u/JRaccoon — JRaccoon

Wow, usually I have the worst luck but somehow I landed in the reservation queue. 256GB, EU.

I don't fully get how this change helps with scalpers. Just like nocturne wrote, with the Steam Machine you were still only given the option to buy the one SKU where you landed highest on the list after the lists were randomized.

And it's not that big of a deal obviously. But doing it like this created an unnecessary dilemma about which list to join. While I actually wanted the 256GB one, I was seriously considering joining the 1TB list because there are probably fewer people going for that one, which could potentially increase your chances. But then you start thinking about how some people probably have the same idea, potentially negating the effect...

The whole thing turned into an unnecessary headache lol, so I just stopped thinking about it and went for the 256GB one.

The lottery is cool but too bad this time they don't allow you to join the list for both options to increase your chances of getting one in the first batch. I decided to go with the 256GB one. I don't think I'll be using it standalone very much, so I don't really need the extra storage. And while I believe there will be more people signing up for that one, there will also be more units available, making the chances pretty much equal. Obviously, saving 200+ euros is a plus too.

69€ for the pretty much mandatory "Ergonomic Accessories" pack is just dumb, imo. For a 1000+ euros product I would expect that stuff to be included.

It's a solid game if you're into the genre

Kinda interesting, in the pictures in the article everyone seems to have a yellow floaty thingy. Anyone know if they actually require everyone to use one or if it's just a coincidence that everyone happened to have one when the pics were taken.

Usually the gear is retracted almost immediately after takeoff, as it creates a huge amount of unnecessary drag if left out when not needed.

They're also not saying it _couldn't_ have happened, are they? They're waiting for investigators to gather all the facts before making any statements, just like they should.

Meanwhile, we here on the internet are just speculating based on the limited information available (basically just the video footage). Based on the current information we have, my opinion is that pilot error is the most likely cause.

You're free to disagree about the likelihood of different scenarios, but right now we have no evidence that makes the theory of the pilots accidentally retracting the flaps instead of the gear impossible or "absurd." It's really counterproductive to start ruling out scenarios without concrete proof.

I don't get what you mean by "and no one figured that out yet." As you said yourself, no one knows what happened yet. Pretty much all we have at this point are the videos, and all we can confirm from them is a rough flight path of the plane and that the landing gear remained down after what appeared to be a normal takeoff. I haven't seen any footage that clearly shows the state of the flaps with any certainty, but please correct me if I've missed something.

In my mind, that leaves us with three possible scenarios:

• Pilot error (retracting the flaps instead of the landing gear)

• Dual engine failure at the critical moment (there's no evidence of this in the videos, but also nothing ruling it out)

• Something else (we don't know what we don't know)

From the two scenarios (pilot error, engine failure) that fit the flight path from the videos, the option one seems more plausible to me. But that’s just my armchair opinion, it doesn't mean anything. All we can really do is wait for the investigation and the preliminary report.

According to type rated pilots the 787 doesn’t allow you to retract flaps immediately in critical flight after takeoff.

That's interesting. Do you have the source for that? I wasn't able to find a definitive answer with google

There are minimum airspeeds the aircraft must reach before the flaps can be safely retracted. I don't know the exact numbers, but assuming a standard flaps 5 takeoff for B787, retraction to flaps 1 would occur around 1000 ft **by earliest**, that's typically 20 to 30 seconds after the takeoff.

Are the 787's controls arranged in such a way that you could accidentally retract the flaps instead of the landing gear?

Not in a sense that someone could just grab the wrong lever in the dark for example. The levers are in different parts of the cockpit and also shaped very differently. But we humans can do all kinds of weird mistakes that are hard to explain. Almost everyone has experienced this sometimes. Think something like searching for you phone while it's in your hand. Afterwards it's very hard to explain why would anyone do such a silly mistake but it still happened. This would be similar.

One theory circulating online is that the pilots may have accidentally retracted the flaps instead of the landing gear. Apparently that would result in kind of a flight path seen on the published videos.

While this cannot be confirmed or ruled out with the information we have, in my opinion the available videos seem to kinda support this theory. Initially the aircraft appears to take off and climb normally, but for some reason the gear is not being retracted when usually it would be retracted right after the takeoff.

Naturally the gear could be forgotten or left intentionally down if there were a dual engine failure right after takeoff, for example, but as the videos show no evidence of this, I'm more inclined to believe in simple pilot error.

As someone living in a green country, could someone explain how things work in practice in the yellow or orange countries? I understand that in places like Russia or China, journalists can end up in prison, or worse, if the government doesn't like their writing. But how exactly is the press not free in countries like Canada or most European nations that are labeled yellow here?

And why is the US labeled orange? As far as I know, the media there is highly politically polarized, with most major news organizations openly supporting a particular agenda. That's certainly a serious issue and not how the press should operate, but even Trump's government isn't actively limiting the freedom of the press to report on issues like they see fit? Or am I mistaken? I'm genuinely asking.

Their official English party name used to be 'True Finns' but at some point someone probably figured out that sounds *a bit* elitist; Like everyone not supporting them is not a true Finn?

Luckily, the far-right here in Finland is less extreme than some of their counterparts in Europe. Finns Party members aren't literal Nazis (or at least most of them aren't), and some media outlets, including Yle, usually refuse to label them as far-right at all. Personally, I'm of the opinion that in the context of the Nordics, being far-right doesn't necessarily mean you're full-blown Nazi and that's why I editorialized the title a bit.