Flying the most affordable airplane across America
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 พ.ค. 2024
- 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:
Miynt - Of the Sun • Miynt - Of the sun (Of...
Hotel Pools - Eclipse • Hotel Pools - Eclipse
Beach House - The Hours • Beach House - The Hours
ELFL - First Horizon • ELFL - First Horizon (... - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Morris the "plane cat" probably is the chief mouse exterminator at the airfield.
The cat is actually inspector and security all in one!
Any more information this cat? Does he have an Instagram or anything like that? Adorable cat.
Great Video. I'm familiar with Carrollton and when you pointed out Pgh, you were probably near my home towns of Portersville and Slippery Rock.
Pretty cool, thanks.
Love that cat
I thought thst was a stray cat
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.
That means a lot to hear people have been enjoying the video, thanks for watching!
Absolutely, my buddies Dad built an ultralight before he Passed, I’d love to fly it some day he’d have loved that. Thanks ✌️🇺🇸
My version of that was a historic schooner, 40’ long. Had 2 similar diesel fuel tanks, after I took out 2-50 gallon stainless tanks to lighten the boat for speed “to go to weather” (into the wind) and fuel consumption was similar. Speed, though, was about 95 mph slower. Following your dream in action. Nice job. Even my wife liked the video.
Ya know, you can get a sport pilots license without having to have a medical.
Aside from being in top shape physically and mentally, it takes big $ to fly but it sure is cool to think about.
This guy can barely contain his enthusiasm. You know you're on the right track when that happens.
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.
He's certainly got that Airline Pilot voice already. I'd gladly fly with him.
Lol...I thought the same thing
His video is very nicely put together and the audio was also very good. Maybe a little more bass heavy than a typical TH-cam video but very clear.
Airlines should switch over to having their announcements sound like those hard to decipher announcement s on the subway platforms
i was about to say the same
it’s a voice over - dubbing. pretty distracting
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.)
that's precisely what I thought when he send he hunched his head under the console, I would just reach down and take a picture with flash lol
Yes, . And perhaps I should not leave unsaid that one should never force one's body into difficult positions while PIC. Too easy to unwittingly push against one of the flight controls to gain that last inch of position, resulting in disaster. That's what killed John Denver.
Great suggestion!
I'd rather physically See my fuel level, when I'm 5,000ft in the air! LOL
@@v1rotation : Don't forget to remove it from your crutch before you go into the FBO! 🥴
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!
Great advice! Have you ever had to perform a dead stick off field landing?
@@jackroutledge352 I have not, but that's only because I only flew on a light basis, always within range of the airport. However, all of the pilots in our glider club who flew cross country flights competitively, invariably had to do off-field landings. It came with the territory with gliders if you wanted to try your hand at cross country flying.
My point in the message above is so often I see youtube videos of pilots, especially young ones, who are flying over trees and congested areas at quite low altitudes. And if their engine quit, they would have to ditch on top of trees, powerlines, roads or buildings. Usually with fatal outcomes. And it appears as if these pilots don't even understand the potential risk they're taking. And maybe some do and are fully aware, yet they still decide to put the ultimate faith in their engine's reliability? Hard to say sometimes. I just hope they are making an informed decision and are willingly taking that risk with open eyes. As for me, I don't like the idea of being put onto a heart and lung machine powered by a glorified Volkswagen Beetle engine.
Great advice. Always have a plan, know the risks and mitigate them as best as you can. The rest you accept or don’t fly that day.
Excellent advice, and coming from a glider pilot, you definitely are an expert when it comes to properly managing the available energy for power-off glides. I only recently discovered just how fast and loud gliders can be! And that ultra light wing loading is practically magical. Sailplanes/gliders are the closest thing that we can come to natural flight like a bird.
@@pctrader841 I'm a very amateur glider pilot and I haven't flown in a long time. But what I know about what I said above was also drilled into me when I was learning how to fly gyrocopters. The gyrocopter I learned in was a 2 place Parsons old Bensen type. It was powered with a McCulloch 2 cycle drone engine from the 1950s. These engines had a high power to weight ratio, but they were only designed to power unmanned target drones. These drones were designed to fly one time and be shot down. They were not built to the standards of human carrying aviation like certified Lycomings or Continentals.
These engines would conk out all the time. My instructor even had a crankshaft break on him in flight allowing the pusher prop to come off the engine and fly up through the rotor system, whacking one of the main rotor blades, which were fortunately made of very tough fiberglass material (and survived intact).
So, the whole time we flew, every flight was to be within gliding distance of an open area for an emergency unpowered landing if it the engine gave out. Gyrocopters have very steep power off gliding ratios, like 2:1 (compared to a Cessna 152 with a glide ratio of about 10:1). They typically fly at very low altitudes, usually no more than at 1000-2000ft or so (and often less). If the engine quits, they come down very steeply, so you don't have a lot of flight time or horizontal distance to reach distant open areas.
However, despite how steeply the gyrocopter came down, for the very reason it had such a steep glide ratio, you could tuck into very small spaces for landing. Its magic was that as you flared for landing it basically touched down at nearly zero forward speed. And if there was any significant headwind you could land not only with zero rollout - but technically - even land rolling _backwards!_
So, between flying gyrocopters with unreliable engines and gliders that had no engine? The concepts of never trusting your ability to stay aloft over landing unfriendly areas are just drilled into you. I personally would only fly a light single engine aircraft using those very same techniques.
This video made me happy. The random TH-cam algorithm brought me here. Glad to see people chasing their dreams.
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.
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!
Do you ever get joy from watching someone love what they are doing?
absolutely
Never. I'm trapped in a hell hole of a life and get to crawl out of it on my own while other have it easy. I hope one day that my heart gets rid of all this hatred. And that people with resources chose to help others and not be slaves of their own pleasures.
Piss Off.@@MrFujinko
wishing the best for you@@MrFujinko
@@MrFujinko How do you know others have it easy? You don't know what people are dealing with. A video shows little to nothing.
If people have worked and suffered for the resources they have, they're in no way obligated to give away to others, it's theirs to do as they like, completely.
"I hope one day that my heart gets rid of all this hatred"
A good start is to stop viewing people enjoying themselves as villains, you'd def enjoy yourself too if you had the resources to.
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.
What a great adventure, and bonus points for airport cat! I'm glad TH-cam recommended this to me, and I wish you all the very best for the rest of your flying.
Thanks! You’re one of the inspirations for starting this channel. Even used your videos as a reference when designing the thumbnail haha
Such dedication and support is wonderful. I love how you used the camera as a 'second person' documenting you adventure. I know this will resonate with many "old Salt" pilots who back in their day, did everything they could to keep flying. Adventure awaits! Happy Landings.
Ethan - you are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your journey so far. You obviously love what you do and it brings joy to others to see you having such a cool time!
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
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.
Great effort Ethan, I'm so glad you are emerging from the cocoon and beginning flying adventures in a practical safe way. you will have many more adventures and experiences if you keep on this path to aviation. USA is one the many countries I have flown the length and breadth of around the world where i have seen so many incredible things over so many years. after 55 years of flying in 27 countries I'm approaching the end of my flying career, which started as a teenager flying an experimental homebuilt around my home country, so I see an amazing future for you. take care, listen and learn, experience and enjoy this opportunity to see the world, a little bit at a time from a vantage point many will never experience and understand. this is a great youtube, please keep them coming as and when you can.
Who knows what the future holds, I have no intention to stop but I need to see how my new employer will choose to use my experience and skills, hopefully I will be back in the USA working with new customers soon!
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.
Wow. You’ve got yourself a sweet ride there. The purchase price was great and the per-mile cost is fabulous. Lovely to watch an articulate young man with a humble outlook.
You are one cool young man! I am a USAF Veteran as was my late Dad. He would have enjoyed seeing this. Stay safe buddy.
Well done. I built a Sonex (#988) with the Aerovee like yours. Great flying little plane - ideal first aircraft for lots of fun. They're built like a brick outhouse with heaps of strength in the airframe.
Wanna sell it
How much do they run for?
the music, the scene and the vibe what more can you ask for. You are living the life.
I can only imagine; how proud your parents are of you. What a great adventure and accomplishment.
I follow a lot of aviation youtubers, and this was a great video. Thanks for documenting your trip. Subbed.
I really like the instrument/comm/transponder setup in your plane. Simple, efficient, complete. Congrats on your purchase and journey.
I’m happy for you! Your enthusiasm comes through loud and clear! You have a radio voice and your diction is spot on! Just something to think about. Blue Skies!
Congrats, Ethan. You're living my dream. Stay safe and many hours of happy flying. I intend to follow your journey and see where it takes us.
It’s great to see another young pilot turn airplane owner. I’m also in my 20’s and building an rv12. I hope to travel around when it’s complete. Keep up the great work. Videos like this are inspiring!- Jacob 🛫
I enjoyed watching this video very much. No airs, simplicity, adventurous dialogue and interesting technical details well explained
Great video! I love how you are making the most with what you've got. It's a great lesson for all of us.
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.
My sentiments exactly. He really knows how to shoot a video well, hitting all of the main points and not making a 2-hour video out of it. I look forward to more videos like this in the future.
yOUZZZ THE MAN ETHAN. LOVE YOUR JOURNEY!!! i'm left almost speechless. I am not a pilot, and I'm just getting interested and learning about what it is to fly these machines. This little plane is hilarious, yet badass. KEEP going and GODspeed!
That's awesome! Congrats!!! That was my late husband's dream...to build and fly a Sonex. Great to see you're living your dream.
Godspeed, young man! You’re a brave adventurous soul. Be safe!
Dude this guy is awesome! I’m a young up and coming pilot wanting to fly airliners when i’m older, you’re my idol dude! ❤
My favorite kind of video "full flight adventure vlog", made by my favorite type of person "young adventurous new pilot"
You did a wonderful job covering your dream flight, and you earned every single bit of it. Congratulations, God bless, and I hope to see you in many more flight videos.
Great video. The Sonex is a terrific design. Good choice on the go-around, I’ve never once regretted doing that. 😂
Love this video man I can’t thank you enough for putting it together!!! So much good info and insight on the flight! Keep it up!!! ❤❤❤
Thanks for being such a good role model for young, aspiring pilots and showing what it's like to live the dream!
That's a really good price. Really like the upgrades you've done for IFR/Night, looks like a really tidy setup. Great video too, got the balance of detail and story progression just right. Can't wait to see more
Great vid, great commentary, annoying "music".
@@jpkatz1435annoying comment
Great video! And an awesome adventure! Looking forward to seeing future adventures! Fly safe!
Fantastic video! I love that you did this on a budget and have so many little details worked out. Your planning makes this look very relaxing. Looking forward to more videos!
Glad to see you're able to chase your dreams. Never let that smile go brother!! Good luck and have fun, I look forward to the next videos!!!
Love seeing the leaning during taxi. Gotta protect those plugs. Momma clearly didn’t realize no dummy!
Great job Ethan. We need all the young upcoming aviation professionals we can get.
This is so cool man. The freedom you have with that plane is wild. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing that experience with us.
The transistion from cockpit video to google earth/map view was insane! Very creative
Sadly, 50 years too late for me, but great to see you smiling so much!
Be safe, enjoy your life!
It’s never too late I believe in you
Dude... you are living the dream!!! Just mindblowing to watch for someone like me, living in Japan
What a fantastic video, huge pleasure to see your journey. Incredibly inspiring too, I've been interested in learning to fly for years, your breakdown of the statistics and video of the journey might just be the kick I needed to start.
This is really fun to follow. I'd love to see more videos of your process. For example: you updated us on the instrument panel upgrades at the end, but hey... that could be a whole video on each one. I don't know anything about any of this, so telling us what those things do would be super interesting. Either way, I'm following you to see your journey, which is really fun!
Congratulations, Ethan, on achieving something I never truly accomplished. Almost every time I climbed into the cockpit it was to instruct, fly someone somewhere, or haul a load to some customer. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but the pure unadulterated fun of taking off, looking outside and navigating purely VFR... a thrill I rarely experienced. Here you are, at your young age, and you've already done what so many of us dreamed of.... Wherever your aviation aspirations lay, understand something... You're Already There!!
Isn't that the truth Carl. After flying for many years with someone sitting behind me (military), someone on the left of me (Capt) and someone to the right of me (FO) I am now flying solo/VFR 100% of the time in my RV-8 and loving it.
I’m about your age and this really inspires me to get back in the air. I’m very happy for you that are able to experience these adventures.
Congratulations! Happy for you!! I will look for more of your videos.
Great job Ethan! Very nicely done videography and narration, totally professional 👍
Bought my Challenger II a couple of years ago at Central Maine. What a gem of an airport!
Building & living the dream. Smooth skies & safe adventures to you. Congratulations!
Ethan, this was the most amazing video I've watched in months. Thanks so much!
What a nice chap! I wish you well in your flying career. Mine is now sadly over, but I shall follow yours with interest. Best wishes from Cornwall, UK
Outstanding! In one video, you seemingly went from rookie to Space Shuttle pilot! Congratulations! Very nice editing too! I'm subscribed
Good job and happy skies for you. The smiles on your face during the video made me really happy. I am 82 and rebuilding a 1954 E-35 Bonanza I have owned and flown since 1984. The upgrades are expensive for the GPS and ADSB in and out and I am looking forward to a few more hours of flying. I smile like you do when I am in the air and just around my Bonanza.
Really love this video. This young man has followed his dream and I am proud of him. Well done Sir. Job well Done!
You are doing a great job on video and giving us pilots lots of great flight info to enjoy! Awesome flight plan and very attentive to the details that make a safe and enjoy full trip. I’m now a subscriber. Keepumcomming!
You made it look so easy! Im glad you achieved your dream!
Makes me happy you were able to find a (relatively) affordable entry into aviation! Have fun and fly safe!
Living vicariously through you. Thus spake an old guy. I did fly gliders for one summer in my wild youth, but then, Life. A great memory
Never expected to see a pilot from so close to MY home! You're about 70 miles south of me. Kudos to your purchase and wishing you all the best!
Congrats on the purchase, looks a sweet little airplane. I also enjoyed your laid back style.
You are incredible! This is amazing, but I'm sure you knew that. I'm living VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU! Keep it up, I'm excited to see the long term results of your projects.
I love that you did something different and fun and put it all in a great video. What an adventure.
Man this is amazing! That journey mustve been an amazing experience (plus youve got a good amount of flight hours lol). Also the avionics look really great!
Loved this video! So cool to see what you’re up to with that neat plane.
Awesome adventure! You have been so inspirational, I can't wait for my first plane!
Cheap flying and smart upgrades...
You are doing it the right way, keep it up !!! 🇨🇦
Brother 🙌🏻 totally loving your work! Excelente excelente 👍🏻!! Congratulations 👏🏻 so Cool you're ifr ing the Sonex! 3.5-4.5 gph is phenomenal and at 95-100 mph!! Looking forward to seeing more 👮🏻♂️✈️🛫🛫🛬🛩️
The Algorithm brought me here. I gotta say I'm looking forward to seeing many more of your videos! As a pilot finishing my IR, I'm interested to see what was involved in the upgrading of the plane. Will you make a video on it? As another person said, you have a perfect mix of detail and progression. Cheers!
You are blessed sir , also a very intelligent person and my favorite of the aviation videos. Keep going forward.
It just makes me so happy to see someone so young going out to achieve a dream. Hope you get many more flight hours!
Great video, you should be proud of yourself. I used to fly as a U.S. Naval Aircrewman out of NAS Brunswick (1990-1995) & loved it. I'm from NJ but had never been to Maine before & at the time the only four duty stations they had for P-3C Orion's (4 turboprops, antisubmarine warfare planes were Hawaii, California, Florida & Maine. Since I was the class honorman in the training squadron I got to choose where I wanted to go & picked Brunswick. It was a small base & was in a place where I could snowboard in the winter. I can't believe they closed down the base but the airport is now an executive airport. I loved my time in Maine & am grateful for it.
Thanks a ton! I currently work for a flight school out of brunswick. It’s a shame the naval base shut down. It makes a for a fantastic training airport with the long wide runways. Beautiful location!
Great video Ethan! Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I'm working on finishing up a Sonex Legacy Tri-Gear VW-powered plane, and look forward to doing similar trips in the future. Keep the videos coming!
Thats awesome! It’s a fantastic design. I’m sure you’re gonna love the plane
I flew a Slingsby T61F back in September. I loved it. You really get a feel for flight and you're almost strapping the plane on, rather than getting into it. Takes a lot to stall it. Not the quickest, not the slowest, and very basic. But I find basic planes very interesting. It's you flying, not a computer.
Man I’m 19, wanting too go too a&p school,seeing this video just gave me so much inspiration! I hope once I graduate I can have a project similar too this and understand the bliss of flying
Nice flying, Ethan! Looks like you had a ton of fun.
Thanks! Probably my favorite flying journey so far!
Great, competent efforts and results demonstrated all around here, Ethan!
Decatur, Il. not too far from one of my old USAF base assignments in Rantoul - Chanute. And Griffis of course was also a USAF base, "back in the day".
Great video Ethan. Looks like quite the trip! Just saw 560 in the hangar yesterday and heard the story from Ken. Glad you're ok - clearly your stick and rudder skills have been kept sharp!
Good job, looks like an amazing time in your life, stay safe and I look forward to more videos!
What a well spoken and intelligent video.
But not the "music". Ambient sound inhances.
I used to live in Utica near Griffis AFB in the mid-80s when I flew for Empire Airlines. It used to be a B-52 base.
I used to be a civilian contractor at Griffis Air Force Base. I remember driving to work in the mornings, seeing the B-52s on the runway next to my commute. NASA once contemplated using that massive runway as an alternate for Space Shuttle landings. Griffis was also the site of Woodstock 99.
Great journey, Ethan!! I've been flying for a long time. I have a Cherrokee Arrow 200. Greatest adventure of my life. Fly safe!
You make it look all so easy. With your skills, personality and polished presentation, it won't be long via TH-cam or somewhere else, you receive offers left and right. I'm positive of that!
This is fantastic. You did a great job. You can fly in expensively.
What a great video. Your dialog, editing, and content are interesting, informative, and entertaining.👍👍
Sick video man! You're a killer pilot. Good luck and fly safe.
Very inspiring I’m happy for you ❤ :D that joy you got is what I feel when I watch the video!
WOW.... only 16k !!!!!! / Nice plane, Nice vibe, nice speed, Nice emotional and feelings, Nice appreciation, Awesome content.... and a CAT (cherry) on the cake.... a very spot on propeller & compeller for all of us just waiting something (?) to start along on the very same path. Beautiful feelings ...
Great story. Looking forward to monitoring your progress. That Griffiss airport is the former air force base that serviced B-52’s; crazy long runway 👍
What a brave man!!
Well done! It was very enjoyable to watch you fulfil one of your life goals. Kudos from Belgium!