No better proof that even eight propellers won't save your a$$ in the event of a failure. What is actually wrong with the single rotor machine, also known as helicopter? Why do they want to replace proven effectiveness with smaller, noisier and less efficient propellers?
Why the hell are they gluing the blades onto the motor? They look like they're just smooth bits of carbon fibre with nothing but the adhesive holding it in. Of course they're going to come off if they're stopping and starting constantly and being in different temperatures.
"Why the hell are they gluing the blades onto the motor? " They're not. The blades are still attached to the motor via hub. If a tire came apart while you are driving a car at high speed, do you blame it on the wheel or the tire? The BLADE delaminated. 🙂
These are probably carbon fiber blades or composite to reduce weight and improve performance. All rotor blades, especially composite go through a lamination and bonding process. This isn’t new so I am surprised at the blade debonding, especially just at a hover. That bad blade should have been caught during preflight. Just because no one was aboard doesn’t mean a rigorous preflight should not have been done.
The VA-1X appears to be a problem waiting to happen and it happened. Too many rotary blades to rely on to keep it in the air. One rotary failure proved fatal.
Is it "fatal" if no one dies or is injured? It looks like no one would have died even if there were someone onboard. It landed hard. It might not be a good design but I don't think there's enough info from the video to know for sure.
@@ddegn According to Oxford.... Fatal: adjective "causing death or leading to failure or disaster." So yes. It can be fatal to the aircraft while not being fatal to a person. 🙂
@@ddegnwe know for sure that one single blade detaching - while probably survivable for crew and passengers - is enough to total the aircraft. So I wouldn't agree on "fatal", but I'd surely say "disastrous"
All that motor redundency didn't help make for softer bounce,... The systems allowing remote operation certainly proved their value, though at this stage, fixed twin motor standard configuration may be more beneficial then multi-roter for electric flight.
The extra mass of the motors probably created different pressure points than a clean wing would during impact. And the angle was probably close to straight down... is my guess. I see your point, though. The real issue was the crappy props... form follows function. In the air that thing is likely more structurally sound than you'd think compared to the after photos. Survivable for the short drop.
9:45 "the manufacturer's investigation identified 36 product and process improvements resulting from findings of the investigation." Now all they gotta do is wreck about a dozen more of those monstrosities to get the rest of the bugs worked out. How many do they have to crash to make it look better?
So now Aircraft Spruce is the only one left for parts...I liked having a choice, sucks we now don't anymore. Not really unexpected though, the entire kitplane field is narrowing down to the barest minimum these days. I hope it survives.
Good question. It looks like its direct competitor would be the PC-12. Specs may change, but right now, Textron is showing the same cruise speed as the PC-12 but needs 100 more hp to do it. Maybe the fuel burn is lower than the PT6A-67P engine. But Pilatus has a reputation for very high quality. Rather doubtful if Textron can match that.
The turbocharged Velocity XL indicates around 250 kts according to Velocity's CEO. The Velocity V-Twin is reported to do around 180-185 kts. This gentleman is saying that this Velocity Turboprop can achieve 195 kts. Hmmm.
The electric powered airplane reminds me of Howard Hughes's Spruce Goose with 8 Motors. IT kind'a look like it too. If they have the same outcome of not being successful, history repeats its self.
What a tragic loss, Bobby Bailey was a legend in the hang gliding community. He taught me to arrow tow back in Texas in 1992 him and Bill Moyes set up a nice towing clinic West of Austin we had a real good time camping out and catching large mouth on lake Travis, what a shame what a preventable shame rip my friend rip
The even bigger tragedy is that Bobby died because of the crass negligence of the builder of the Dragonfly he was testing, and who did not put a bolt where needed in the spar. I have a friend that suffered the exact same situation when testing a different ultralight built by someone else. He miraculously survived but now has traumatic brain injury. Two things. First, these ultralight must be built with zipper doors on the fabric to check the inside of the wing and other vital structures. Second, if you are going to fly someone else's plane, have a conversation with them, pay attention to their commitment or lack of it about carefulness, attention and respect dor details and ask them to show other examples of their building, even if just a birdhouse. Carelessness may show in their speech, appearance, personality and handiwork. RIP Bobby Bailey and fly in peace.
The FAA and the US government tie up everthing in red tape. That's why China has drone delivery, Self driving electric cars, and autonomous air taxis, and we keep making electric bikes illegal because we can't figure out why they exist or how to tax them enough to fund our endless wars. We dumb.
Textron can suck it, all but officially killing the Panthera, because you can't actually have a high performance single to compete against cirrus that might eat some of the bonanzas lunch (prob sold 4 last year)
Nice looking aircraft . Looks like the 701/750 airfoil but with standard flight surfaces. I bet that thing paired with the 915 would be an absolute blast.
