Travel writer Jeff Greenwald received an interesting offer from his friend, software developer Bob Webster: If Greenwald paid Webster a visit in Oklahoma, Webster would fly Greenwald home to California in his “open-air aeroplane.”
Greenwald’s full story and photos from the journey were recently published on BBC.
Webster, who Greenwald says is “half-jokingly known as the ‘Bill Gates of Oklahoma,’” built the plane in 2001 with his brother from a Lockwood Aircraft kit.
The plane, called an AirCam, is joystick-driven with two seats and “cloth-covered wings.”
Greenwald and Webster, who stopped every few hours to refuel, flew 2,000 miles across seven states in a mere eight days.
Greenwald says of his trip:
The question I’ve been asked most often since the trip was, “Weren’t you scared?” It may sound strange, but I never was. For most of the flight, my prevailing emotion was sheer wonder. And now that it was over, I felt I had truly fulfilled the most vital test of travel. I’d made it back home — and was seeing the landscape around me with new eyes.
Even those with a fear of heights can appreciate the magnificent photographs of wind-swept dunes, craggy mountains, lush fields and everything in between.
How would you feel about taking a trip in a convertible aircraft? Comment below or tweet me @MNetBridget.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the AirCam kit came from Rockwood Aircraft. The kit is from a Lockwood Aircraft kit.
