This French-built, open cockpit ultralight was designed specifically with the adventure pilot in mind. I think a nine state journey, spanning 9000 miles, traversing mountains, rivers, and seashores qualifies as a certified adventure, and I want to try it.
In the Unites States, this Air Creation Tanarg is considered a Light Sport Aircraft with hang glider style wings, weight-shift controls, and an open cockpit so your face can be one with the wind. This thing even has 100 hp and a ballistic parachute. The approximate cruising speed is around 85 mph which calculates to over 105 hours of flight time for a 9000 mile trip.
So when I say glorified hang glider, we're talking first class, state of the art evolution from the stick and fabric death traps they used 150 years ago. Constructed with bolted-together aluminum tubing, composites and carbon fibre panels, with its double surface wing covered in Dacron sailcloth, the Tanarg is the best of the best in this category of aircraft.
I've flown on multi thousand mile flights in a small plane, but I had a roof, and a heater, and a nice little baggage area to keep my lunch. I most certainly didn't have to wear a helmet. Even with all those luxuries, my ass gets so numb I'm not sure if it's still there.
A Light Sport weight-shift trike isn't a bad option if you're looking to get involved with aviation. They can be found well equipped for around $40,000 and only require a minimum of 20 hours to get your pilot's license. It might not be the ideal long haul vacation transportation, but they're relatively inexpensive to acquire, economical to maintain and operate, and look like an absolute blast if you're looking to buzz sunbathers on the beach.
The beauty of the scenery experienced in this trip make the term epic seem inappropriate. Maybe super epic would be a better description. Let me know if you can think of any better adjectives.
Chris is a pilot who loves airplanes and cars and his writing has been seen on Jalopnik. Contact him with questions or comments via twitter or email.