Flying the most affordable airplane across America

The Sonex experimental airplane was designed with 2 things in mind: simplicity and affordability. With an operating cost of around $25 an hour, this plane perfectly fit my mission. After years of saving and months of planning I'm finally able to call one of these little planes my own!
Come along for the journey as we fly this Sonex experimental aircraft halfway across the country.

Thanks for watching!!

Music:

[moonedward]

Morris the "plane cat" probably is the chief mouse exterminator at the airfield.

[donaldharen]

Nice video young man. I'm 76 years old and earned my private, commercial, and instrument back in the late 60's. Used to own a Pa-28 160 but haven't flown in many years due to health issues. It brought a smile to my face seeing the joy you are experiencing. I remember that joy! I subscribed to your channel and look forward to more videos. God bless you.

[sentry]

This guy can barely contain his enthusiasm. You know you're on the right track when that happens.

[HontasFarmer]

He's certainly got that Airline Pilot voice already. I'd gladly fly with him.

[benkopecky]

I'm a huge consumer of youtube. I've watched hunting, fishing, and outdoor videos for 6 years. This is one of the most captivating story telling videos I've ever seen. Keep up the awesome content man, just being you!

[waynefarrellvoiceovers]

I have not enjoyed a flying video as much for many years. $16k is an absolute no-brainer. May it bring you many years of happiness.

[drott]

I'm a retired aerospace engineer and amateur glider pilot. IMO, I would always plan each leg of your cross-country trips using the following rules:
(1) Always have a suitable landing area picked out ahead of time that is always within gliding distance if your engine quits (for whatever reason). That landing area could be an airport, airfield, or open field (including golf courses).
(2) Select suitable locations (in #1 above) for power off landings by knowing the POWER OFF glide ratio of your aircraft, the direction and magnitude of the prevailing winds in real-time that you will only know on the day of your flight and as you are flying minute to minute. Don't calculate your predicted gliding distance based on ideal conditions. Leave lots of margin for error and higher winds than you anticipate. Put a buffer in.
(3) After you take-off, always first climb to an altitude that can easily get you to your next "security blanket" landing spot in the event there is a power outage. Do not proceed beyond the reach of your last stepping stone, until you reach that altitude. And that altitude will vary from stepping stone to stepping stone, allowing you variations in altitude as you move along.

(4) Practice, with an experienced instructor by your side, idle power descents combined with aggressive slips. By aggressive, I don't mean beyond the capability of you or your personal aircraft, but up to that limit. Slips allow you to slip into tighter spaces on the ground (helping to clear trees and power lines coming down) and it reduces your approach and ground run (if properly executed). This is an important maneuver to practice and be comfortable with. That way if you need it in an emergency, it will be an instinctively accessible tool inside your toolbox. You wont have to think about it or struggle with its execution (it's all we did in gliders because every landing is an engine out landing!).

(5) If you decide to disregard rules #1-4, always understand the following: When you are flying beyond the power off gliding distance of a safe landing spot, you should think of yourself as temporarily being connected to a heart/lung machine. A heart/lung machine that is keeping you alive while you are flying in that manner. A heart and lung machine that is powered by your aircraft's engine. Because if that little 4 cylinder gasoline powered engine conks out - for whatever reason - it will stop powering your heart and lung machine that you are completely dependent on for life because the situation you are in is in violation of the rules specified in 1-4 above.
You're a young man fulfilling your dreams. I like that, and I did too. But I grew to be an older man because even when I was young, I was successful at recognizing risks ahead of time and mitigating them as I went along. I wish you the best and happy flying!

[necessarytruthszig]

Do you ever get joy from watching someone love what they are doing?

[stevesilsby]

Nice video. Hint: rather than scrunching over to peek at the fuel level, use your phone to shoot a photo of the fuel tank. Do this regularly during flights and you can plot an accurate graph of fuel use over time (time stamp on each photo.)

[markhemsworth]

Grinning from ear to ear for the whole 11 hours. Just awesome. And somehow he seems to keep a balance of safety and protocol with the "high" of flying his own aircraft. Impressive and amazing...and dare I say an example of the pinnacle of human achievement that so little money can bring so much freedom.

[carlrodgers]

This video made me happy. The random YouTube algorithm brought me here. Glad to see people chasing their dreams.

[comeberza]

My spanish mind struggles to understand a young lad flying across a country on his own and it being somehow "affordable". Love this!

[clarkgriswold-zrsb]

You got a smoking deal on that airplane! And there's nothing like the world of performance experimental amateur built. It'll change your life having that "magic carpet" ready for you whenever you're ready to go. Last thing, you have as much priority as any other (powered) airplane in the sky. Don't worry about what any controllers may or may not think of you. Just fly *your* plane safely and do not let ANYONE pressure you.

[cpuman]

I used to be a member of the CAP, and flying as co-pilot in the cessna was an experience i'll never forget, its been over 20 years since then and I can still remember the feeling. I've been longing to get back into the sky but finances make it unfeasible, watching your video helped bring me back the feeling of being in the sky again, so thanks.

[TheFosterJourney]

As a full-time sailor, I can relate to much of your journey, and the other 80% of your journey that is unfamiliar to me - that's so fascinating! A 600lb craft with only 16G of fuel. Awesome video man!

[bronzebuffalo]

I can only imagine; how proud your parents are of you. What a great adventure and accomplishment.

[Cocora]

OK I am IMPRESSED!!!! What a great journey for someone so young. I have no doubt you are super smart and incredibly responsible. We are blessed to have young people like you. You will be a very successful man and I wish you Godspeed, good health and many safe flights.

[JM-iywm]

You are the kind of young man I love to see, a gentleman. Your parents much be very proud. Keep it up and GOD Bless

[StefanDrury]

What a great adventure, and bonus points for airport cat! I'm glad YouTube recommended this to me, and I wish you all the very best for the rest of your flying.

[therainman]

Just want to say this is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen a young person such as yourself do. The dedication, the discipline, the learning, and even the bravery involved in this FAR surpasses anything I or anyone I know was doing at your age. Congratulations! So cool to see. I’m sure you have an incredibly bright future ahead of you.