Ok I'm curious, whose second account is Chris Close? Masterful job of trolling Perfect blend of arrogance, condescension and a little bit of knowledge. He has to be another bored BTer's second account right? Unless Peter the Raptor mastermind himself decided to defend his pride and joy here under an assumed name. Or is there really a Chris Close out there so smitten by the raptor and so sure of his own intelligence as to come here and try to dazzle with his BS?

You would think he would be all over the PC12 announcement thread or even getting into the merits of the new nose cowling for it. If I flew a PC12 and was such an "expert" on aerodynamics, I would think that would be much more interesting than this little experimental that will never get past the testing phase.

Orville and Wilbur were exploring an unknown area of science. The maker of Raptor could save himself a lot of grief and $$$ with some CFD software. There is nothing left to solve here. Future of aviation is in material sciences.

I'm all for the guy doing this stuff. I think if someone jumped in and and took everything he has done and refined it, used maybe a different engine, it may turn out to be a cool aircraft. But, I imagine it's going to take a lot more money. No one is going to drop $10 million in this project and sell kits for $130k. It's just not going to happen. It just seems a little shady and I really don't think it's going to meet any of the performance goals. But, I'm fine with eating crow.

Did Wilber and Orville publish performance numbers and start taking deposits several years prior to their 1903 flights?

Wilbur and Orville did rigorous research and experimentation to develop the Wright Flyer and advance the theory of flight and propulsion. That is missing from this endeavor.

I don't know if he did it right, but he did it early on...

[youtube]https://youtu.be/m7eiWD9OTxI[/youtube]

no - nor did they create ghost accounts on social media to spout a lot of buzzwords and annoying socratic questions to drum up more deposits from suckers.

If Facebook and iPhones were around back then, would they have?

I see no connection between Steve, the Raptor developer, and Chris Close. Both real people, as best I can tell.

If I wire a bunch of junk together in my garage, will you Raptor = Wright Flyer people call me Steve Wozniak and throw money at me?

the Wrights knew they needed help to do airframe and powerplant simultaneously. History records it as 2 brothers but really it was a threesome. It was just a glider without Taylor.

this starry-eyed modern day airplane designer could benefit from studying the wrights' methodical approach to product development out of the limelight.

Raptor isn’t alone. This has been “at it” for a decade too. Same macro goal (drag reduction) just another approach. It take a lot more than and idea to build a business.

http://synergyaircraft.com/

He's made 76 posts since October 6th. Every one of them are in this thread.
His LinkedIn page says he went to mud school, then worked as a mud engineer for a year ( industry term for drilling fluids). Following that he supposedly worked as consultant for two years, then started a mud recycling company. Mighty weak resume in my world. I'm calling BS.
And if he is an oilfield guy, how did he get so educated in aerodynamics?
Why not just tell us about himself? Show his plane and an N number? Where does he live?
Why all the cloak and dagger?

This guy does appear to be doing a few unique things aerodynamically; at least building on some existing knowledge.

To my small and simple mind, his key "advancements" are...

Trying to capture and smooth out boundary flow around the fuselage in service of (as part of) propulsion

Using flow that would normally turn into wingtip vortices into tail hold down force (I think he's also claiming that his double box tail design results in proverse yaw when turning)

Remains to be seen if it works as planned, but he's sure been at it a long time.

unresolved belt drive issues with plenty of comments
[youtube]http://youtu.be/JtasnGQCA8U[/youtube]
@ ~ 24:00 in the vid

then these in comments
Michael Skoblin
7 hours ago
I think the belts may have been damaged from skipping previously, so the current tension may not be too tight. I would hate for you to back off on the tension and ruin a new set. Isn't there a belt deflection spec for the drive, with a given load applied 90 deg to the belt, midway between pulleys, stating proper belt deflection? I would measure it now that it 's not slipping. You can never have too much data.
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Darren Wright
18 hours ago
Concerning the belts, I know from experience with timing belts on cars/vans that tension alone can cause tracking issues but also tensioners with worn bearings can steer the belt in any given direction. Also Maybe having some pulley flanges with a nice smooth chamfered edge welded onto the pulleys will keep the belts true and offer an ultimate guarantee of them not jumping off. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see it fly.
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Alan Pìerce
18 hours ago
Peter, please check the re-drive belts, your in danger of shredding them, its the 'weak link' in the drive train, enough engineers have brought this to your attention:-(

Raptor Aircraft
18 hours ago
Er, um, I'm guessing you weren't listening when I said I'd already ordered new ones.

Alan Pìerce
17 hours ago
Peter, your aware that numerous engineers have told you that the re-drive design is flawed, static prop hub (Fixed to Engine Mount) & 'moving engine' (Rubber Mounted) to same frame. Changing the belt only prolongs the inevitable & possible total loss of the drive system, You owe it to your 'customers' to rethink its complete design.@Raptor Aircraft

Kyle Boatright
14 hours ago
@Raptor Aircraft Until you fix the root cause (the engine/drive flexibility), this problem is gonna come back again and again. You can't wish away poor engineering/design.

Pictsidhe
11 hours ago
@Raptor AircraftNew belts won't fix a poor design.

Pictsidhe
15 hours ago
Oh look, another redrive problem. Who could have predicted that?

Take it off, put it in the trash.