Let’s start at home, New York City.

The photograph of one of the largest airports in America was taken just a few days before our departure. Usually resembling a beehive, this busiest international gateway of North America did not have a single visible operation during our 30-minute overflight. Instead there were vacated runways, empty taxiways, and deserted parkings, with the terminals most likely being used as a short-term storage for aircraft at bay.

A hub for international travel “Where America greets the World” stopped, brought to a standstill. How symbolic is this for those new, uncertain times?

Not to be missed from the skies is the border between Tijuana and San Diego. The wall that stands separating the two nations, abruptly stops the expansion of the city of Tijuana to the north. As the world’s largest land border crossing in operation, this provides an excellent visual treat seen from above.

The opening image shows the San Ysidro border crossing at about 30% of its intended capacity. As the borders between nations closed to non-essential traffic, the influx of workers from Mexico continued on a daily basis; these were the essential workers in the food industry and healthcare services.

The flight above the border was an experience on its own. We weren’t allowed to venture a single inch into Mexican airspace, yet I desired photographing the border directly from above. Here, Sarah’s excellent piloting skills were put to the test and we complied beautifully while capturing quite a few shots from overhead, without a single violation – just as planned.

California’s beautiful town of Oceanside was a special destination on our route. Earlier in the year, Rusty’s (that’s our airplane’s cute name) venerable engine was shipped to one of the most reputable engine overhaul shops in the country, One Stop Aviation in Oceanside. After the new engine returned and was installed, “meeting the parents” was one of the ideas that sparked this voyage (see more on our blog).

This laid-back town is most famous for its weather, stunning coastline and the beaches that offer world class surfing. Usually year-round busy and active, the coast had just reopened a few days after our arrival albeit with strict regulations in place – with the prohibition of social gatherings, group exercises and games, to name a few. However, swimming and fishing were allowed, provided that social distancing was maintained.

To our knowledge, many disregarded those restrictions and faced penalties.

Our voyage took us over Navajo lands, which stretches for close to 18 million acres around Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah’s border. This area has had one of the highest infection rates in the US. At the time of our trip, there were 2.3k cases per 100k people in the Navajo territory, compared to 1.8k in New York, which seems counterintuitive – vast areas of empty lands against a densely populated city – common sense should suggest otherwise.

A closer look revealed how the pandemic disproportionately targets the poor communities. Navajo families often host multiple generations under one roof, and over a third of the population does not have running water in their homes. With relatively few stores in the area, residents are forced to congregate in a single location. Combined with a healthcare network which was sparse and in poor state, the conditions were perfect for this opportunistic virus to proliferate.

We landed and refueled in the middle of this magnificent rustic colored vista, and decided to press forward. On our way, we seized the opportunity to photograph the fantastic structures of Monument Valley

From road tripping along the many historical and popular roadways to the day-to-day commuting of the average American, our country has a rich heritage and dependency on automobiles. There’s nothing like an empty parking lot, many of which we passed on our journey, to illustrate the lack of commercial activity on the ground.

Shopping malls, offices, cinemas, amusement parks, schools, once a destination with a constant stream of people were on a lockdown for at least a few weeks as attempts were made to contain the spread of the virus. In lieu, on-line classes, shopping, and zoom conferences while working from home became the new ‘normal’.

Will the office be passé? Will brick and mortar shopping malls no longer be desired? Are on-line schools and universities the new reality? Are all of these places a thing of the past? And more importantly, could we live in a new, online world without need for physical contact? What will remain of all the structures we have so purposely built, of the ‘necessities’ no longer needed, when all that we need can be obtained without leaving your comfortable chair?

We embarked on this trip with the promise of the lowest AVGAS prices in modern history. This was only proven true in select locations – smaller airports often experience a delay in catching up to the current market’s oil pricing – we still managed to plan our trip so that we took advantage of prices well below $4 per gallon.

But what a wild ride the oil industry had! As the US consumption of petroleum fell to its lowest level in decades, the prices went negative for the first time in history. With storage at already maximum capacity, oil tankers full and unable to unload, the producers were paying the traders to take the oil off their hands. Literally.

Unfortunately, we did not meet any of those desperate souls, and we continued to pay out of pocket for every single gallon, quenching Rusty’s enormous thirst!

While this photograph was taken two weeks before our trip, it is important that we include it.

We must recognize the hard work, commitment and determination of all those who pushed and continue to push themselves to the limits, often taking risks to keep us healthy and fed. A beautiful show of support occurs daily at 7pm, with people cheering from their windows and cars during a minute-long tribute.

On April 28, the US Navy’s Blue Angels and US Airforce’s Thunderbirds flew in unison over the New York area in its own beautiful tribute to the frontline workers. The planes from the two demonstration squadrons flew in formation over New York and Newark beginning at noon. The formation was set to fly over Trenton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia that day, with other appreciation missions across the largest cities of the US.

As our goal was to fly from coast to coast, and back, we close this feature with another airport in recess. LAX. On May 19, the situation here was very similar to that of JFK’s two weeks prior.

The disruption in the aviation industry has been severe, and the end seems nowhere in sight. As some countries make rapid recovery, the US seems to be lagging behind gravely. As long as there are still issues or areas unsolved, aviation will suffer.

And for us, who have invested so much time, money and effort into being appropriately rated to make commercial aviation a career, this is rather a significant blow.