This guy could dominate the $20xx drags...or something maybe
"I don’t believe in science.
I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust, but that’s not science, that’s just a formula."
Way more fun than social media worrying. 
Not only have we talked about him, I think someone on here has a signature line stolen from an article about him: "launched from a heavily modified mobile home"
He has a lot of Flat Earth followers all around the globe.
I posted this up the last time I think.
And that's my sig! lol
The best part of the story was that he's a limo driver, amateur stunt driver, and Guinness world record holder.
I have to wonder if he's a true believer, or just figured that Flat Earthers might be easier marks to secure funding from.
In reply to MadScientistMatt :
pretty sure he just latched on to them for easy funding
so, the point of all of this is that if you go high enough, you can look out and see that there is no curvature, and indeed the world is flat.
That begs the question - how high do you have to go to prove the world is flat?
MazdaFace said:In reply to MadScientistMatt :
pretty sure he just latched on to them for easy funding
Like every good cult leader.
I have to give this guy mega props though for voluntarily RIDING this thing. Makes Johnny Knoxville look like a wuss.
Sad thing is he could have taken a commercial plane flight and gotten higher.
Robbie said:so, the point of all of this is that if you go high enough, you can look out and see that there is no curvature, and indeed the world is flat.
That begs the question - how high do you have to go to prove the world is flat?
It's more a matter of "how high do you have to go to prove that the earth isn't flat" since the horizon will just appear more and more curved with greater altitude until you can see the earth as a whole. The answer is about 50,000ft.
I think a smarter and cheaper way for him to do this is for him to buy a used / commercial spacesuit and make his own helmet for it (he says he "doesn't trust" airplane windows, which is why he didn't just get a ride up to high altitude in a Russian fighter jet ride-along or something) and then basically do something like Felix Baumgartner's high-altitude jump - he can step outside, look around at the curvature of the Earth through his own helmet, and then either jump down or ride the balloon back down for safety.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
If you get to 50,000 ft and see there is no curvature, then you have only proved the world does not appear curved from 50k. It could always be round but just on a bigger scale. That's my point is that you can never get far enough away to prove a surface is flat.
I think if you built an intelligent measuring device you could probably stand on a cliff overlooking 180 degrees of ocean and measure some curvature of this earth without leaving the ground.
SWMBO had a project for one of her classes in college in which her group had to send a camera up on a weather balloon, shoot a bunch of pictures from ___ altitude, then try to determine the curvature of the earth from said pictures within a reasonable degree of accuracy. Not sure how high they got, but I remember the curvature was clearly evident in the pictures.
If a bunch of freshman and sophomore engineering students can prove the earth is curved using a weather balloon and cheapo digital camera, I have to believe an amateur rocketeer could devise a similarly simple solution is he really wanted. This crazy old berkeleyer just wants to die in a rocket.
Robbie said:In reply to GameboyRMH :
If you get to 50,000 ft and see there is no curvature, then you have only proved the world does not appear curved from 50k. It could always be round but just on a bigger scale. That's my point is that you can never get far enough away to prove a surface is flat.
I think if you built an intelligent measuring device you could probably stand on a cliff overlooking 180 degrees of ocean and measure some curvature of this earth without leaving the ground.
Just get in a boat on the ocean and move away from a fixed object on a calm clear day. From a standing height of 5.5 feet off the water, an object at water level will disappear in about 3 miles.
Robbie said:If you get to 50,000 ft and see there is no curvature, then you have only proved the world does not appear curved from 50k. It could always be round but just on a bigger scale. That's my point is that you can never get far enough away to prove a surface is flat.
You could get far enough away to prove or disprove that the earth is round at its currently accepted size. You could also prove or disprove it by going fast rather than high - in a fast low orbit, you'd soon either see the entire continuous surface of the planet, or those elusive ice walls.
Robbie said:I think if you built an intelligent measuring device you could probably stand on a cliff overlooking 180 degrees of ocean and measure some curvature of this earth without leaving the ground.
I thought the same thing after having a good view of 90 degrees of uninterrupted ocean horizon from a few hundred feet up on the weekend, but it turns out that it's not really possible to see the curvature from low altitudes (as in anywhere under 35kft at all) - it's actually an illusion that would also appear if the earth were flat. There are other land-based ways to observe the earth's curvature though - ships or tall buildings disappearing over the horizon for example.
GameboyRMH said:Robbie said:If you get to 50,000 ft and see there is no curvature, then you have only proved the world does not appear curved from 50k. It could always be round but just on a bigger scale. That's my point is that you can never get far enough away to prove a surface is flat.
You could get far enough away to prove or disprove that the earth is round at its currently accepted size. You could also prove or disprove it by going fast rather than high - in a fast low orbit, you'd soon either see the entire continuous surface of the planet, or those elusive ice walls.
Robbie said:I think if you built an intelligent measuring device you could probably stand on a cliff overlooking 180 degrees of ocean and measure some curvature of this earth without leaving the ground.
I thought the same thing after having a good view of 90 degrees of uninterrupted ocean horizon from a few hundred feet up on the weekend, but it turns out that it's not really possible to see the curvature from low altitudes (as in anywhere under 35kft at all) - it's actually an illusion that would also appear if the earth were flat. There are other land-based ways to observe the earth's curvature though - ships or tall buildings disappearing over the horizon for example.
I'm stunned that you guys are actually discussing ways to disprove the idiot flat earthers. It's done, they are only doing it to get attention, even they can't be delusional enough to actually believe that absurdity.
Stampie said:Sad thing is he could have taken a commercial plane flight and gotten higher.
Commercial flight? Not only could he have taken a powered-parachute and gotten higher...A paraglider could have gotten him higher without even having an engine. Hell, he could have gotten within spitting distance of that altitude just taking the elevator to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Never mind the fact that even though there are numerous ways to prove the world isn't flat from the comfort of your living room...There is unfortunately no amount of evidence or logic that can sway the mind of people who are willfully ignorant.
In reply to RossD :
I once tried to be a Guinness world record holder inadvertently admittedly. Eighteen pints in a day. Not too shabby. I was completely compos mentis as it took probably twelve hours at least. 
I'm just amazed at his technical ability. Admittedly there appears to no more background than 'self-taught'. We need to get this guy to the challenge.
In reply to nutherjrfan :
I'm amazed at the idea that someone dumb enough to subscribe to this flat earth nonsense is clever enough to put together his own rocket.
In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) :
People are dumb enough to think the Kardashian family are role models, thinking the earth is flat seems a few steps above that level of idiocy.
Remember, no one ever lost money betting against the stupidity of the American public. Someone made a million berkeleying dollars selling the pet rock, and we've not gotten any smarter since then.
In reply to Furious_E :
In Thrust We Trust. I've got some books at home which lay out how to make those calculations from college.
Why is he going high to prove the Earth is flat? If he simply traveled by car and boat due West or dur East he would eventually prove the Earth was round by winding up in the same spot and not falling off the edge.
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