Trent@MyGeekShow USA Trip Conclusion

"Remember, MyGeekShow has always been about failure, learning from it and making progress"

3689603065?profile=originalPeople who have been following Trent's journey will be aware his USA Trip, which received assistance via a successful funded Indiegogo campaign, was ended prematurely due to unforeseen complications.  Sadly, and adding insult the injury of his defeat, he has also had to endure some particularly unpalatable comments from those among his audience.  I expect that the almost unanimous chorus counselling him to sweep the leg and power on come what may, while obviously well intentioned, would also have given him somewhat mixed feelings.

Frankly it is overwhelmingly clear that Trent had little option but to abort his mission, as it was the only responsible course of action he could take in the circumstances.  Personally I think his decision to do so, even in the face of what must have seemed to have been an almost overwhelming pressure to push on, shows him to be exceedingly well qualified for the task he has set himself.

After a week of down time spent, among other things, nursing his pride and gathering his thoughts, Trent has reemerged with a direct and hard hitting response to his critics and an outpouring of appreciation for his supporters along with a detailed and well reasoned explanation of exactly why he chose to end his ambitious project early.  Most importantly, he has also reaffirmed his commitment to his ambitious project, which is fantastic news.

I look forward to continuing to follow Trent's progress as he works through the improvements, advancements and refinement necessary to better prepare him for the next attempt along with the opportunity to again support him in his endeavour.

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Comments

  • It takes a prideful person to admit when the chips are down to call it and take home lessons learned.  Trent I tip my hat to you to step forward and take on a challenge and I believe you will return to this challenge and be successful.

  • oh here is a good one:

    http://www.tufflight.com/enduro_rotolanding.mpg

  • Hey Trent

    Love you your work.

    Definitely agree with the earlier comment about a cross state trip before trying again to iron out all the issues.

    You mentioned you were constantly crashing, have you thought about instead of trying to land normally, design your wing so that landing is basically a controlled crash?
    Delta wings are REALLY easy to put into a flat spin and if you design the airframe properly the flat spin can be so slow that the airframe just drops to the ground exactly where you want it. Rocks become irrelevant because your horizonal speed is zero.

    This is basically a vertical landing so you can drop it down in very tight spaces.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2WNabLIf9E

    There was a guy experimenting with this for UAV's instead of parachutes but I could not find his work, maybe someone else can point to it.

  • 100KM

    Trent,

    Looking forward to hearing more about what you have learned on your long distance trip.    

    Cheers,

  • Trent - You should check out this fantastic talk Tridge gave recently covering terrain following over long distances if you have not seen it already.  You even rate a mention!

  • Hi Trent,

    I supported you on this first try... and will do on the next one !

    I'm sure you'll do it... safety first !

    I must tell you that I was quite shocked when I saw some of the comments you received after your decision to stop the trip... Those guys probably know nothing about RC and all the efforts involved.

    Don't give up, you'll do it !

  • THANK YOU!!!

    This has been a tough experience, your support and encouragement has played a large role in my "recovery".

    Recently, I've had to remind myself every day of the show's slightly secret mantra: "Fail and learn until success is the only remaining possibility"

    To the skies!

  • You did a great job Trent! Whoever believes that this attempt was a failure is completely wrong. Clearly you exposed many of the challenges that must be overcome for this technology to be used widely. It is certain that in the coming days you will discover more things that need improvement.We are looking forward to these discoveries!

    Well done. Congratulations!

  • Trent

    I am glad to hear you are not giving up.  I was checking out the comments and was angered by some of the comments.  Considering the state of public opinion and focus on our hobby, you made the right choice.  I have great respect for your attempt to do this and I believe anyone that really matters understands.  I will definitely continue to follow the show and support you.  With the following you have, you may want to consider your next attempt be organized in a rally fashion, scheduling supporters along the way - help provide back-up parts and assist you in local flying issues, etc.  Consider checking with AMA in the planning, I would venture there are clubs along the way

  • Trent,
    I think, that for your goal, that is to make so many miles across US, you should think about some parachute mechanism, for your plane. What do you think?
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