Adventure Above: How Kyle Fosso is Using Spidertracks to Become the Youngest Pilot to Fly to All 50 States
When Washington native Kyle Fosso was 15, he bought a rusted-out shell of a Cessna and set a goal to restore the fuselage to its full glory. While his peers focused their efforts on school and your standard extracurricular activities, Kyle spent every spare second in the hangar working on his aircraft.
Unlike school, which Kyle says “never spoke” to him, the hangar provided him with a haven: a place where he was immersed in his passion and felt like he belonged. So he spent countless hours bringing his dream to fruition — and seven years later, his project was complete. Then, along with his girlfriend and flying partner Samantha, he turned his attention to a new goal: becoming the youngest pilot ever to fly to all 50 states in America.
As they were outlining the journey, the duo saw an opportunity to share their love for flying with the greater public. This led them to the creation of their brand, Adventure Above, and the idea to film a 50-part (for 50 states) documentary series chronicling their odyssey across the USA.
They outfitted the Cessna (now a sleek red, black, and gray machine) with mounted cameras and everything it would need for its trip. The plan? To fly to one state each week for a whole year (should everything go according to plan, which it inevitably doesn’t in aviation) — and to document everything along the way, producing videos meant to inspire those interested in flying and to teach people things they might not know about their home states.
As part of their preparations, Kyle and Samantha looked into flight tracking solutions that would allow their family, friends, and fans to easily follow their journey. Spidertracks came out on top, and we were happy to provide the couple with a Spider 8 for their grand adventure.
Since the start of Kyle and Samantha’s trip a few months ago in June, Spidertracks has allowed their considerable following (upwards of 12,000 across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) to know where the two of them are at any given time without having to constantly check in.
“It’s a great way to stay safe and in contact with home,” Kyle notes. “It’s also given us peace of mind and the confidence to venture further than we otherwise might have. Even if I had a nearly dead battery, I could still text people using the Spidertxt feature.”
So far, the intrepid duo have trekked across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. They’ve done livestreams and released regular videos on their YouTube channel documenting their travels, which include getting chased out of their campsite by bears (!) and sleeping in their car in a Kmart parking lot when they couldn’t find accommodation.
And as for why they chose Spidertracks to keep tabs on them?
“Spidertracks holds the best name in the industry and is used by several large fleets that I respect,” Kyle says. “Why go with anything else even remotely questionable?”
Follow Kyle and Samantha at the links we gave above, and watch this short film on Kyle to learn even more about Adventure Above. You can also donate to the project here if you’re interested.
