By Emme Hornung
There are many ways to see America’s sprawling and diverse landscape, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better way than a low-and-slow tour in the open-air cockpit of a Breezy. Paul Breed, EAA 1140954, has dedicated his entire summer to flying the 9,700-mile trip, with a special stop in Oshkosh along the way.
Starting in his home state of California, so far Paul has flown to Texas, around the Florida coast, up the East Coast to Maine, to New York and Pennsylvania, and now to the Midwest to land on the green dot at AirVenture.
He spends a week flying each segment, with about two-hour legs, then flies commercially back home for a break before returning to the Breezy for the next segment. He also performs maintenance along the way, changing the oil and fixing any squawks that pop up.
Paul purchased the Breezy in 2014 from its original builder, though it’s far from the first aircraft he’s flown. He grew up in Alaska, and his Coast-Guard-turned-bush-pilot father taught him how to fly seaplanes when he was a teenager. “I had my pilot’s license before my driver’s license,” he said. Then, at 19, he earned his A&P mechanic certification.
In addition to the Breezy, today Paul also owns an Aerostar 601P and has more than 3,000 flight hours, but his mission in aviation focuses on the fun factor. “The Breezy’s more fun,” he said. “I like slow, being able to see things. I’d much rather be at 500 feet looking out at the world.
“I’ve always wanted to do a four-corners Breezy trip since I had it,” Paul said. “It has been truly awesome to see the United States that way. If you get on an airliner in Milwaukee and fly to LA at 35,000 feet, you don’t see anything.”
Cruising at 65 mph, notable moments of the trip so far include seeing the swamps and bayous over Louisiana, the Florida Keys, Kitty Hawk, flying through the Hudson River corridor, and even circling the Statue of Liberty.
Because he’s flying a two-seat aircraft, he’s been able to share the joy with others, too, giving rides along the way, and his son even joined him for the East Coast segment. Beyond the four-corners tour, he’s also given many rides over the years. “I’ve probably given 700 rides in the airplane,” he said. “This is an experimental, so I can’t even let people share gas expenses, but you don’t own an airplane like this if your intent isn’t to give some rides.”
Though he can’t share expenses, sharing the joy has proven to be worth it. One young woman he gave a ride to some years ago had never flown in any kind of aircraft before, and she was so inspired by her Breezy flight that she went on to become a professional pilot.
Paul plans to depart from Oshkosh midweek and will head north to the Canadian border, across the top of the United States, and down to Great Falls, Montana, before taking a break. After that, his wife will join him for the mountainous segment to Seattle, and a friend will join him from Seattle to back home in San Diego. You can follow along on his trip as he livestreams each segment on his Epic Breezy YouTube channel.
“We have a truly beautiful country, and people have been incredibly nice, and it’s just amazing to see,” he said.
Blue skies ahead, Paul!