What’s the last video you watched on YouTube? Probably some YouTuber reviewing something, right? A trailer for a movie maybe? What did you get out of it? A brief moment of enjoyment? Great. That’s what YouTube is all about. Here’s the Daily Show where Trevor Noah talks about James Comey taking the stand in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee:

But then, there are people like Paen Long, a car mechanic by profession, who is obsessed with aeroplanes.

The Cambodian man has never even set foot in an aircraft in his life. This just goes to show that when you’re properly motivated, anything is possible.

He chose an aeroplane over a helicopter because he believed it would be easier to build. He would to work at night since he was worried about everyone in his village of Prey Chhor making fun of him. It wasn’t a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.

BBC

Here’s a little information about the plane he built:

- It’s modelled after Japanese warplanes from WWII.

- It has a wing span of 5.5 m.

- It is made mostly from recycled materials.

- It cost over $10,000 to build.

- It weighs 500 kgs.

BBC

Although his maiden flight wasn’t what you could term a success, he managed to get the plane 50 m above the ground before crashing, Mr Long hasn’t lost hope.

He is now working on a seaplane which he believes will be light enough to fly. He has already spent more than $3,000 on the seaplane and even though he will have to journey almost 200 km before he can find a water body big enough for him to make this attempt, there’s nothing that’s going to stand in the way of him making the impossible, possible.

BBC

We hope Mr Long follows in the footsteps of the Wright Brothers and is able to give wings to his dreams, literally.

The BBC did a story on Mr Long and you can read it here.