Project Polska: Human powered aircraft. Looking for partners

Hey everyone, Michał here. I'm looking for skilled people to help with an HPA project, Projekt Polska. The only requirements are that you know calculus and that you are Catholic. Please add me on Instagram if interested.

@originaldesign.pl

Why do they have to be Catholic??

Because God moves in mysterious ways

That's a good one - what about 'flying in the face of God?' That could be worked in there somehow I'm sure.

This project is dedicated to God, friends

I don't mean any offense

I understand, you have to believe that it will work out, and unconditional faith is the basis of Catholicism.

@Alien

I believe you may be mistaken. Faith comes from evidence. Evidence comes from Divine revelation, divine revelation comes scripture, deliberation, and dedication to the Lord.

I'm sure you won't go short of volunteers willing to listen to your ideas on a full time basis, especially if there is free calculus thrown in

@cms neuf

If you aren't being facetious, I appreciate the compliment

As a Catholic myself I wouldn't agree with that. I'd say, it can come from evidence, the evidence is all around us every day in the wonder of God's creation, but many people with faith simply feel it, without needing any evidence at all. I'm sure you've heard the old Catholic adage that faith is a gift, a grace from God.

@Atch
I've only been Catholic for a couple years. Before, I was baptist, then Methodist.

Ah, that would explain the reference to Scripture :) Have you been formally received into the Church yet?

@Atch

I would very much like to be your friend. Does the Polish Catholic Church not reference scripture? I didn't know that. Please add me on Instagram: @originaldesign.pl

I'm not on Instagram or any other social media but I'm quite happy to chat here on the forum. I'm not Polish. I live in Poland but I'm from Ireland. You make an interesting point though.

There is definitely a difference in the, shall we say, tone of the Catholic Church in different places around the world. The version of Catholicism I grew up with in Ireland seems quite different to the Polish way of seeing the faith. That's partly because Irish Catholicism springs from the Monastic tradition rather than the Roman tradition and Rome had little influence in Ireland, really until the middle of the nineteenth century. The Irish monks had a big influence though on many aspects of the development of certain practices. For example, the sacrament of Confession as you know it, was introduced by Irish monks. Before that Confession was done maybe once a year and in public! The Irish monks introduced the practice of having a spiritual counsellor, a mentor if you like, to whom you would go in private. Prayer, reflection, examination of conscience daily, these things are part of the bedrock of monastic Catholicism.

Scripture in general though, is not a big thing in the everyday life of an ordinary Catholic. If you are raised in the faith from childhood then the Catechism will be your starting point. On the whole Catholics are taught to find their answers not so much in Scripture as in prayer, though of course the Bible is the basis of the faith - the Catholic translation of the Bible that is. We have more Books than the Protestant denominations and a slightly different translation. But you'll know that already :) As a Catholic there is really no expectation that you will read the Bible at all as part of your daily life. Daily Mass would be considered more important. Not that you have to go to Mass every day but if you're from the Bible based tradition you might feel that you need to connect that way on a daily basis so going to Mass and receiving Communion every day might suit you. Some Catholics draw great strength from being a daily Communicant.

My own view and words of advice to someone new to Catholicism would be, the only Scripture you need to concern yourself with are the Four Gospels. Read the Catechism thoroughly and reflect on it. Know the Beatitudes and the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and try to incorporate them into your everyday life. Read the lives of many saints, find one you feel drawn to and pray to them - and don't forget your Guardian angel and the Archangels :)

And in moments of crisis repeat 'Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in thee,' as often as you like :))

You can open a thread about religion in the off-topic section if you want to.

Partly however they have their own Catholic doctrines too.

But they're not unique to Poland. The doctrines of the Catholic Church are the same everywhere but there are cultural differences depending on which country you're in. I'd say in Poland a 'good Catholic' would have been one who goes to Mass every Sunday, confession once a week, observes Lent etc. In Ireland when I was growing up, due to us pretty much all going to Catholic schools it permeated every moment of our daily lives. You really had to jump through hoops to be considered a good Catholic. There was a massive emphasis on self-sacrifice, good works, loving your neighbour etc. I never got that impression in Poland. But I may be wrong.

Whatever you may say, I admire the guy for not conforming to today's progressive reality where anything religious (especially Christian) is considered outdated or silly. What exactly do you need in your project, do you have any budget?

@Ron2

Hey, thank you! We are still in research stage so I haven't really thought about budget. I'm living off disability at the moment (I became disabled in 2023). Would you like to be a part of Projekt Polska?

Well, for the best possible exposure, I'd hope that you publicly describe what you need or require. I don't use any corporate social media like Instagram or Facebook or X (perhaps it should be your 2nd requirement to find smart people).

Oh wow, I just realized I didn't describe much. We are building a human powered aircraft like the Daedalus (by MIT students). We are dedicating Projekt Polska to God and to the Polish Catholic Church