BeechTalk - BT - Raptor Aircraft 5 Seat Pressurized 3,600 NM Range Diesel

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 04:26

Username Protected wrote:

Maybe he was taking a page out of the Airbus playbook between the eFan and eFan-x! Go big or go home.

I so wanted to fly that eFan. It looked like a lot of fun!

There is so much in that last video. "Pseudo-flight out of the corn field".

The good thing is that now he isn't going further to the West with his "plane", there is less of a chance that he will meet JW. Can you imagine...

edit: also, sorry but I can't help and wonder, how wealthy do you have to be that you can do that full time, crash, pretend that "all the flight test we have done will help with the new design", and go on with another prototype?
It's not even remotely in the realm of possibility for me.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 08:03

A prior effort with a double box blended wing
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNBdta ... B6w/videos

There are also flying ducted prop fans out there but my understanding is they are less efficient than regular props
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkyUr-3ZtQ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di9IkdY7fvs

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 08:12

Isnt the point of ducted fans that they are more efficient at higher altitudes. Whats the point of making a jet if you arent going to pressurize it?

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 08:12

Username Protected wrote:

Cant talk about the fan/motor as it is still secret? So secret not even he knows :lol:

So maybe I am a lousy searcher on the NTSB site. ATSB would have something on a report by now, usually the next day. I gather NTSB are not even filing a pilot report on this for some reason? :scratch:

I get stressed reading this thread, I expected a report with a fatality. Glad that did not happen, only corn damage. The world is a safer place for now at least.

No one died or got seriously hurt. No report.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 08:50

Username Protected wrote:

Isnt the point of ducted fans that they are more efficient at higher altitudes. Whats the point of making a jet if you arent going to pressurize it?

The benefits are at high true air speeds…which Peter won’t see at any altitude.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 08:50

Scrappy to the rescue, “I can weld it back together!”.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 09:04

Username Protected wrote:

..................snip.............he has endless confidence and optimism.

I don't think that's it.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 09:14

Username Protected wrote:

Scrappy to the rescue, “I can weld it back together!”.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 09:48

Username Protected wrote:

It’s Raptor NG!

Where do I send my deposit?

Mike C.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 09:49

Username Protected wrote:

I love that his lessons learned seem to be "If I build something that looks even cooler and more advanced, I might be able to keep this up a while longer."

He describes that last flight as being at 1000' or so AGL and not being able to climb because there was a temperature inversion, which caused the OAT to soar all the way up to 78ºF from 72ºF. Those are some impressively bad numbers.

Note his comment about dropping “pressurization”. He sure doesn’t need it at the altitudes he is operating at.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 09:53

Dropping the pressurization is essentially his acknowledgement of what every other builder already knew; it adds so much weight and complexity that it's not worth it.

I'm actually enjoying this. I love the hybrid electric concept. It's actually, theoretically, possible, but it's largely uncharted territory. Does Peter have the ability to make it work? Whaddayouthink? The only thing I can think is that he has somebody in Boise who knows something about this sort of tech and wants to take a swing at it with him. Of course that'll last about six months until they have a disagreement over something that involves the natural laws of our universe, and then he'll be on his own again with some angle iron and duct tape, but heck, that's what makes it fun!

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 10:01

I'm sure it's been covered somewhere in this thread (not gonna read every page to find out), but this guy reminds me of "Mad Mike" the guy who designed/built his own rocket (and died in it). I kept wondering when I was going to read that "Raptor guy" met the same end. Thank God for that corn field, and for the merciful destruction of the airframe.

How fortunate for the Raptor guy he lost power every time over an airport or friendly terrain. I hope when the airframe ends up in a museum, they leave the oil stains and drips, as that seems to be it's normal state of existence.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/lxkYJl4y4xE[/youtube]

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 10:16

Username Protected wrote:

I'm sure it's been covered somewhere in this thread (not gonna read every page to find out), but this guy reminds me of "Mad Mike" the guy who designed/built his own rocket (and died in it). I kept wondering when I was going to read that "Raptor guy" met the same end. Thank God for that corn field, and for the merciful destruction of the airframe.

Mad Mike was more than a little on the "crazy" side of the dial. Peter isn't crazy, but he does have some qualities that make him difficult to work with, and that have resulted in a less than optimal product. If you threatened me I'd have taken a flight around Valdosta with Peter. NFW I'd have been within a hundred yards of Mike's rocket.

In fact, the crash landing didn't really seem to do much damage to the airframe. It certainly didn't destroy it. If he wanted to, it would probably be easy to fix. There's some damage to the gear, and the prop is trashed, but beyond that I didn't see anything worrying. Nothing a little duct tape wouldn't fix.

I think Peter's chances to live to a ripe old age are orders of magnitude higher than Mad Mike's were. He is clearly good at handling engine failures, and I'd bet that he chose his route to avoid places that didn't offer an emergency landing site.

As an aeronautical engineer he could use some work. As a pilot in general he seems to be competent enough. If he were willing to surround himself with experts in the fields that he's not familiar with, and be satisfied with acting as choreographer, he might actually get somewhere. In the meantime, I haven't gotten so much free entertainment since Amazon Prime Video was added to their shipping program.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 10:26

Username Protected wrote:

Mad Mike was more than a little on the "crazy" side of the dial. Peter isn't crazy, but he does have some qualities that make him difficult to work with, and that have resulted in a less than optimal product. If you threatened me I'd have taken a flight around Gainesville with Peter. NFW I'd have been within a hundred yards of Mike's rocket.

In fact, the crash landing didn't really seem to do much damage to the airframe. It certainly didn't destroy it. If he wanted to, it would probably be easy to fix. There's some damage to the gear, and the prop is trashed, but beyond that I didn't see anything worrying. Nothing a little duct tape wouldn't fix.

I think Peter's chances to live to a ripe old age are orders of magnitude higher than Mad Mike's were. He is clearly good at handling engine failures, and I'd bet that he chose his route to avoid places that didn't offer an emergency landing site.

As an aeronautical engineer he could use some work. As a pilot in general he seems to be competent enough. If he were willing to surround himself with experts in the fields that he's not familiar with, and be satisfied with acting as choreographer, he might actually get somewhere. In the meantime, I haven't gotten so much free entertainment since Amazon Prime Video was added to their shipping program.

Well, he did say airframe wouldn't be used again. Mercy enough. What you say makes sense, I think I was reminded more in terms of his dogged persistence than degree of sanity, where I agree fully with your assessment. I watched all the YouTube videos, and was continually amused how happy he was to be getting truly mediocre performance (at best) and all the ways he "explained" how easy it would be to fix each failure. The accent certainly helps with the entertainment value. The in-flight videos with oil pouring out are only entertaining of course when you see him walk away. Until that point, terrifying.

I like the Mike Patey style of innovating. Just as dogged, but knows what he's doing and puts his own money on the line. As others have noted, not production designs but innovation that can be applied in production (I would presume). I'm no aeronautical engineer but when he explains his reasoning, his "virtual" testing of designs, and then does incremental testing of the designs it makes sense and seems to be mostly opposite of the "hope and a prayer" approach of Raptor guy.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 11 Aug 2021, 11:12

Yeah. Mike Patey even tested the deployment of the parachute engine.

It's interesting that Mike Patey's initials are the opposite or Peter Muller's.