Wasabi Air Racing

As Ashlee mentions Justin and I's initial interview with them was just a couple of weeks after the quickie accident. You can see my black left eye in one of the interview shots. The quickie wreckage is behind me in the hangar, I had it hidden because it was technically quarantined while we waited for the NTSB to review the engine controller data. The other incident mentioned is discussed in the most recent Lancair video (https://youtu.be/5jYgLp372Jo?t=255). It was a really in...teresting emergency on its own but it was certainly compounded by the recency of the quickie accident etc. The engine is related to race 33, which blew up a couple weeks later (https://lnkd.in/gCXWarf). Jennifer Whaley Seguin was pregnant with our first at the time and needless to say life was full. They say when it rains it pours, and all you can do is put your head down and keep swimming. I wouldn't trade that time in my life for anything, but looking back on it now...things were busy. What do you think? Full Hello World Episode here: https://youtu.be/cDddLP98xDA Related redbull crash video: https://www.redbull.com//mojave-test-pilot-breaking-the-da Accident report: https://docs.google.com//1bIC3H3Z7UVuESJpjotc4F108w7/edit More info on the Wasabi Siren: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seguin_Wasabi_Special #pilot #flighttest #testpilot Bloomberg Quicktake Bloomberg #spacetourism #experimentalaircraft #aviation #mojave #commercialspace Masten Space Systems, Inc.

Expanding the slow and fast sides of the envelope and getting a handling qualities baseline before we begin testing the custom flaps on Hakan's modified Lancair 320. Flight 5 happened the same day as flight 4. Since we had finally been able to get the engine to cool well enough to fly the entire first flight card (on flt 4) it was time to get a baseline (on flt 5) before we started flap testing. These huge Fowler type flaps are the result of tremendous engineering and fabri...Continue reading

Thank you Ashlee and Bloomberg for thinking of Wasabi during your aerospace van life exhibition. Great stories from an unusual vantage. https://youtu.be/cDddLP98xDA #flighttest #testpilot #aircraft #flying #flight #avgeek

Hakan calls it a "cowl flare" but whatever you call it I was excited by the chance to finish the first flight card. The goal of this program is to evaluate the custom "fowler" type flaps that Hakan installed on his airplane. But up to this point we had frustratingly been stuck in the traffic pattern trying not to cook the motor. Besides the obvious the first flight card included a "first look" at the low speed handling chracteristics of the airplane. The concern is that wh...Continue reading

Joel brings Argonaut back after a hot flush. It’s been a productive couple weeks of smoke generator testing at Eagles Nest. Argonaut (an antique designed for fighting and rebuilt for racing) has consistently performed and earned dinner getting data for the #smokewinder program. This the fun part is the result of many months of hard work by a relatively big and dispersed team is now adding up to knowledge that we can apply directly to the product line. Stoked to be a part of it. Smoke on. #seafury #warbird #aircraft #taildragger #avgeek #aviation #fly #pilot Sanders Aeronautics

The EAA panel featured Dick Vangrunsven of Van's Aircraft, Peter Sripol youtube guy, @Sam Foskuhl youtube guy, and was hosted by Matt Jolley. This was one of the few times I have spoken about the Twerp accident publicly and I think it went well. It's a tough topic. The reality show we did on the topic makes the build look like it happened a lot faster than it did. Some people look at the accident footage and condemn the flying, others put it on a pedestal. Frankly, both sides... make me uncomfortable. I think I flew very well that day but as a designer on the project I know I could have done better during the buildup. So I am responsible for the outcome either way, regardless of the flying. The most important thing is that because of the public nature of the incident we have had to deal with it head-on, and I think we at Wasabi are better for it. Which means value for our customers in their programs. Redbull TV: https://www.redbull.com//mojave-test-pilot-breaking-the-da Twerp Report: https://docs.google.com//1bIC3H3Z7UVuESJpjotc4F108w7/edit Full Panel Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faC4tN03iZg NTSB Report: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx Peter's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7yF9tV4xWEMZkel7q8La_w Sams Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC51CQPx1tRn7PAriOGZg9EA airplanes are cool #experimentalaircraft #flight #flighttest #avgeek #aircraft #flying #flighttraining #airventure #pilot #whyIfly #aviationdaily

Hakan (the aircraft owner/builder/designer) introduces us to the Braly mod as a potential solution to his cooling problems. One of the more frustrating things in flight test is when there is a problem that can’t be tested except in flight and the over and over again you aren't able to make progress. Trying to be professional and deliberate when despite all the pageantry the flight doesn’t seem to progress takes discipline. This flight was the third time that we tried to fly...Continue reading

excerpt from my recent interview with Ryan Dembroski of SuperAero. Ryan asked about the path from college to working for Burt Rutan in Mojave Air & Space Port. The full interview is on the Super Aero Live youtube channel. Thanks for coming along, airplanes are cool. Full interview video here: https://youtu.be/h8vShBUAgc0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edseguin/ Wasabi Website: https://www.wasabiaero.com/... Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ElliotSeguin #experimentalaircraft #spaceshipone #flight #flighttest #aircraft #aviation #avgeek #engineer #testpilot #competition #interview #youtube #pilot

Seems like another lifetime! https://www.pilotcareernews.com/elliot-seguin-experimental/

Nothing like the satisfaction of actual results. Where the engineering predictions meet the test pilot's perceptions. A consistent message at NTPS was the value of getting the pilot's notes right after the flight. Marco used to joke about "while the data was still hot". This postflight discussion is a great illustration of that. The flight was a major envelope expansion for the program. The huge custom flaps had taken 4 years to get to this point and the results were mix...ed. The flaps had moved, they hadn't jammed or come off the airplane, the pitch trim had changed (an indicator that the flaps were making life) but the stall speed hadn't changed. There are a range of suspects from a larger area of separation at the wing root than expected, to the pilot's perception that the elevator had stalled, to the simple question of a new static port adding error to the indication. It's impressive that now several weeks later, after looking at all the data we don't know much now that we didn't know when this conversation happened. Some of the most interesting experiences I have had in flight test have happened at this intersection between engineering and flying. And it's unusual to have such a great record of it that we can also share. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this program. The full video: https://youtu.be/jFE4NX4_F3I Website: www.wasabiaero.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/ElliotSeguin Tshirts and More preferredaltitude.com/collections/wasabi-air-racing Instagram: www.instagram.com/edseguin/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/WasabiAirRacing/notifications/ airplanes are cool #flighttest #pilot #aircraft #avgeek #lancair #experimentalaircraft #doityourself #highfive #pilot #communication #tufts #stall #aviation

Ryan found this old video of an SFO after a test flight in Race 33 at Mojave. He recognized the profile from the actual emergency landing that happened a few months later and asked about it during our live chat on youtube. It was a really great chat and I am stoked that Ryan's questions meant all kinds of cool topics got discussed. A fun time for sure. The full interview w/ Ryan: https://youtu.be/h8vShBUAgc0 The Reno emergency landing: https://youtu.be/mvu_9dATSG0 The Reno em...ergency explanation: https://youtu.be/WbS4sSnGqRU #aircraft #airrace #flighttest #aviation #flighttest #chat #interview #superaerolive #avgeek #testpilot #candid #zoomlife #renoairrace #aviationphotography Ryan Dembroski

The first flight of Hakan's Lancair was aborted due to high engine temperatures. After the flight Hakan installed a large oil cooler inlet on the left side of the fuselage. The goal for this flight was to get further than we did on the first flight with the help of this additional engine cooling. This is another "long format" video, please take advantage of the timestamps below to find the section you are interested in. Thank you for coming along with Wasabi Flight Test. ...Continue reading

Great fun last night with Ryan. Check it out, let me know what you think. https://youtu.be/h8vShBUAgc0

WRONG AIRPORT - the decision "not to fly" is the hardest part. Flight test is expensive and most programs are already late and over budget by the time we get there. No one wants to hear their baby is ugly or their airplane needs more work. Sometimes these painful conversations need to be had several times before its understood. As professional testers, our job is to minimize the risk to the program, and the more you do this kind of work the more you understand all the way...Continue reading

https://eaatogether.org//event/Experimentals_with_Elliot_S #flighttest #pilot #testpilot #aviation #avgeek #fly #aviation #aviationdaily