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>The inventor taught himself the basics of aeronautical engineering using YouTube and over two years built a single-seater helicopter using a car engine and scr

>The inventor taught himself the basics of aeronautical engineering using YouTube and over two years built a single-seater helicopter using a car engine and scrap metal. I am speaking without enough knowledge. But I have to wonder if this serves as a harsh criticism of Youtube. I do understand Youtube is a mixed bag of resources. More structured learning might have resulted in better understanding of material strengths, testing, and safety. Inspite of the failure, I admire his pursuit and find the article inspirational.

mgarfias 5y ago
It also could have been a fabrication problem. A stress riser in a highly stressed part is going to fail sooner rather than later.
q-rews 5y ago
> I have to wonder if this serves as a harsh criticism of Youtube That's not how I see it at all. The guy built a working helicopter from scratch watching YouTube; That's crazy (good). Even with structured learning he made the helicopter from scraps so it would have never been "safe" by modern standards. Plenty of other people died trying to fly their own device.
sillysaurusx 5y ago
Better not let the commoners learn too much. They might hurt themselves.
- PikachuEXE 5y ago
  I guess it's caused by not learning enough instead of learning too much?
  - ma2rten 5y ago
    Maybe either would have worked: learning less or learning more.
  - lmz 5y ago
    "Knowing enough to be dangerous" is a well known phrase for a reason.
- smt88 5y ago
  The problem with YouTube as an alternative to formal education is that it doesn't tell you what you don't know. YouTube should warn people that its content shouldn't be mistaken for a comprehensive education on a dangerous topic.
  - adwn 5y ago
    > YouTube should warn people that its content shouldn't be mistaken for a comprehensive education on a dangerous topic. You mean like those hundreds of safety warnings even for trivial appliances like smartphone chargers, which nobody ever reads? Do you think someone who builds a helicopter in their garage will be deterred by a warning "This video doesn't teach everything there is to know about mechanical engineering"? Come on.
    - smt88 5y ago
      At least one person did need to know that YouTube was not an alternative to an engineering degree... But no, I was referring to the more general problem: how to keep people safe without withholding educational information. Also I have no idea what warnings you're talking about. I've watched hundreds of YT videos on topics like chemistry experiments, woodworking, etc. A very small fraction of videos have warnings, and none are provided by YouTube.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  No, learn too little, they will hurt themselves.
FeepingCreature 5y ago
This is pure Icarus. If YouTube enables this, more power to YouTube, IMO.
CyberRabbi 5y ago
This was my first reaction too but probably every DIY/educational video I’ve seen on YouTube has had strong warning disclaimers before introducing the material. Generally most people would be extremely cautious around industrial machinery that moves at high speeds, let alone ones that you design yourself. The higher the stakes, the higher the caution should be. I don’t know how that got lost here, he seems to have had a crew too.
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  People get used to industrial machinery too. Reminds me of the old saying, that a carpenter loses their finger when they stop respecting the saw. In a professional setting, you have at least two forces ensuring your safety. Your own survival instinct is one. The other one is your boss being liable for accidents at work. Even if you feel super comfortable with your practice, there are other people who'll try to prevent you from doing something stupid - and they have power over you, because as your bosses, they can deny you the access to the workshop. With a solo op, that second force is missing.
  - bserge 5y ago
    My grandfather was missing half of his fingers and not because he stopped respecting anything. Simply because after working for 10 hours straight he was tired as hell. But life doesn't pause because you're tired. Probably the number 1 accident maker - tiredness, both mental and physical. Reduces your cognition and reflexes, which results in injuries and death.
dharmab 5y ago
I had this experience learning to work on cars and motorcycles. Initially I learned from videos, trial and (expensive) errors. Years later I got my hands on an official Honda tech manual and some real engineering knowledge and realized just how basic, incomplete or mistaken most of YouTube was on the topic.
thweroi234234 5y ago
Education in India is restricted to English speakers by state diktat. The inventor noted above didn't have much of a choice - or indeed even a sequence of books he could work through.
tyingq 5y ago
There are an insane number of bad examples to follow on YouTube around chemistry, explosives, radioactive materials, electricity, mechanical devices, high powered lasers, etc. YouTube does occasionally take some of it down, but typically not until it's popular enough that it gets flagged by somebody that cares.

mgarfias 5y ago

It also could have been a fabrication problem. A stress riser in a highly stressed part is going to fail sooner rather than later.

q-rews 5y ago

> I have to wonder if this serves as a harsh criticism of Youtube That's not how I see it at all. The guy built a working helicopter from scratch watching YouTube; That's crazy (good). Even with structured learning he made the helicopter from scraps so it would have never been "safe" by modern standards. Plenty of other people died trying to fly their own device.

sillysaurusx 5y ago

Better not let the commoners learn too much. They might hurt themselves.

PikachuEXE 5y ago
I guess it's caused by not learning enough instead of learning too much?
- ma2rten 5y ago
  Maybe either would have worked: learning less or learning more.
- lmz 5y ago
  "Knowing enough to be dangerous" is a well known phrase for a reason.
smt88 5y ago
The problem with YouTube as an alternative to formal education is that it doesn't tell you what you don't know. YouTube should warn people that its content shouldn't be mistaken for a comprehensive education on a dangerous topic.
- adwn 5y ago
  > YouTube should warn people that its content shouldn't be mistaken for a comprehensive education on a dangerous topic. You mean like those hundreds of safety warnings even for trivial appliances like smartphone chargers, which nobody ever reads? Do you think someone who builds a helicopter in their garage will be deterred by a warning "This video doesn't teach everything there is to know about mechanical engineering"? Come on.
  - smt88 5y ago
    At least one person did need to know that YouTube was not an alternative to an engineering degree... But no, I was referring to the more general problem: how to keep people safe without withholding educational information. Also I have no idea what warnings you're talking about. I've watched hundreds of YT videos on topics like chemistry experiments, woodworking, etc. A very small fraction of videos have warnings, and none are provided by YouTube.
jacquesm 5y ago
No, learn too little, they will hurt themselves.

FeepingCreature 5y ago

This is pure Icarus. If YouTube enables this, more power to YouTube, IMO.

CyberRabbi 5y ago

This was my first reaction too but probably every DIY/educational video I’ve seen on YouTube has had strong warning disclaimers before introducing the material. Generally most people would be extremely cautious around industrial machinery that moves at high speeds, let alone ones that you design yourself. The higher the stakes, the higher the caution should be. I don’t know how that got lost here, he seems to have had a crew too.

TeMPOraL 5y ago
People get used to industrial machinery too. Reminds me of the old saying, that a carpenter loses their finger when they stop respecting the saw. In a professional setting, you have at least two forces ensuring your safety. Your own survival instinct is one. The other one is your boss being liable for accidents at work. Even if you feel super comfortable with your practice, there are other people who'll try to prevent you from doing something stupid - and they have power over you, because as your bosses, they can deny you the access to the workshop. With a solo op, that second force is missing.
- bserge 5y ago
  My grandfather was missing half of his fingers and not because he stopped respecting anything. Simply because after working for 10 hours straight he was tired as hell. But life doesn't pause because you're tired. Probably the number 1 accident maker - tiredness, both mental and physical. Reduces your cognition and reflexes, which results in injuries and death.

dharmab 5y ago

I had this experience learning to work on cars and motorcycles. Initially I learned from videos, trial and (expensive) errors. Years later I got my hands on an official Honda tech manual and some real engineering knowledge and realized just how basic, incomplete or mistaken most of YouTube was on the topic.

thweroi234234 5y ago

Education in India is restricted to English speakers by state diktat. The inventor noted above didn't have much of a choice - or indeed even a sequence of books he could work through.

tyingq 5y ago

There are an insane number of bad examples to follow on YouTube around chemistry, explosives, radioactive materials, electricity, mechanical devices, high powered lasers, etc. YouTube does occasionally take some of it down, but typically not until it's popular enough that it gets flagged by somebody that cares.