Peter Sripol is at it again...

[TFF]

Like above, he is a live Popular Mechanics.

In the real world this would happen at work which was a small helicopter company. 100 people would call and talk about learning to fly 20 would come visit the actual airport, 10 would take at least one lesson, 1-2 would get a license. It’s going to be the same with his viewership. One or two percent will go as far as he has, the rest are curious or dreaming. There is probably 10% who might break out a saw and buy some wood or metal, but what they learn is unless you do it for a living, Peter, it will take years to pull off an equal effort. Diligence. Little Scrapper is showing the diligence of how far you get when you spend a chunk of your free time on only one project. It’s a one percenter hobby.

Peter does push some things. Fluttering controls and tail heavy are the scary ones. I think he scraps stuff instead of fixing. He has also simplified his designs compared to the first one. He also knows variety is his brand. He probably looses some money on the serial shows compared to the one video one project. He makes 3-5 videos making a UL over a good bit of time all the while he has still to make 40 more to sustain the viewers. He definitely flys them fair weather only, so he probably thinks there is a limit he does not want to explore.

 

[PredragVasic]

...One or two percent will go as far as he has, the rest are curious or dreaming...

Within the context of his audience, that would equal to anywhere between 17,000 (1% of his subscriber base) to 50,000 (1% of those who viewed the airplane construction videos). Double the figures for 2%. That’s a lot of likely plane builders.

 

[Highflight]

I think those numbers are too optimistic, the kids in my neighborhood have absolutely no interest in wrenching or building projects of any type.

 

[PredragVasic]

I think those numbers are too optimistic, the kids in my neighborhood have absolutely no interest in wrenching or building projects of any type.

I'm afraid gone are the days when the Apollo space programme inspired so many young boys to pursue science and engineering. The explosion of innovation in the Silicon Valley in the 80s is a direct result of a huge influx of young engineers who got motivated and inspired in the late 60s and early 70s by the space programme. As that wrapped up and morphed into a mundane ten-day low-orbit excursions in the Shuttle, so did the overall interest in science and engineering fizzle out. That Silicon Valley is still the global epicentre of digital technology can largely be attributed to the heavy influx of strong talent from abroad, where a strong percentage of the most successful innovators are born and schooled abroad.

 

[Highflight]

For the reasons you listed having role models like Peter who are involved in DIY is extremely important, there is more to life than social media and video games . SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, and many other companies are creating a new "Golden Age" of space flight, many opportunities for employment. Electric powered planes and personal EVTOLs are also creating a lot of media attention, probably more than they really deserve at this stage in their performance envelope.