Raptor Aircraft

Staying a little closer to the field now. Smart.
 
He didn't sound stressed. And staying high as long as you can seems prudent doing this type of testing.

Agreed that it would anyways be a good idea to not drag it in. Going from a (sluggish) climb pretty much straight into a +1,000 ft / min descent, requesting a different runway because of 'wind', which was only variable at 3 kts!? Hmmm... :rolleyes:
I bet he had an issue! Maybe not immediately critical but certainly severe enough that he wanted to get down NOW.
 
I wonder if he is going to **** in my cereal? Seems weird he didn't post a video about the last flight and inflight emergency. Maybe the jig is up! He did make a comment on his youtube page that the last inflight emergency was no big deal but it took him about a week to fly again. If it was no big deal why not fly later that day or the next day. Something fishy is going on!
 
Agreed that it would anyways be a good idea to not drag it in. Going from a (sluggish) climb pretty much straight into a +1,000 ft / min descent, requesting a different runway because of 'wind', which was only variable at 3 kts!? Hmmm... :rolleyes:
I bet he had an issue! Maybe not immediately critical but certainly severe enough that he wanted to get down NOW.

Tower reported 050 at 9 gusting 16 after clearing him to land. I doubt he has much experience landing the Raptor in a crosswind (I can't remember if there was one during the emergency, when he scraped the left wingtip?) and while it could have been a good opportunity to expand the envelope a bit, he probably didn't want to press his luck. He will undoubtedly post this flight as a triumph of some kind.
 
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The most hated airplane builder now knows we all listen to Live ATC each time he flies. He will likely be very hesitant to use the words emergency moving forward. I just hope he keeps the cameras rolling so we can see the final crash.
 
I just hope we see the final crash. Because if it’s fatal we probably won’t.
 
I don't mean my comment in a mean way. But I do think that if he continues the way he is going now, the odds are better than 50/50 that he will eventually not make it back. I think I was clear that I hope when it happens, he is not hurt.
 
My comments are intentionally mean. I think Peter is an arrogant and reckless guy. He is also very stupid and stubborn.
 
My comments are intentionally mean. I think Peter is an arrogant and reckless guy. He is also very stupid and stubborn.
That may be true, but I still don't wish him harm. I wish something would happen to stop him from continuing until he is harmed.
 
My dream is for him to just go away. I don't want to see him hurt and I don't think it helps that he has a whole group of internet cheerleaders telling him how much of a genius he is.
 
Rick, you're in luck. In new video, he says he's taking a break from putting out videos for a while. Of course you could've quit watching at any point. This new one is a doozie of Peterisms.
 
My comments are intentionally mean. I think Peter is an arrogant and reckless guy. He is also very stupid and stubborn.
Yes they are mean. They are also classless, rude and disrespectful to everyone here. You can feel free to spew the vitriol all you want but it sure reflects poorly on you.
 
Personally... I hope the guy is successful. At least to the degree possible. There’s no way in hell that he’ll come anywhere near his original claims, and personally I don’t think he’ll ever have a viable product. But I hope he at least either ends up with a usable airplane, or a valuable set of lessons learned. I think the chances of that last one are pretty low; he doesn’t seem to really be open to seeing things that disagree with his plans or desires.

But a viable commercial product? Ummm... nah.
 
Rick, you're in luck. In new video, he says he's taking a break from putting out videos for a while. Of course you could've quit watching at any point. This new one is a doozie of Peterisms.

Nope! I can't not watch this slow train wreck I am too addicted at this point.
 
Tower reported 050 at 9 gusting 16 after clearing him to land. I doubt he has much experience landing the Raptor in a crosswind (I can't remember if there was one during the emergency, when he scraped the left wingtip?) and while it could have been a good opportunity to expand the envelope a bit, he probably didn't want to press his luck. He will undoubtedly post this flight as a triumph of some kind.

You are right, I stand corrected.

He's saying in his latest video that the plan is still to 'fly off' the remaining hours and to then fly it to CA. He also made it sound as whether there will be a new company taking care of production. Supposedly that's still the plan.
 
PBCX=Patterns Before California Cross-Country?

You wonder if he got burned a bit by folks posting the transcripts of his radio calls, and is more careful about what he says.

Ron Wanttaja
Or fearful of the DAR saying 1 more emergency and they're taking a closer look
 
Or fearful of the DAR saying 1 more emergency and they're taking a closer look

I think he's beginning to realize that having every other flight end in an emergency isn't good for his longevity, at least from a probabilistic standpoint.

Since this is an experimental R&D aircraft, he *shouldn't* have 40 hours to fly-off, and since (or so he claims) the West Coast production facility is going to do engine mods anyway, what's the point of flying this iteration any longer? Just get the sawzall and... I mean, take it apart and ship it to the production facility in Califoregon.

I think another flight or two (maybe) and he's done with it. "We hadn't flown off all the hours, but the guys in Califoregon wanted it, so we put it on a truck."

Another couple of paragraph sized articles in various publications and the project disappears.
 
Peter ****s in my cereal yet again!
My favorite part of this video is The Most Hated Airplane builder pondering which engine oils are "approved" in his engine.
 
Peter ****s in my cereal yet again!
My favorite part of this video is The Most Hated Airplane builder pondering which engine oils are "approved" in his engine.

Guess he didn’t get a copy of his owners manual from the junk yard...

Isn’t the 10W only a viscosity rating at 0c? Once to operating temp there isn’t a difference between 5/40 and 10/40?

I think he needs to step up to a 50 weight but I doubt that engine can handle that. He should have designed a dry sump system from the beginning.
 
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I don't understand his constant obsession with "fly off the hours". This is an EAB R&D certificate. There is no phase I. His OL (Operating Limitations) are good for one year and he's limited to 25nm from VLD no matter how many hours he puts on it. He ain't flying that thing beyond there unless he gets a new OL
 
I don't understand his constant obsession with "fly off the hours". This is an EAB R&D certificate. There is no phase I. His OL (Operating Limitations) are good for one year and he's limited to 25nm from VLD no matter how many hours he puts on it. He ain't flying that thing beyond there unless he gets a new OL
None of his approach makes sense logically or practically. Maybe a call to the Fsdo is in order?
 
My comments are intentionally mean. I think Peter is an arrogant and reckless guy. He is also very stupid and stubborn.
I actually don't think he's stupid. Stubborn and arrogant absolutely. In over his head, rushed, pressured, macho. Yep. However, he created a relatively clean sheet plan, stuffed an automotive engine in it and made it work, sort of. The thing flew. And faster than a large portion of GA planes, if the ADS-b data is valid. Ain't no dummies pulling all that off.
 
However, he created a relatively clean sheet plan, stuffed an automotive engine in it and made it work, sort of.

Clean sheet? It's a poor copy of aircraft that already exists. Muller did add nice features, like windows and doors that would blow out if the fuselage was actually pressurized, an orphan junkyard engine that has badly mismatched compound turbos, an inadequate cooling system that is always on the edge of a meltdown emergency, an empty weight that's double the initial projections, and the crowning jewel, a set of performance specifications that will never come close to realization.
 
To be honest I sort of felt bad for him in the last video. The Raptor is clearly his passion.. and however misguided or ill executed it's always sad to see someone's dreams start dying.

Part of me felt like this might be the last YT, not just for a while, but maybe ever.. a rather anticlimactic sign off after such a long journey. His website has been effectively down for a while. What was once several pages and tabs of documentation are now just a few pictures and a link to YouTube
 
I don't understand his constant obsession with "fly off the hours". This is an EAB R&D certificate. There is no phase I. His OL (Operating Limitations) are good for one year and he's limited to 25nm from VLD no matter how many hours he puts on it. He ain't flying that thing beyond there unless he gets a new OL

Close. It was 25 nm until 10 hours, now it's 50 nm. But true, there is no 40 hour phase at all and there is no number of hours where he will automatically be free to fly beyond the 50 nm radius. That will require a different airworthiness cert or a ferry permit.
 
Close. It was 25 nm until 10 hours, now it's 50 nm. But true, there is no 40 hour phase at all and there is no number of hours where he will automatically be free to fly beyond the 50 nm radius. That will require a different airworthiness cert or a ferry permit.
What is your source for the 25 miles until 10 hours and 50 miles thereafter limitations? I don't remember those being mentioned before but I mostly watch the Raptor videos while I'm doing something else around the house so I miss a lot.
 
Still doesn’t have a power plant that will push it to any descent performance. 13 gal/hr to get 135 KTAS. Again, you can go to Velocity right now and get an XL that will do close to 200 KTAS on that fuel burn. Also climb out at twice the FPM of a Raptor. Or, buy a nice used Mooney, SR22, or Bo and you’ll get better performance for less $$$...and it’s certified.
 
Posted earlier but this guy is spot on. Only I think his cruise prediction of 210 kts is way off. I originally thought 210 kts a few years back but that was based on 300 hp and an airframe lighter than the Titanic. Now with 230 hp and a fat girl? 165 kts.

 
Close. It was 25 nm until 10 hours, now it's 50 nm. But true, there is no 40 hour phase at all and there is no number of hours where he will automatically be free to fly beyond the 50 nm radius. That will require a different airworthiness cert or a ferry permit.
According to the current operating limitations, it's 25nm until it expires after 12 months. Then he has to reapply.
 
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