# 747 Pilot Kelsey (74 Gear on YouTube) challenges flat-earthers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 27, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554 "2022-04-27T17:18:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/1 "2022-04-27T17:18:22Z")
YouTuber and 747 pilot Kelsey (74 Gear) [posted a video a year ago](https://youtu.be/xaRxOesKIyg) outlining a method by which Flat-Earthers could prove their theory: charter a flight from South America to Australia. Airliners have terrain detection systems, and if the plane is about to fly into the disc-surrounding wall they believe Antarctica is, the system will detect it. (If not, the flight will continue to Australia, of course.) He even offered to be the pilot, if the group chartered the plane from his company. Flat earthers apparently gave him a hard time for not actually making all the arrangements for them himself, even though he never offered to do that. So a few days ago, he launched a $1.5 million ~~Link removed~~ campaign to actually arrange the flight, which is tentatively set for October 20, flying from Buenos Aires to Perth. He describes the plan in the new video below. It includes hiring a documentary film crew to record the whole deal. He won’t be piloting, and although he hopes to be a passenger, he says that will depend on his work schedule at the time. Although he points out that some Flat-Earthers have offered large sums to people who could prove them wrong, I have a feeling that if the Kickstarter is funded, it will be mostly by skeptics who want to watch a bunch of Flat-Earthers’ heads asplode. (I know that’s why I would want to go.) Which means there may not be any Flat-Earthers. Which would be a shame. As I write, 167 backers have pledged $28,000, with 43 days to go. ~~Video Removed too~~ ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/2 "2022-04-27T17:39:21Z")
Any “Here’s a dumb thing I believe, I’ll pay lots of money if you prove me wrong” is stupid. This is worse, this is “here’s a dumb thing other people believe, pay me lots of money to prove them wrong”. We can prove them wrong by walking down to the beach and watching a ship disappear over the horizon, no flight necessary. A flat earther will either deny the flight happened, say they did it wrong, ignore it entirely, or come up with some new theory to explain it away. Even if it were to happen, it would achieve nothing. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/3 "2022-04-27T17:54:45Z")
Here you go, Kelsey! Now how about we just split the $1.5 mil instead of wasting it? [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/4 "2022-04-27T17:55:35Z")
You don’t even need to charter a flight; Qantas has a regularly scheduled flight from Santiago to Sydney. Or rather they did – it’s currently suspended due to the pandemic. Presumably they’ll start flying it again at some point, though. I’m pretty sure they once served Buenos Aires, too. Or do those flights to Sydney not fly close enough to the South Pole to satisfy flat earthers? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/5 "2022-04-27T17:59:26Z")
Flights don’t typically go too far into the Antarctic continent. It’s not a place that is conducive to an emergency landing. > **[Why Commercial Airlines Won't Fly Over The South Pole](https://laughingsquid.com/why-commercial-airlines-wont-fly-over-south-pole/)** > > Sam Denby of Half as Interesting explains why commercial airlines fly over the North Pole but not the South Pole. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > Or do those flights to Sydney not fly close enough to the South Pole to satisfy flat earthers? Probably not > **[The Santiago–Sydney Antarctic ‘Smile’: QF28](https://eugene.kaspersky.com/2015/09/09/the-santiago-sydney-antarctic-smile-qf28/)** > > Hola amigos! Not long ago I flew one of the most unusual commercial air routes I've ever taken. It was the Santiago–Sydney-route on Qantas QF28 in a Boeing 747. The route forms a smile shape as it… ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/6 "2022-04-27T19:35:08Z")
I think it’s unlikely that many hardcore FEers are going to pony up the bucks, but maybe he’s just hoping to get them off his case by saying, Look, I told you how to do it, then I offered to arrange it for you, and you didn’t step up to the plate. Now go away and leave me alone. If so, I’m not sure it’ll work. FEers aren’t “put up or shut up” types when it comes to their world view. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/7 "2022-04-27T19:36:06Z")
FYI, Kelsey isn’t a Flat-Earther. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/8 "2022-04-27T19:36:51Z")
This will accomplish absolutely nothing when it comes to the beliefs of flat earthers. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/9 "2022-04-27T19:39:05Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > FYI, Kelsey isn’t a Flat-Earther. I quite understand. I used to watch his aviation videos. I’m suggesting that this picture, authenticated by NASA, should be more than enough to convince any flat-earthers except for those who will never be convinced by anything at all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/10 "2022-04-27T19:41:30Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’m suggesting that this picture, authenticated by NASA, should be more than enough to convince any flat-earthers except for those who will never be convinced by anything at all. 😉 I would be absolutely astounded if a single flat earther was convinced by that photo. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/11 "2022-04-27T19:42:22Z")
For 1.5 million I could build a trebuchet that would make flat earthers stop believing the earth is flat. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/12 "2022-04-27T19:44:33Z")
In all seriousness, I’m not sure that flat-earthers really exist, except as a sort of self-perpetuating joke. If any really do, I don’t know how they can breathe without assistance and constant coaching. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/13 "2022-04-27T19:47:31Z")
They exist, because I’ve met them at gatherings. I have found the best response when the topic comes up is to say, “You are too stupid to have an adult conversation with” and walk away. Best response for me, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/14 "2022-04-27T19:50:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > This will accomplish absolutely nothing when it comes to the beliefs of flat earthers. > [@tofor](#): > > A flat earther will either deny the flight happened, say they did it wrong, ignore it entirely, or come up with some new theory to explain it away. Even if it were to happen, it would achieve nothing. Yes to both of these. For flat-earthers, “the earth is flat” is as much of a universal constant as the speed of light. That is to say, everything else can change _except_ that. Their consistent denial of the entire body of currently available evidence should make it plain that no matter what irrefutable round-earth proof you think you can provide, they’ll poke a hole in it somehow. Your video footage was faked/edited, your photo was 'shopped, instruments don’t work when you’re near the Antarctic ice wall, there’s a conspiracy to hide the truth, blahblahblah. $28,000 from 167 donors so far is about $160 per donor. I hope those donors are happy with the outcome. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/15 "2022-04-27T20:09:13Z")
It’s an all or nothing deal. If they don’t get enough pledges, it’s off, and no one gives (or loses) anything. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/16 "2022-04-27T20:15:11Z")
I apologize to the mods and the board about including a link to the fundraising site. I didn’t know there was a rule about it and it certainly wasnt my intent to promote it, other than than in a point-and-laugh way. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/17 "2022-04-27T20:20:56Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > instruments don’t work when you’re near the Antarctic ice wall How do they explain that going West from California will eventually end up in New Jersey? Czarcasm, how do you get into a conversation with a flat earth cretin? Are you hanging out at a party, he comes up and asks, “Did you know the Earth is flat?” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/18 "2022-04-27T20:35:29Z")
Discussions about conspiracy theories will happen, a flat earther will state that there is a conspiracy to hide the “real” evidence, and hilarity ensues. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2022, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/19 "2022-04-28T01:07:43Z")
By putting them in it and terminating their ability to have any beliefs whatsoever with maximum prejudice? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2022, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554/20 "2022-04-28T01:52:21Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > A flat earther will either deny the flight happened, say they did it wrong, ignore it entirely, or come up with some new theory to explain it away. Even if it were to happen, it would achieve nothing. Yep. This is just a fool’s errand. Absolutely nothing can be accomplished except, perhaps, some idle entertainment of laugh-and-point-at-the-idiots, which, unfortunately, I don’t find very entertaining. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-pilot-kelsey-74-gear-on-youtube-challenges-flat-earthers/963554.md?page=2)