16 Years Old..... His Plane Is Small But His Dreams Are Large

Erik10 said:
I'd like to see someone mimic Amelia's track in an 18 or Electra. I stopped paying attention to these global flights when people started making them in state of the aircraft.

This was neat to watch: http://flybluehorizons.com/
(He'll be at 66G @Nark, @Adler)
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Amanda Harrison. She was going to do England to Australia in a Tigermoth, recreating Amy Johnson's famous flight.

AmyJ-flightpath.jpg


Unfortunately Tracey Curtis-Taylor planned her around the world trip in a Stearman at the same time. Tracey had more connections, and lying to sponsors saying she'd be doing it solo, got all the coin. Amanda Harrison had to drop out. Tracey's crash shortly after starting revealed that this trip along with all of her other "important" and "solo" flights had been done in a heavily GPS'ed Stearman, and included the plane's owner in the other seat.

http://www.birdinabiplane.com/

@Erik10 I found out about that Bonanza a while ago. Should be pretty cool.
 
I find it sad that now, after the fact, Tracey Curtis-Taylor seems desperate in her attempt to delineate between "solo" and "sole pilot". Poor attempt at CYA in my book......

Solo is Solo...
 
Murdoughnut said:
Oh hell, then crashing isn't his biggest safety threat - it's being shot by the police.
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That is just poor taste given the events yesterday. Why can't people just be supportive of all these kids finding a love for flying? Yes, some capitalize on it more than others, but honestly, how could most people fund this kind of stuff without obtaining a sponsorship?
 
Avgirl said:
That is just poor taste given the events yesterday. Why can't people just be supportive of all these kids finding a love for flying? Yes, some capitalize on it more than others, but honestly, how could most people fund this kind of stuff without obtaining a sponsorship?
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Was intended as dark satire to point out the tragedy of yesterday.
 
While I find these records frivolous and potentially dangerous, it's certainly refreshing to see a young person leaning forward and pursuing such lofty goals instead of laying on the couch waiting for life to hand him things. I wish him luck and tailwinds! He looks like a great young man.
 
A 16 year old took off into a thunderstorm and experienced microburst? Seriously? Either he had very poor judgement or the true cause is not microburst.

Best of luck to him but if he did get into a microburst, he's an idiot and lucky to be alive.
 
That's a damn shame. I am glad he is okay though. I guess his instructor was not with him on this leg??? Be interesting to get the facts on what happened/why.
 
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Good to hear he is okay and still focused on finishing what he started. That shows a lot of character and determination.
 
Avgirl said:
Good to hear he is okay and still focused on finishing what he started. That shows a lot of character and determination.
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I assume he's planning on riding a bike the rest of the way, cause ain't nobody giving him another airplane to bend.
 
Guess my "potentially dangerous" remark unfortunately came true for this young aviator. Relatively high density altitude airport with dry microbursts in the area is something this 16 yr old pilot hadn't seen or experienced yet.

I'm glad he survived unscathed....I'm sure his mother may clip his wings over this incident.
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
A solo for a student pilot, is two touch and goes around the pattern. Not a solo across the United States...
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The student x-country solo is whatever the instructor signs off on. Theoretically it could be a cross-the-country flight, but that would be catastrophically stupid on the part of the CFI, since the reg requires verifying that you checked the planning and weather along the route. Tough to do that a week out with any accuracy.

Fix
 
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