His name is Alexandre (he goes by Alex) Frota. He is a 53-year-old Brazilian hedge fund manager from Fortaleza, Brazil, with a wife and two sons. Alex has been a licensed pilot for less than nine years and has a total of 650 hours as pilot in command. He owns a Van’s RV-10 single-engine Experimental/Amateur-Built four-seater aircraft.
After a few years of dreaming, Alex decided that he wanted to fly that RV-10 around the world. On Oct. 19, 2022, he sat down at his desk and drafted an email to himself, declaring his intent and setting out a checklist of accomplishments he needed to achieve to make his round-the-world trip happen. He printed out this email and set it on his desk, where it remains until he finishes his flight and picks it up once more to frame it.
Checklist complete, Alex Frota is now well on his way to flying around the world, camping out at Sun ’n Fun this week, where he has met and conferred with other earthrounders and has given forum presentations to fellow pilots. Camping out is not just a euphemism; he is really camping in a small tent adorned with a giant Brazilian flag. Word has gotten out that Alex is attending the show, and he has been besieged with scores of other Brazilians, all of whom want photos with him.
Alex’s airplane is the sturdy and venerable Van’s RV-10. To prepare for the flight, Alex installed a 65-gallon (250-liter) turtle pack fuel cell in the back seat. He has a total of 180 gallons of fuel capacity. His panel contains a Garmin G-900 pilot’s flight display (the experimental version of the commercial G1000), a Dynon D-10 backup EFIS, and a flight stream system that populates flight plans and data throughout all his flight deck devices.
In flying around the world, it’s all about the route and the bureaucracy. In many instances, it is the bureaucracy that determines the route. For example, any American who wants to fly around the world will not be able to land in Russia without satisfying punishing requirements. In most cases, the Russian government will require that you carry a Soviet “navigator” on board during your sojourn. This forces American earthrounders to travel the South Pacific route, which includes the dreaded 2,020-n.m. stretch between Hilo, Hawaii, and Oakland, California. Brazilians, who are apparently less repugnant to Russia, are allowed to fly in its airspace without such restrictions.
Alex’s circumnavigation route began in his hometown of Fortaleza, Brazil, wound its way through Brazil’s largest northern cities, and then to the Caribbean. After stops in Grenada, St. Martin, St. Barts (where he actually landed at its impossibly situated airport), Providenciales, Turks & Caicos, Stella Maris, and Nassau, he landed in Ft. Lauderdale and cleared customs in a record 5 minutes.
While in Florida, Alex had a BRS whole airplane ’chute installed, and he purchased a full immersion suit. This week, Alex has taken Sun ’n Fun by storm, giving forums and interviews to local and international press.
From here forward, Alex plans stops in AirVenture, where the world flight will officially begin; Toronto, Canada; Goose Bay, Canada; Nuuk, Greenland; Reykjavik, Iceland; then on to Scotland, Portugal (where he will meet with his family for a week off), Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia (Lord willing and the war ending), Dubai, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, East Timor, then back up to the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Alaska, Canada, and finally back to AirVenture in time for the show this July. Whew.
We hope to check in with Alex from time to time and report on his progress. Let us know if you want to ride along.
Hawaii? Not sure if it helps, but if you need to avoid Russian airspace (for whatever reason) you could go from Hokaido to Alaska, roughly 1400nm. Not saying it’s better or safer, just shorter and not over Russia…
No worry for him thanks to the BRICS alliance.