- So, what do you say when you're asked
to dogsit someone's golden retriever
and they repay you by offering you a ride
in a World War II biplane?
You say, yeah, and you jump aboard.
(screaming)
Meet Micha, a seven-month-old golden retriever puppy.
We were asked to dog-sit this crazy animal
in southwest Germany for a week.
And in return, we were promised a hell of an adventure.
Let's meet the pilot and the plane!
- My name is Mikael,
and I'm today flying with Mike,
first time for him in a biplane from the 1949
so called Stampe SV-4,
it's one of the Belgian models for useful training
for military pilots training,
primarily, after the Second World War,
but there were first models before the Second World War.
- [Mike] And why do you like flying a biplane of all?
- Well, it's everything you know,
it's to understand the mechanics
because there is no electronics in this plane,
to understand how flying is,
and you can feel it,
you know, you can feel the plane,
there is no computer-aided tools in this plane,
you just feel it and that's what I like.
- [Mike] That's why Mikael likes it,
but I'm still on the fence.
(upbeat music)
Wow! And so which one's ours?
- This one. - This one, the silver one?
A little bit of a contrast,
this is very futuristic. (laughs)
This is...
We're getting the plane all set up for our flight.
And since the plane is fully manual,
there's a few things you have to do.
- And how many times I have to do the plane
because it's four cylinders?
- [Mike] Four times? (buzzing)
- Eight times. - Eight times?
- Yes.
(plane engine revving)
- So, these engines can start this way.
You've seen it done before,
so we had to double check the ignition was off,
because right now, we're not trying to start,
we're trying to pump the excess oil out of the cylinders.
- [Mikael] Okay.
- That would be scary though, - Yes.
- Right, if you were starting to plane that way?
So up next is checking the flight controls.
And remember, this is a fully manual plane,
so you move a switch here.
- You pull a lever to your, you know, body and,
it's like a duck, you know?
- [Mike] (laughs) that's so cool!
- And when you do it like that, the plane rises,
when it has certain air speed, it just goes up!
- [Mike] To all the top one too?
- Yeah.
- [Mike] That's left-right.
- [Mikael] And you do in all dimensions, yeah?
- [Mike] There's the rotor,
and that, is operated by the pedals.
- [Mikael] You see them in there, moving?
- But I'm realizing now that there's two sets of controls.
So you're the pilot in the back,
I'm the co-pilot in the front
and I have all of the controls you do?
- Training. - For training?
- For training. - Like driving?
- Yes. - You'd have the drive
with the brakes? - Driver with the brakes.
That's the oil level. - Mm-hmm.
And you'll never guess where the gas goes, check yourself!
- It's 90 liters when it's filled up.
- [Mike] That's so cool, oh, yeah, yeah!
- [Mikael] Yeah, can you see it?
- [Mike] Yeah, I can see it.
- Blue. - That's so cool.
Blue gasoline.
- [Mikael] The blue elixir of the world. (laughs)
- [Mike] And you said it was a four-cylinder engine?
- Yeah, one, two, three, four.
- [Mike] Mm-hmm, and how much horsepower?
- 145. - Power of 145 flying horses.
- [Mikael] There you see the engine number.
- [Mike] Oh, wow, look at that?
This looks like it might be aluminum,
but it's not? - It's fabric.
- [Mike] That's fabric,
but the body is aluminum?
- The body is wood.
- [Mike] The body is wood?
- Main structure is wood.
- So the only metal really is the cables and?
- And this is the most important cable you have here.
The whole weight of the plane
hangs on these two cables.
- It is an open-air cockpit
and you were showing me the ignition switch
and that was in the back,
so it looks like I'm actually sitting in the front,
which would be a bit counterintuitive, right?
So you're in the back and I'm in the front?
- Yeah.
- I just noticed that there is a single rear view mirror
in a biplane, right above the passenger seat.
I can see you or you can see me,
or you can see if there's a fighter plane behind you?
- [Mikael] Yeah.
- All those. (laughs)
- [Mikael] All those.
(upbeat music)
Okay, I can't put over too much,
I'm gonna split this thing. (laughs)
I think we're ready!
Apparently, I have a parachute for my comfort, right?
- For your comfort.
- Comfort when I have to jump out
or just comfort for either?
- I hope you we'll not jump out
and I hope we will, you know, get on the ground.
- I trust you. I trust you!
- Yeah.
- It's Mike Corey, of "Fearless & Far,"
and we're here at Spaer Airfield in Germany,
because we're about to ride in this.
(upbeat music)
A world war two biplane,
let's go!
Hopefully, this little guy...
Well, not hopefully, we've duct taped them,
we've got a bike mount, we've got everything there,
and we should see the shot that we'll get with that.
(plane engine revving)
(upbeat music continues)
(dramatic music)
(plane engine roaring)
Yeah, what-up! (laughs)
(loud yelling)
Mikael and I could both speak
through microphones in the helmets.
Every time he move the plane, my stomach went into my mouth.
Remember, this is an open cockpit,
there's only a small windshield,
you're almost totally exposed.
Because the plane is manual, all the dials jump around,
making it hard for me to tell how fast we're going
and how high we were.
After some time,
he asked me if I want to make some turns.
I feel the power within my legs!
The second I grabbed the controls,
I instantly understand why Mikael loves this.
I might sound crazy,
but you feel like you and the plane, are both one creature.
Every small movement, is together!
There's a complete connection,
between you and the aircraft.
It was exhilarating.
(plane engine revving) (loud yelling)
We're flying over golden fields,
green mountains,
and incredible Castles.
Germany's beautiful!
After about 45 minutes,
it was time to go back.
Time's up!
Wow!
Perfect landing! It so good.
So easy. (upbeat music continues)
Wow, incredible!
Incredible, amazing experience of a lifetime.
That was wild! (plane engine roaring)
- You're done. - We're here.
- [Mikael] You're relieved!
- It feels like I've been to war,
I can't even imagine what real war feels like.
My whole body is still vibrating. (laughs)
And we've got a welcome committee, (laughs) Oh!
It feel like...
(laughs) No, no!
- [Woman] Sorry.
- Oh, (laughs) Mikael? - No, stop!
Okay, okay.
- [Woman 2] Come on, come on.
- I love you too, buddy.
I love you too, it's all right. (laughs)
- [Woman] Come on, come on!
- Okay, (laughs) I'm about to run away.
All right, the airport is now closed
for the big planes, at least.
And, I just helped Mikael finish cleaning the planes,
took about an hour,
and now, I've got one humble request.
If you like the channel and you wanna support
"Fearless And Far," I have a Patreon page
that you can subscribe to.
There, I post extra videos about one a week,
talking about fighting fears,
showing extra adventures behind the scenes,
and it's the best way to support the channel.
Thank you so much for watching.
Do you, wanna jump into biplane,
or was it a little bit scary?
Honestly, if you're claustrophobic or get airsick, hmm!
Hey, but it's throwing up worth an experience of a lifetime?
Yeah, that probably is.
Chase your fears, dragons!
And I'll catch you in the next episode here
on "Fearless And Far."
(upbeat music)