Did this guy ever fly?

I'm going to assume it was a huge success- in other words, it failed to leave the ground. :D

If he ever gets that thing airborne, he will probably regret it.
 
rottydaddy said:
I'm going to assume it was a huge success- in other words, it failed to leave the ground. :D

If he ever gets that thing airborne, he will probably regret it.
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"Probably?"
 
The shot of the guys pushing the 'plane' down the runway reminds me of "The Gods Must Be Crazy". All they needed was a coke bottle to fall from the sky and hit one of them in the head.
 
I wish that someone would have given him some money and seen what the guy could have really done. It's amazing that he built that with his very limited resources.
 
DavidWhite said:
I wish that someone would have given him some money and seen what the guy could have really done. It's amazing that he built that with his very limited resources.
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Not in my opinion. Craftsmanship was crap. he spent 6 months studying "on the internet". However long it took him to build that POS should have been how long he spent building one wing rib.
 
Look at how many guys it took to lift the fuse. :rofl:

The reporter says the plane weighs 800 kgs (1760) pounds.) :rofl:

I don't think he used certified scales. :nono:


Everything is made out of steel. :yikes:
 
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bartmc said:
Not in my opinion. Craftsmanship was crap. he spent 6 months studying "on the internet". However long it took him to build that POS should have been how long he spent building one wing rib.
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We would all still be living up a tree in Africa afraid of big scary growly things that go bump in the night if it wasn't for people like him.

Too many thinkers, not enough doers nowadays.
 
fgcason said:
We would all still be living up a tree in Africa afraid of big scary growly things that go bump in the night if it wasn't for people like him.

Too many thinkers, not enough doers nowadays.
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I agree. He obviously doesn't have the resources we do but he's still trying to achieve his goal and he's not letting it break his spirit, even after failed attempt after attempt. That's commendable. And I hope that he does get it in the air and back down safely.
 
fgcason said:
We would all still be living up a tree in Africa afraid of big scary growly things that go bump in the night if it wasn't for people like him.

Too many thinkers, not enough doers nowadays.
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I disagree. He needed to do a lot more thinking and a lot less doing up front. He didn't know what he didn't know and didn't do his due diligence before he even started. He should have spent that 6 months on the internet figuring out a realistic game plane. He knew the odds were against him. Patience obviously isn't one of his virtues. Poor planning and even worse execution. If people were like him, we'd all be dead.
 
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Meliss said:
I agree. He obviously doesn't have the resources we do but he's still trying to achieve his goal and he's not letting it break his spirit, even after failed attempt after attempt. That's commendable. And I hope that he does get it in the air and back down safely.
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His spirit might be commendable, his work is not. If he wanted in the air, a simple PPC might be a better, more realistic starting place. One simple question on this forum along the lines of "Hey, I'm not a pilot, not an engineer, limited resources and no formal training with zero experience and won't have any guidance and I'm going to build a modular cessna from junk yard parts. What do you think?

"you're an idiot" would be the universal reply.
 
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bartmc said:
I disagree. He needed to do a lot more thinking and a lot less doing. He didn't know what he didn't know and didn't do his due diligence before even started. He should have spent that 6 months on the internet figuring out a realistic game plane. He knew the odds were against him time and patience obviously aren't his virtues. Poor planning and even worse execution. If people were like him, we'd all be dead.
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NASA can get to orbit (well, sort of anyway) however that doesn't mean you or I could do the same in a year or two with only our own resources. That guy is in the same boat toward powered flight as you or I am about going to orbit no matter how much internet searching we do.

There comes a point where you run out of available information or the lack of knowledge on how to find the information you need. At that point you have to try something and see what happens then go back and rethink the wreckage to make it better next time.

Take a look at early aviation a little over 100 years ago. Mr Iron Airplane is in really good company. Remember that at one time, the Wright Brothers and Rutan were considered idiotic crackpots at one time too. This crackpot could turn out to be the next Rutan for all we know.

Give the guy a break. At least he's not sitting on the sofa watching tv reruns like 99% of the population of the Earth. If nothing else, his dedication is right up there with the bearproof suit guy..it's keeping him off the streets and giving him something to do.
 
Comparing this guy to the Wrights and Rutan is ridiculous. This is nothing but cargo cult practices and wishful thinking. It's ignorance, not science or innovation.

He's got spirit, yes, but genius, no way.
 
Very innovative! Shows the spirit of flight. I hope he got up and didn't crash. 800kg...wow thats about 1800lbs or so. Bit heavy for that makeshift prop+engine. I don't like the sound of it. I admire his effort!
 
Very interesting. His drive and ambition to do something is quite incredible. No, of course it would never fly, but some of you shouldn't be so hard on him. He does not have access to anything near the level of resources that you have. He most likely has limited access to libraries, and no internet access. He wants to fly, and build a plane and believes enough in himself to actually build something instead of just dreaming.
 
A pity he didn't find a set of preexisting plans on the internet. No need to reinvent the wheel. Can't blame a guy for not knowing stuff that folks here attend university to learn. I doubt many of us could build a one-off airplane on our lonesomes.
 
He just might be crazy like a fox. Build a POS that scares the hell out of anyone that has built an airplane or flown one, then put a video on YouTube to tug at the heart strings of those who have. Someone may just send this guy an airline ticket to get a real flight in a real airplane, or help build one. Flight lessons might be in order also. Hmmmmm. :confused:

If I was living in that hell hole I would be looking for a way out also. ;)
 
Having been to Africa on several occasions.....nothing in that video suprises me.
 
Fearless Tower said:
But do they do overhead breaks???
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I'm quite sure they do! :rofl:

They started a company to build and maintain 60 RV-6a aircraft. That is amazing. Maybe this guy could join the Nigerian air force. :dunno:

That certainly would be better than hrying to build and fly an iron airplane.
 
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did the Nigerians pay Van extra and want him to return the difference with a cashiers check?
 
Not to worry. It'll never get to a fast taxi, much less leave the ground.
 
This guy is definitely in the running for my "Samuel Pierpont Langley" Award for Spectacularly Failing to Achieve Flight.
 
Geico266 said:
The Nigerians bought a bunch of RV's and fly them as military trainers.

http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/nigerian.htm
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In 1967, when I started working at Fokker Aircraft, in the context of my job as editor of the F27 Type Spec. , I attended a course meant for airline A&Ps at The Fokker Service School. The course took 6 weeks. A parallel course had a 6 ea Air Nigeria mechanics, who were taking it for the second time, as they had flunked the first go-around. Nice guys, but totally unprepared for the responsibilities of their job.
 
pericynthion said:
Comparing this guy to the Wrights and Rutan is ridiculous. This is nothing but cargo cult practices and wishful thinking. It's ignorance, not science or innovation.
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You know something... If you dig around through newspapers circa 1900-1903 you could probably find nearly those exact words about two crackpot bicycle brothers that should stay within their realm of expertise and leave flying and aircraft design to the real experts in the field who actually know what they're doing.

So what if they guy poo-poo'ed his first attempt. How many first timers are out there that did any better at anything they tried to do with minimal outside help on their very first attempt without someone holding their hand the whole way? The guy is at least trying based on what he can know about the subject at the time and actually got into the plane to fly it himself when he got it out there for the test run. That's far more than all the armchair experts in the world combined will ever do.

"You can't.." or "He can't.." actually means "I can't and don't want you to try or it'll make me look inferior if you succeed or even make the attempt so don't try." The guy deserves a chance to make his dream come true even if he fails miserably just because he's actually attempting despite all the people pooping on him.
 
fgcason said:
You know something... If you dig around through newspapers circa 1900-1903 you could probably find nearly those exact words about two crackpot bicycle brothers that should stay within their realm of expertise and leave flying and aircraft design to the real experts in the field who actually know what they're doing.
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Here's where I like to roll out the Carl Sagan quote:

"The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

If you knew me and what I do for a living you would know that I am all for innovation, taking risks on bold and unorthodox ideas, and I don't think a college education is necessary to be a good engineer.

The thing that annoys me about this is that it's a huge waste of resources and time in a place where those things are in short supply.

It's obviously not going to work. I don't think that's in dispute. It wouldn't fly unless it were pushed off a cliff, and then the pilot would die. With just a little research or common sense, the guy could have put all those scarce resources into building something that would have a chance in hell of working - perhaps an airboat, or some sort of glider and winch launch system, or...

I guess it's better than spending his time scamming folks online. But I don't think it's right to commend this guy when there are other Nigerians who are actually doing something worthwhile:

http://tech.ashoka.org/taxonomy/term/318

http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/head...s-mit-s-world-top-young-innovators-award.html
 
He has spent a relatively large amount of money on this thing. The video's narrator says "half a million [Kenyan] shillings," which converts to US$6030. I suspect that's serious change in Kenya.

Dan
 
rottydaddy said:
Heh heh... a bit of understatement, there. :D
But then again, this guy is so obsessed and so determined, he may have no regrets, even as he crashes.
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Wow! I don't know whether to laugh or cry:lol:
I give him credit for the effort but hope he just write it off as a good project that gave hope to the community. Or go back and rebuild it with lighter material. Then again, with such poor living conditions in places like that maybe it's better to die trying to fulfill your dream rather than waiting to die some other way! He does seem pretty determined to make this work and I'm sure he probably realizes the likelihood of killing himself in the process!
 
I can't really fault the guy, and I certainly wont be laughing at him. People from that part of the world simply aren't provided the same opportunities we have here. No real education, no real future. Who can fault a guy for trying to fulfill his dream of flying? It's more sad than funny.
 
matthammer said:
I can't really fault the guy, and I certainly wont be laughing at him. People from that part of the world simply aren't provided the same opportunities we have here. No real education, no real future. Who can fault a guy for trying to fulfill his dream of flying? It's more sad than funny.
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I just don't want to see him pushing that thing up to the edge of a cliff and going over the edge Wiley Coyote style trying to achieve flight in it.
 
I have only admiration for that guy, and his airplane. Considering his conditions, it is downright amazing. That plane has one thing our planes don't have.....heart.

People were laughing at his effort, then downright guffawing at his failure, yet he seemed undaunted.

The LA Museum of art just paid ten million dollars to display a big rock, and people will probably pay to see it. I'd rather see that airplane. It is one special bird.

John
 
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