Originally Posted by Ron Blum
Sounds familiar Ron. I'm a Microsoft engineer from the 90's and 2000's, the era where Open Source was viewed exactly as you described, and I despised it because I have a family to feed.
"Free work" is STUPID. So why would I think open source is a good route now?
Two things I've since learned about open source (done RIGHT):
- It is profitable, just a different business model behind it.
- It is career building (make a name for yourself)
In the software world, the most "famous" and highly paid engineers are often ones that started (and often continue) in open source, when the thing they built for the world becomes so popular and critical, and EVERYONE wants to hire them. That addresses #2 point above. But also leads to point #1. A few business models that work are as a consultancy (now that you made a name for yourself), or as a support or service (this is how AWS Amazon Web Services makes billions, providing a service built on top of open source linux), or through licensing of the thing you created. There are other really creative business models too, but I'll stop there.
Now let's apply this to aviation.
People with an established career may not care about #2. They will either balk at this and not participate, OR they will need to be compelled by a business model that would work and they can be a part of. The way I see it, if an open source design becomes popular and sought after by a segment of the community/market, then there are TONS of opportunities to put a business in place, either licensing the design to a manufacturer, or by getting into the kit building biz, etc. Remember, this isn't the 70's or 80's anymore. Plans-built is dead. ~98% of people out there don't want to scratch build, even if plans are FREE. Therefore the $ is not in the design anyway... might as well make it open! Make sense? The $ is elsewhere, and that $ would belong to any contributor to the plans. This is the model I am working on.
I agree completely regarding the use of available components (Zero as you mentioned, etc). I'm not trying to invent motors here, I'm trying to come up with a practical horizontal flight eVTOL airplane buildable by home builders with commercially available parts. How many motors? Will the wings rotate, or stay fixed? How will it transition? Should it be a hybrid, or all electric? That takes engineering, and a Tesla junkyard is not going to provide it.
Lastly, I think it would be pretty cool to see community designed planes. A revolution and shift is indisputably happening in aviation regarding eVTOL. Let's also see a shift in the way planes get designed in the first place too.
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