In episode 24, we discuss EVTOL HEXA's first flight and design, DARPA's Ai Dogfight contest between artificial intelligence pilots and real ones, combating bird strikes and the "snarge" they leave behind, Boeing 737 wire harness issues, and more.

Learn more about Weather Guard StrikeTape segmented lightning diverters. Follow the show on YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit us on the web. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

Full Transcript: EP24 EVTOL HEXA, DARPA Ai Dogfight, Bird Strike Countermeasures and More

Struck 24 Audio for Podcast

Dan: This episode is brought to you by Weather Guard Lightning Tech at weather guard. We support design engineers and make lightning protection easy.

You're listening to the struck podcast. I'm Dan Blewett

Allen Hall: I'm Allen hall.

Dan: And here on struck, we talk about everything. Aviation, aerospace engineering, and lightening protection.

All right, welcome back. This is the struck podcast episode 24, Alln, how are you?

Allen Hall: Great Dan. Boy, uh, aviation just doesn't keep churning. Does it busy weekend?

Dan: Yeah. Yeah. And we have a really interesting show today. We have lots of like very diverse, strange, strange topics from guns. Found it TSA, more Boeing problems, uh, lightening rods, protecting  birds, hitting planes.

Um, Crazy looking EVTOLs, DARPA Ai Dogfight, and drones. So look forward to an interesting show today. So let's get started. So new article shows that right now, TSA is finding guns and carry on bags. 80% of which are loaded at three times the rate compared to last year. So 15.3 guns. Per million passengers compared to 5.1 guns last year.

So, Allen, what's your take? Why do you think this has happened?

Allen Hall: Well, I haven't seen any good reason for it explained, I've seen the articles and TSA has put out some notices about it because they were alarmed about it and trying to make everybody aware, like, Hey. Check your luggage for the, the weapon you left in it.

But I either chalk it up to people. Haven't been driving around a lot and have forgotten about, and we're moving around a lot. And I had forgotten about the handgun they have put in their backpack or a handgun that may be sitting in their duffel bag. And. Load it up and go to the airport, not thinking it's in there and TSA will find it.

They will clearly find it. Yeah. That's the one thing I think the other one is that in this sort of a climate of, of concern, everybody's in. Maybe people are thinking it's a smart thing to take a handgun on an airplane. And that is never a smart idea. A TSA will take you down and it's a, yeah, it is a big problem.

Uh, when you, cause that's, that's basically you breaking federal law, when you do that. So there's no, there's no reason to be carrying a handgun onto an aircraft ever. Uh, there are rules in which you can take care, uh, weapons onto aircraft, obviously unloaded, obviously in a hard case,