Journey of a Lifetime; this Vlad dude and his RV are awesome!

Would you have the nads to do the Journey of a Lifetime flight?

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That's gonna be a good read! But is his tail number really '666...'!??
 
That's incredible! Thanks for sharing!
 
Vlad definitely has an interesting back story. Genuinely a good dude with some great stories. I don't think I've seen him share his non-RV stories on VAF, but they are interesting for sure.

I like his flights to draw a picture. He's got a sense of humor there.


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Meeting Vlad in person is a goal I have set. The guy's awesome. I hear all you need to do is leave a steak and a bottle of booze out at night.

:)

As for his epic trip (not the first for him, BTW), there are places and conditions where I'd have thrown in the towel. I have no burning desire to visit Alaska, but I do want to make it down to Key West. I have a picture of someone else standing next to my plane there, and it bugs me a little.
 
For sure on the bottle of booze! I shared one with him at OSH a few years back, good guy!
 
StevieTimes, I'm glad you surfaced this. Vlad's journeys are something to behold, and this one takes the cake so far. I hope to meet him someday.

There's another guy on Vans Air Force who posted an epic trip this summer. His name is Scott Chastain. His journey and writeup have a much more spiritual bent, and some of his writing is pretty deep. Definitely worth a gander.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=140836

Last month I took my Mooney from Denver to NorCal to SoCal to Albuquerque and back. Not exactly epic or the trip of a lifetime, but some of you might enjoy the travelogues I posted on MooneySpace. You have to sign up for a free account to see them. Here are the links:

http://mooneyspace.com/topic/19505-california-here-i-come/

http://mooneyspace.com/topic/19687-california-petaluma-to-orange-county/

http://mooneyspace.com/topic/19692-orange-county-ca-to-albuquerque-nm/

http://mooneyspace.com/topic/19704-albuquerque-nm-to-denver-co/

Reading trip writeups like these is my favorite part of surfing the various aviation bulletin boards.
 
That was quite a read! I am envious. There is no way I could do something like that with my current work schedule, but I am hoping to retire at the end of 2017. After that who knows. I have been putting together bucket list flight plans hoping to do something similar except I only want to fly in the mornings and spend the afternoons sightseeing where ever I am. Looks like he spent 90% of his time in the airplane. I would prefer more of a 50/50 split between flying and seeing the local sights.
 
The part where he flew over the polar bears eating the whale freaked me out. He really got some great pictures.

I just picture the engine going out right there, and how long does it take until they take an interest in YOU?

Why is that whale sitting there? Got caught in the tide? Old age? Got attacked by sharks but they didn't eat the whole thing?
 
I read through his write up and I have to say, it was impressive. Lots of great pictures and stories.
 
StevieTimes said:
The part where he flew over the polar bears eating the whale freaked me out. He really got some great pictures.

I just picture the engine going out right there, and how long does it take until they take an interest in YOU?

Why is that whale sitting there? Got caught in the tide? Old age? Got attacked by sharks but they didn't eat the whole thing?
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One big thing I noticed when I moved from flying rented and club owned planes, to my own... when it's your plane, your engine, you do the maintenance and repairs, you know every rivet/screw/nut/bolt/connector, you can develop a lot more confidence in your equipment. When I was flying a club 172 from the early 80s, maintained by someone else and flown by at least a dozen people, I was never really sure it was going to get me where I as going. Now I have a high degree of confidence when I take off that nothing is going to break, and if it does I'll be able to deal with it.

I'd never take Vlad's trip in a rental. I wouldn't do it in Vlad's plane, and not because there's anything at all wrong with it but simply because I don't know Vlad's plane like I do my own. If I were to do something like that (unlikely, given some of the weather he flew through and the fact that I just don't like being cold) it would only be in my own plane.

As for the whale... everything dies and gets eaten by something.
 
What, Penn, NY and New England not good enough for him?

Just kidding, that is one long remote way to do Alaska.

I've done LAS to Fairbanks, Anchorage and Homer, via the inland route. And return.
I've done LAS to AUG (Augusta Me) and return.

A friend has done a 48 state border patrol in his C-152. And another has done the 4 corners to include Pt Barow AK, Key West, FL and Presque Isle ME.
 
He's got me hella inspired - I've mapped out a similar route including Mexico and Cuba, slowly letting it percolate and researching.
 
colojo said:
There's another guy on Vans Air Force who posted an epic trip this summer. His name is Scott Chastain. His journey and writeup have a much more spiritual bent, and some of his writing is pretty deep. Definitely worth a gander.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=140836
.
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I have enjoyed reading through this thread as much or more than the Vlad one. Scooter actually spent time enjoying the locations he flew to. Looked like Vlad spent most of his time in the air. I prefer the 50/50 split like Scooter did so you can get a flavor for life in the area you are visiting.

Also, Scott's write up is so well done that it is a pleasure to read. He knows how to keep you hanging and wanting to come back for more of the adventure.
 
I stayed up hours reading that thread.
 
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