this one is real, not an artist's conception, and it's actually flown.<br />Putting it <i>miles</i> ahead of the previous stuff.<br /><br />The make-or-break will be production, and price point.Aesophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07834464741531503378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-57831065415266862652017-04-28T19:04:22.502-07:002017-04-28T19:04:22.502-07:00A real big homebuilt drone. Now put someone in it...A real big homebuilt drone. Now put someone in it. Flying it. Looks mighty wind-affected, as you would expect given its likely heft.....bart simpsonsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01840436089787700707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-8940852840785041292017-04-24T08:25:17.499-07:002017-04-24T08:25:17.499-07:00Using the stupidest end of the gene pool as an arg...Using the stupidest end of the gene pool as an argument against technology undoes everything, starting with fire and sharpened sticks.<br />The real argument is to think of how many of those very retards you'd be leaving behind on the ground in the first place.Aesophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07834464741531503378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-22905587618707935322017-04-24T06:35:34.608-07:002017-04-24T06:35:34.608-07:00You know, people driving here in NJ routinely scar...You know, people driving here in NJ routinely scare me enough to soil my shorts in vehicles they can only control (or fail to) in two dimensions, I'd rather not see some jackwagon who can change altitude as well as speed and lane while updating facebook/tweeting/instagraming/changing music. <br /><br />And yes, I know that could be Darwin at work, I've no objection to such a-holes removing themselves from the gene pool. My problem is the people they take with them, like the husband of my wife's friend who lost a leg because someone was too busy texting to notice that the truck he was approaching was parked on the side of the road, with orange cones, while he filled a pothole and caught him between car-and-truck.<br /><br />Mark DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-59775162941389285642017-04-23T09:23:58.635-07:002017-04-23T09:23:58.635-07:00Dan: that's not CG, it's real, and it flew...Dan: that's not CG, it's real, and it flew.<br />(And yes loren, NOLO on the maiden flight. RC, and empty.)<br />The energy/kg isn't the point; they have a working prototype.<br /><br />Also, no fuel load means no change in handling over time, except for crew (of 2).<br />They aren't trying to replace a 757, but 160 miles range (with a 10% reserve) is a flying commuter car, for all intents and purposes. And that's before we get into solar recharging.<br />If the cost and maintenance time per flight hr beats helicopters', then rotary wing just lost the short-range passenger market. <br />For that matter, maybe even the PD patrol market. Especially if initial acquisition is substantially less than a Bell Jetranger $1.2M new) or Hughes 500 ($1.5M new).<br /><br />I'm waiting to see if it's priced more like a Tesla than a Camry.<br />And if they can get to production from prototype.<br />But they're farther ahead than any 200 versions of vaporware I've seen since the early 1980s. So this isn't Lucy holding the football again...yet.Aesophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07834464741531503378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-22532624451942654382017-04-23T05:46:55.093-07:002017-04-23T05:46:55.093-07:00The way that aircraft jumped off the ground seemed...The way that aircraft jumped off the ground seemed it indicate an excess of thrust or more likely being remotely controlled with no 200 lb. pilot on board. It's got a long, long way to go before one gets parked in front of my house.<br />I agree with Dan. Not going to happen with a Lithium battery and can't happen as designed without a lot of electric motors so not going to happen.lorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00011213166003657827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-714028479313834812.post-1572052440108729012017-04-22T20:06:01.792-07:002017-04-22T20:06:01.792-07:00Currently jet fuel/gasoline has an energy density ...Currently jet fuel/gasoline has an energy density of between 50 and 100 times that of a lithium ion battery (some batteries are more efficient but ALL have less than 2% of the energy density of<br />liquid fuel. Until that physical reality changes this type of aircraft is pointless, uber expensive and a waste of resources. ( Li-ON battery .36-.87 MJ per KG of weight. Jet fuel/gasoline 46 MJ per KG of weight.)<br /><br />This is a pipe dream....high grade CG and currently can be had ONLY in the material known as UNOBTAINIUM.Dannoreply@blogger.com