Raptor Aircraft

IMHO 1500 fpm decent is steep - you’d never do that in a Skyhawk. He doesn’t know what his stall speeds are, his maneuvering speed, V anything.
 
WDD said:
IMHO 1500 fpm decent is steep - you’d never do that in a Skyhawk. He doesn’t know what his stall speeds are, his maneuvering speed, V anything.
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Funny. The other day I caught a 1000fpm updraft and had to basically point the plane at the ground to stay at altitude.
 
UngaWunga said:
Funny. The other day I caught a 1000fpm updraft and had to basically point the plane at the ground to stay at altitude.
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I had that happen to me on my first solo cross country as a student pilot, so many years ago. What a ride. Probably the highest airspeed I ever saw in the Skipper. Maybe 105?
 
Is he really doing step climbs to 900', or is that just wonky ADSB data?
 
Mtns2Skies said:
When I worked at the airport we ran diesel vehicles off of jetA no problem.

JetA is just high grade diesel, which is just high grade kerosene.
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Road diesel fuel has much more lubricity than kerosene; it is made from heavier fractions. I don't have Jet-A handy (could get some at work) but have kerosene and diesel, and it's quite easy to tell them apart.
 
UngaWunga said:
Is he really doing step climbs to 900', or is that just wonky ADSB data?
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I think ADS-B has the same resolution as Mode C, which is 100 feet. None of those 'steps' is other than 100 feet up or down. It's just an un-smoothed graph of his transponder-reported pressure altitude.

I downloaded the LiveATC for 1030Z. Mystery solved:

29:45: Valdosta tower, Raptor 352TD is gonna be coming back around and landing on 17, left traffic, Valdosta.
30:22: Valdosta tower, Raptor 352TD just departed runway 17 [] my gear is not coming up...
 
Thing is probably a real dog with the gear down.
 
I didn't have time to listen to the 1100Z recording, so I don't know what happened after the landing. Gear not coming up can certainly lead to gear not staying down.
 
iamtheari said:
I didn't have time to listen to the 1100Z recording, so I don't know what happened after the landing. Gear not coming up can certainly lead to gear not staying down.
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My thoughts exactly .... whatever glitch is in the landing gear would make me think it may not lower some day.
 
Been a while since I watched all the Raptor videos .... I presume landing gear is operated hydraulically .... I wonder if he has been using engine oil pressure to do it .... from what I understand that is how he adjusts his prop .... anyone know ??? .... thanks.

.
 
A Martin said:
Been a while since I watched all the Raptor videos .... I presume landing gear is operated hydraulically .... I wonder if he has been using engine oil pressure to do it .... from what I understand that is how he adjusts his prop .... anyone know ??? .... thanks.

.
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I don’t know. But there were numerous tests with the engine not running. My inference is electric over hydraulic or straight electric.
 
I hate to go against the tide and say something positive about the plane, but the landing gear has always moved both up and down with authority up to this point.
 
A Martin said:
Been a while since I watched all the Raptor videos .... I presume landing gear is operated hydraulically .... I wonder if he has been using engine oil pressure to do it .... from what I understand that is how he adjusts his prop .... anyone know ??? .... thanks.

.
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The landing gear is hydraulically actuated using an electric hydraulic pump. It's a closed system that only operates the landing gear. Using engine oil pressure to adjust the prop is the way the vast majority of airplanes with constant speed props operate.......
 
Two more flights of two hours doing figure 8's....

What a waste of time.
 
Salty said:
Two more flights of two hours doing figure 8's....

What a waste of time.
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That describes the vast majority of GA pilots. Well, actually, the Raptor flies more often than the average GA airplane, most of which are sitting in a hangar somewhere gathering dust.
 
2 hrs. Impressive! Averaging 125 kts ish...not so much.:(
 
OneCharlieTango said:
I wish I could quit following this Charlie Foxtrot, but I've got terrible FOMO about it!
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He put six hours on the airplane since Friday. That's more than I did in the month of May.

The fixation folks have on PM and the Raptor is remarkable. As I said on the HBA forum, people are watching Flightaware like it's a chimney at the Vatican....

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
He put six hours on the airplane since Friday. That's more than I did in the month of May.

The fixation folks have on PM and the Raptor is remarkable. As I said on the HBA forum, people are watching Flightaware like it's a chimney at the Vatican....

Ron Wanttaja
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Well, the black smoke is an apt comparison.
 
Salty said:
Well, the black smoke is an apt comparison.
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If you're going to go that route with it, then the analogy is even more apt than just black smoke. People watch every day to find out what color the smoke will be.
 
wanttaja said:
He put six hours on the airplane since Friday. That's more than I did in the month of May.

The fixation folks have on PM and the Raptor is remarkable. As I said on the HBA forum, people are watching Flightaware like it's a chimney at the Vatican....

Ron Wanttaja
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Yet, I’d invest in a project with you before one with him.

Actually, I’ve bought at least one of your books, so I already have! :D
 
OneCharlieTango said:
Yet, I’d invest in a project with you before one with him.

Actually, I’ve bought at least one of your books, so I already have! :D
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I bought one of his books before I knew who he was. I was cleaning out a box the other day and said, "hey I know that guy!"
 
wanttaja said:
He put six hours on the airplane since Friday. That's more than I did in the month of May.

The fixation folks have on PM and the Raptor is remarkable. As I said on the HBA forum, people are watching Flightaware like it's a chimney at the Vatican....

Ron Wanttaja
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Heaven forbid anyone watch my flight aware tracks to determine if my flights were of value. I'll fly an hour each way to get a decent breakfast sandwich.
 
aftCG said:
Heaven forbid anyone watch my flight aware tracks to determine if my flights were of value. I'll fly an hour each way to get a decent breakfast sandwich.
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Sounds like more value than Peter's flights. He doesn't even get the sandwich.
 
Racerx said:
Lot of pa28's and 172's are envious
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Comparing a 2021 plane to something designed as a low cost trainer in the 1950s. PM has set a fair bar there. Wasn't the SR22 his original benchmark at all the things it will do better?

The recent flights are impressive in their own right, and yes, it's probably flying more than 90% of the ga fleet rotting on a ramp.. so there's that. I do hope he finds success and appreciate that he bailed on the YouTube vids.
 
Just trying to give the guy a little credit. He largely built something by himself without a background in anything mechanical or related to fluid dynamics. It's lasted way longer than I and many others thought he would. Would I fly in it? I'll pass. But with all the beatings he's taken here I'll give him that one. Did he completely miss his target speeds and specs wise in every facet? You bet. But he's still faster and more roomy than my Cherokee 180 and probably the Cherokee Six I also fly. And if the chute is installed he's got that on me too. I would say the Cherokee with the STOL kit stalls at a much lower speed, but lest I forget the Raptor won't stall.

Until Van's comes out with a 6 place RV, with a chute, and the ie2. I'll happily putt around in the 180 and the longer trips in the Six.

I also said months ago the best thing he could do for the project, his sanity, and probably his safety would be to lay off the YouTube and social media. Actually, I could say the same for a lot of people. I swear social media is the root cause of the rise in self diagnosed anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
 
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