Actually, it might be quite sensible to have some sort of interlock that causes the fuel switch to be locked in the RUN position while the power lever for that engine is at the full thrust position. Then needing to turn fuel off due to a "Fire" situation becomes a training procedure issue. i.e. In case of engine fire, step 1. Identify which engine is on fire. Step 2. Pull Power Lever back to idle. Step 3. Fuel switch to "Off". I can't think of a good reason why you would want to keep the power lever forward when you were about to turn off the fuel anyway...

India tried this with the Tata Nano. Designed to be one step up from a motor scooter, it was simple and inexpensive to build, run, and maintain. They were deeply unpopular as they they became a symbol of shameful poverty. It turned out that people would struggle and scrimp and save to aspirationally buy a used older model of a more prestigious brand rather than buying a brand-new pauper-mobile for the same money. People are strange...Nothing is simple.

I think its weirdness is part of the deal. A distinctive talking point. An ugly, brutal, distinctive talking point.

I guess there is some relevance in that a YouTuber has launched his own streaming service. This may be a sign that the era of niche-audience "micro-streaming" has begun as the technology becomes easier and cheaper to work with. Perhaps the pattern will become, build your audience on YouTube, then when you get enough followers, split to a private streaming service where the lions share of the cash is going directly into your own pocket. I followed the Cleetus McFarland channel on YT more for his aviation episodes than his motor racing. He did seem to disappear from YT a while back and now I know why.

The Operation Plumbbob manhole cover had better watch out for the Parker Solar Probe coming up from behind. It had a big head start but the probe is going nearly three times faster...

Maybe even "carbon neutral" power generation?

So AI Chatbots will create presentations, and then the recipients will use AI Chatbots to interpret the content. How long before we can ditch the people altogether and just have the chatbots talk to each other directly to get the job done?

Airborne drones can go point-to-point directly. No traffic lights, no intersections to negotiate, further from the reach of thieves. The Zipline drones are a hybrid model. They lift off vertically, fly cross-country as a fixed wing, and then re-transition to hover for delivery. A lot of people in this thread are saying, "Drone delivery won't work in *ALL* situations I can dream up, so it is a lost cause". All it has to do is work in enough situations to be profitable, and I think it can. There will be teething issues, but those will just become part of the refining of the operation to a point where we don't even notice them any more.

Spot would need to be a lot larger. The GAU-8 itself weighs 280 kg, but the complete weapon, with feed system and drum, weighs nearly two tonnes with a maximum ammunition load. It measures nearly 6 meters from the muzzle to the rearmost point of the ammunition system, To handle the firepower, it would need to become Spotzilla.

It has 16GB of local storage, but that is only intended as a temporary holding pattern until you transfer images/video to your phone's SnapChat app via Bluetooth.

At the size it is and the speed it flies in the demo video, I would say anything much more than brisk walking pace will leave it floundering.

Think of it as a "hands-free selfie stick".

Honestly, the best illustration of how it is to be used is to go to the Pixy website and watch the demo video. I doubt that I'd buy one, but for the people who live by their SnapChat feed, it is a perfect accessory.

The Pixy will be difficult to use for peeping. It is designed with pre-programmed flight paths that concentrate on getting images of the operator. You can't really point it in any other direction. It has no flight controller to send it away to take images of others.

If you want to do any covert peeping there are plenty more suitable drones on the market for a lot less money. Pixy has very limited capability but is right on target for the narcissistic SnapChat crowd.

The biggest thing is that it is natively paired directly to SnapChat.

The simplicity of the controls is the next thing. Just select one of the pre-computed flight plans with a dial on the device and hit "go". You don't need to know anything about controlling a drone to make it work.

The target market for these devices will go nuts for the Pixy, at that price point, purely because of .the SnapChat connection.

The Pixy only has a few options for pre-computed flight plans. It will Hover and return. Orbit and return. Reveal (back up) and return. Follow and return, Each one has a different effect on battery usage but you'll get between 5 and 8 of these pre-determined missions before it needs recharging.

It is not a general purpose drone. It is just for pairing with Snap apps on your phone and flying pre-determined patterns around you to take photos and video of you.

I predict they will sell as many as they can make.

The capability limitations scoffed at by more advanced drone operators are of no concern to the target market.

K2 (Karakoram Range, Peak # 2) has many names. The name "Mount Godwin Austen" is for the peak's first European surveyor, Col. H.H. Godwin Austen. The Chinese call it "Qogir Feng" The Nepalese call it "Dapsang" or "Chogori"