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Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

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411–420 of 632 posts

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#411
post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also can't travel anytime you want. What happens when a doctor has to reach his hospital for a critical emergency but the next train is scheduled in half an hour?

Have you ever heard about helicopters? There are hospitals that have them. Why do we need _personal_ airplanes for this to happen? Why you think doctors will have money or space for their own airplane when they have no helicopters yet? In this scenario of yours where would this doctor have their "airplane" at home? In a airfield?

No, he would have a car of his own. That he can drive himself to the hospital. I'm not sure why you jumped to helicopters.

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#412
post #131

> We want people who don’t think about airplanes as a mode of transportation to start flying It really depresses me that in 2024 we have some of the smartest, most privileged people in the world deciding that this is what they’re going to dedicate their life to Shouldn’t we be doing exactly the opposite? Getting people to stop flying

Better than adtech or fintech

We can use legislation to fix whatever we perceive adtech or fintech to be doing wrong. Try making a law that says you can't use this new convenient airplane that everyone is now using to hang out with friends every evening that live 200km away

I would think enabling this behavior is much worse than anything advertisers can do to us in the medium to long term

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#413
post #275
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't want to make a snarky, unabashadly NIMBY comment until I read this response. For every dollar you lower barrier to entry in aviation, I'm going to be calling my local government representatives to raise it back up by two with taxes and fees. The solutions to environmental problems aren't to grow markets with technology we know is bad so we have the money to make it less bad. The solution is to make it so exp…

> I'm going to be calling my local government representatives to raise it back up by two with taxes and fees. Sometimes I think this sort of approach is why so many people on the right are sick of global warming. Sure, global warming is a serious problem, but that doesn't mean that taxing things you don't like is wise, fair, effective, or in any other respect a good idea. If you have a problem with emission of gasses…

Plane fuel does not have the same taxes than the fuel you use on your car.

Should car and plane fuel have the same tax level if used as personal transport?

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#415
post #379
post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their planes cost half a million dollars, I’m not too concerned about everyone flying just yet. These are expensive toys for the wealthy.

So wrong. You can get an airplane for the cost of a car. Yes, it won't be new and it won't be fancy, but you can definitely fly without being wealthy.

So right. Look on the website, they say it’s half a million. I’m not talking about any plane, I’m talking about the subject of this thread.

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#416

A few thoughts: - Enable fall back controls where the pilot can input "traditional" controls when the more advanced system is degraded, even though it's all fly by wire their should still be inputs that fully mimic a traditional cockpit and ability to use this system should be allowed if the pilot requires it. - Drop any focus or marketing on getting more people flying, if the ease of use of your aircraft is such tha…

If you watch the video, they are advertising two inputs: a stick (which doesn't act like a stick) and a speed suggestion (not actually a throttle.) If the system were to suddenly degrade to standard inputs, it could be confusing and potentially lethal. I don't think this is a system for pilots. This is a system for ... someone else.

That someone else doesn't exist, because you need a pilot's certificate to fly a plane, and that isn't going to change.

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#417
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example it's crazy that most pilots are still taught to calculate W&B using printed charts and approximate takeoff performance. We're taught that so we know what we're doing. Then we open our iPhone app (EFB or electronic flightbag) and do it there. In fact, part of the reason we do it there is because most of them phone home to their maker and log that we did it. So if there's an accident people can know "well…

Stall speed is a misnomer. Stalls occur due to exceeding the critical angle of attack and can happen at ANY speed.

it's a misnomer but airspeed is life. we're not talking about people stalling during air combat or aerobatics, we're talking about doing it in the pattern. simply keeping your speed up and knowing the speed you will stall at based on bank angle should be enough.

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only in the beginning and it's not linear. One track can be used by an infinite amount of people with very little to no congestion, unlike roads.

You also can't travel anytime you want. What happens when a doctor has to reach his hospital for a critical emergency but the next train is scheduled in half an hour?

Nobody advocated against cars, just in favor of more traina. Trains would benefit especially the lower income brackets population with cheap, fast, secure and stress-free transportation.

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#419
As a pilot and tech professional, I completely resonate with your observations. However, the fly-by-wire concept concerns me a bit. I imagine it significantly complicates the onboard technology and makes maintenance more complex and costly. Additionally, I assume the training will need to address potential malfunctions, such as alternate law and direct law scenarios, which might make the rating process more complicated rather than less. How do you plan to tackle these challenges?

Re: Launch HN: Airhart Aeronautics (YC S22) – A modern personal airplane

#420
post #286

I have a silly question: my dad got his private pilot a few years back and in watching him I learned is that, even with engine failure, pilots train to be able to glide the aircraft safely. On a Cessna 150 this is purely mechanical. In this case, how does the pilot have control to be able to land in a field in the case of engine failure? (Not a pilot myself, so pardon the naive question!)

Following their answer in another comment, you don't; aircraft turns into a useless brick and you pull the parachute and hope for the best.
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