[wolverine876]

The Wright brothers were developing a major advance for humanity; I might take more risks for that. Also, their airplane was moving quite low and slow - much less risk than these boats, I would guess.

Finally, they were the engineers of their plane - they probably knew the risks well. Maybe that describes these watercraft pilots too.

[myself248]

Syroco describes their attempt the same way. Sea transport has a huge environmental footprint and has changed very little in the last 50 years.

The Wright Brothers' plane carried neither passengers nor cargo, yet it presaged an entire industry of air travel. Likewise, these speed-record boats will only demonstrate a new technology. But likewise, they might transform an enormous industry.

[mcv]

That's true. I've been hearing a lot about using kites for large cargo ships. They'll never be going that fast, but the tech does serve a very valuable purpose.

[krisoft]

> Finally, they were the engineers of their plane - they probably knew the risks well. Maybe that describes these watercraft pilots too.

I think that is the key here. Don’t compare these to a reliable production airplanes, they are more akin to a prototype plane.

With prototype airplanes we call the pilots a special name: “test pilots”. But that is just because with most airplane designs there is an expectation that they once will graduate out of testing and will be piloted by regular pilots. But some airplanes never do that. They were only ever meant to demonstrate some principle or explore some new frontier. Same with these sailboats, their crew are “test pilots”, and they perform a test program to gradually validate the performance and safety of the craft. And most likely they will be only ever crewed by the crew who did that program.

So what does it mean that they are “test pilots”. They all probably have a lot of experience with all kind of sailboats and especially fast ones, and then they have a proven track record of having a good intuitive understanding of the physics involved. If all you ever did is to capsize a dingy on a local lake you are probably not getting this job.

And then test pilots get access to the engineers designing the craft and they talk a lot about expected performance. There are all kind of curves and diagrams one can inspect to understand how the craft is likely going to handle.

And then they don’t just leave the pier for the first time and run a world record speed. They first go relatively slow, and only when they are certain they understand how the craft behaves do they try to go faster and faster. This might also mean that they are initially very picky about the conditions they launch into, and as they gain more experience they can “expand the envelope” and try gnarlier weather.

Then of course they prepare for adverse events. They wear appropriate personal protective equipment, have a plan what they do if they are thrown overboard or capsize, and they also most likely have rescue boats at the ready to save them if something goes wrong.

And then on top of all of that they all probably have a psychological makeup where they value going fast, and being the first more than being safe. Even with all the safety precautions and mitigations and good design activities like these are risky. People who all above wish for a long and peaceful and slow life are probably not going to gravitate towards these jobs.

[Kon-Peki]

The Wright brothers were involved members of an international “glider” community and, yes, they won the race to be the first to successfully strap an engine to one and fly it.

But remember that the Wright brothers didn’t even try to patent “the airplane”. Their achievement (and patent) was about safely controlling an airplane so that it could fly. More than two years before their 1903 flight, Wilbur Wright gave a presentation in Chicago where he said “ As long ago as 1884 a machine weighing 8,000 pounds demonstrated its power both to lift itself from the ground and to maintain a speed of from 30 to 40 miles per hour, but failed of success owing to the inability to balance and steer it properly. This inability to balance and steer still confronts students of the flying problem, although nearly eighteen years have passed. When this one feature has been worked out, the age of flying machines will have arrived, for all other difficulties are of minor importance.”