My takeaway is that they have had concerns since the very beginning (choice of airport, engine, etc) and have tried to work with Peter and get answers to reduce the risks. They just aren't there yet.
Your observation is undoubtedly correct. German Guy is unwilling to admit his strident criticism of the test pilots is unwarranted, and he equivocates in an effort to downplay his repeated opprobrium. It's clear they voiced uneasiness about the airport on their first and second visits, which he calls "general concerns", a minimization unsupported by the video. In fact, we have no idea of exactly what they said to Peter during visits one and two, or the degree of their discomfort at that time regarding the prospect of flight from the 5,000' runway.
However, an evaluation of the terrain surrounding the airport on their third visit, which Justin and Elliot relate in the video with exacting specificity, resulted in a decision that the airport was unsuitable for the first flights of an aircraft whose construction has deviated from the original design by a qualified engineer, is significantly heavier than its projected design weight, and has fundamental powerplant deficiencies which cannot be corrected.
Inspection of the terrain from the air, which included flying the offset required to perform a landing on the nearby freeway, an assessment of the topography off the end of Runways 5/23, and the realization the tree cover was significantly denser than expected, all became apparent from the low altitude observations made possible by their PA-30.
The combination of these shortcomings resulted in the decision that initial flight operations from KCNI would be unreasonably dangerous. German Guy has repeatedly claimed that decision has resulted in costs and delays which could have been avoided had Justin and Elliot pulled the plug on an earlier trip.
That supposes Justin and Elliot possessed a measure of clairvoyance. While they could have rented an airplane to inspect the terrain on an earlier visit, the airport surroundings weren't the only reason for the decision. The determination was intertwined with the taxi tests, which were done to assess the aircraft's acceleration capabilities and control responses. German Guy has repeatedly pointed to the numerous videos made by Peter, which he feels were an adequate display of its sluggishness and therefore made Justin's analysis by actual testing superfluous. This is a seriously uninformed position for several reasons.
Justin had no idea of the parameters in place during Peter's so called 'tests'. There was no documentation made by Peter of the multiple changes to the aircraft during the period in which the videos were filmed. These included 'tuning' the ECM. Where did he get the knowledge to do that? He has repeatedly changed the initial propeller pitch and the mechanism stop settings. The redrive has been endlessly fiddled with, and inspection by Justin revealed unexplained wear on the belts and grooving on the pulleys.
That the airplane's engine died on the taxiway (along with a dead battery) was an ominous occurrence and certainly did nothing to inspire confidence. When a test pilot is told 'If you jiggle the throttle the wrong way, yeah, the engine is gonna die', it has to be a bit disconcerting.
Finally, German Guy's assertion that GoPro videos are acceptable as a substitute for actual testing is simply ludicrous. The observations listed above are reason enough, but the simple fact the videos were made months ago in conditions radically different than the 95° temperatures of late July amply illustrates their invalidity.
His assertion that the added costs resulting from disassembly, relocation, and reassembly would have been less expensive if done at an earlier date is curious to say the least. I can't divine a reason why it would be less expensive to perform the operation in March as opposed to August.
The totality of aircraft deficiencies and the inadequacies of KNCI revealed over three inspections and a period of several months resulted in the decision by Justin and Elliot to require the aircraft be moved to another airport. It wasn't because of a sudden realization in late July that the runway was too short.
