Raphael Pirker

Raphael Pirker (aka Trappy) CEO and co-founder of Team BlackSheep (aka TBS).

Around 2008, Pirker was member of a group of about 15 RC pilots who were focused on long-range flying in the mountains. Back in the day they were using unconventional technologies and pushed the boundaries of the hobby, publishing videos of their flying on YouTube. Some of their flights were controversial for the time. For example, they flew above 400 feet or beyond line of sight, which was a taboo. That’s why the group became known as “Team BlackSheep”. When three of the pilots, Chris, Remo and Raphael, decided to develop electronics for FPV commercially, the moniker was used by them as name for the new company.

The group’s videos gained traction and the pilots were frequently asked not only to sell their gear, but also to do commercial video shoots. After one of such projects, when Pirker travelled to the US and flew his aircraft to shoot an advertisement at the University of Virginia, he got sued by the FAA. According to FAA’s interpretation of the law, commercial aircraft equalled to full-scale aircraft, and Pirker did not have a license to do that. However, Brendan Schulman, who was Pirker’s lawyer, convincingly showed that this was not the case.