Valdez STOL 2019 Alaska, In Loving Memory of DRACO, Episode 3 

Nice video !!🤠🤠👍👍

Stunning edit Dimitri. Aviators everywhere that know of Mike and his creation Draco, will surely appreciate this tribute. I sure do!

I haven't heard anybody commend Mike for having built Draco so well that when he crashed, they had no injuries and all survived! Great Job, Mike. Well done, sir.

Mike and Draco will always be an inspiration to everyone who has ever looked up and thought "Why can't I be up there...?" Thanks, Mike, for inspiring so many of us; and great video, Dmitri!

All I can say is...AGREED! Mike is the best! Draco will live again! Thank you for the tribute!

What a wonderful tribute to this fantastic piece of beautiful machinery! Bravo Crafe Life, Bravo!

Draco will live again. Kinda like the 6 million dollar man" We can rebuild him , Better, Stronger, Faster, We have the technology " Great video man. Have a blessed day and thank you for sharing

Miss Mike and Draco! Thanks for the memory!

What a shame to lose such a beautiful aircraft but thankful Mike & everyone onboard stayed safe & well.

Best Draco/Mike Patey video ever. Great work, Thank You.

Wonderful Homage to Mike, his Draco and the bush pilot life. What an investment in time watching the Draco build such a talent. I will be happy to watch her rebuild Cheers.

Whats so heart breaking is the time and effort along with his knowledge of aeronautics that went into the Draco project.

I never get tired of seeing draco perform, we need to see another one just like it.!!!!!

Love this video a lot , thanks for sharing. What a beautiful story.

Very well edited and put together, capturing the spectacular performance of Draco, Mike's irrepressible enthusiasm, and his sheer genius. Like most fans, I was shocked at the loss of Draco shortly after, though relieved all walked away. After a brief time to grieve & compose his thoughts, he unsurprisingly decided to rebuild Draco, bigger, badder, and better. Mike our best wishes are with you.

Thanks for posting. That is the way I'll remember Draco and Mike pumped up.

Definitely the coolest bush plane ever. I got to see it at Reno but I was not able to see it fly before it bit the dust. Rip Draco. Mike patey will come back with something even better, he doesn’t quit.

Great video to remember that great bird. The most important thing Mike and his family are safe to live, create and inspire us all.

Great tribute and great timing. 👍 I was so happy to see Mike's video last night that he's resurrecting it.

Great tribute, Great Job.... VIVA VALDEZ!

A worthy tribute. Well done

Man I just became a bush plane enthusiast. Draco made me really confident that I finally found my true love in life! Mikes words are perfect!! "This Sucks!" Im just glad everybody is ok and yeah man!! I hope he out does himself on the next Draco II!! Im sure he will.

I just knew that You would not let Draco be laid to rest....I Just Knew it! Good on you! I look forward to the "New" Draco! Keep up the Great Work!

Great footage and info, just wait and see what Mike does next, as it will be jaw dropping!!!

Hero = Mike Patey. Not too many blokes around I can say that about.

ya feel Deeb sadness to the crash of DRACO, thank GOD they are all ok, now to fastrack "SCRAPPY" , what I like about mike that he is alway energized, always has a positive attitude

Wonderful video, thanks for producing it. I really enjoyed watching and like you look forward to Draco II.

Crave Life, ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!! AND THANK GOD ALL IS SAFE. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE " NEW" ONE, THANKS, JACK

Excellent. Very well done. Mike is such a great aviator and builder...I'm sure he will be back to Alaska with Scrappy and then some!

Well Done! Long Live Draco in our Hearts and Minds! Come on with it Scrappy!

A Great Tribute to Draco!!! look forward to see what mike dose next.

Mike I love you... You are safe Draco can be produced at any time. Love from Hyderabad India.

Thank you for the video - was a sad day when I heard Draco had been lost. I should have driven up to see it at the Oshkosh this year. Maybe I'll see Draco 2 up there next time. Take care be safe.

Very nicely said. Draco is and was and will be again a great aircraft. However there is scrappy coming up from behind. Can’t wait to see how it turns out...

Waiting for Draco. ! Mikey a hard-working individual. So inspiring.

Great video! Thanks

1000% agree with you, its like loosing a member of your family

I’ve never seen him before and his enthusiasm is awesome.

sweet edit man, still heart broken over DRACO, ): Mike is a class act .

I was proud to have my picture taken standing under it's wing, with my son, at Oshkosh this summer!

I saw the airplane in pieces in Mike's hanger last year. That's when he told me about Draco X.... at least I have some really cool memorabilia (stickers, temporary tattoos, etc) from Draco. Mike is such an amazing guy. Love him!

...most impressive speech at the end of video. Draco is gone. But I'm glad that Mike is not. And I can hardly wait to see by how far his new masterpiece will excel the old. Great work, guys!

All Hail the Draco 💪🇺🇸 Great video Great Plane Great Man behind the Plane 💯

Excellent video

Mike and Mark are LEGEND! (as is Draco)

Most awesome airplane I have seen.

Love the tilt shift!

Very nicely done... very nice.

Very interesting video thank you so much for sharing enjoyed it so much i would love to learn to do this glad your ok

Absolutely!!! Very well said and very well done. Thank you.

Wow, great tribute video. I was lucky to see him at KLVK after this event in Alaska. Sad to see his ground loop though. =(

I think that the best celebration about this good man, is dreaming for is return with a new brand DRACO... soon!

Great guys keep it up Always feel good to this Awesome

Mike you are simply genius

I only saw DRACO, at RENO, but was NOT FLYING BLANCORILIO, JUAN BROWNE had said it was only static,,something to do with insurance, I just had NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE,

Very nice editing. Good job.

Mike, I've written to you before she this is the first time I've seen this video. Oh, that area, Valdez, is so gorgeous. As a young boy dad was stationed at Ft. Richardson, from 1963-65. Yes, I rode the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake. I was 4 years old. I'm still heartbroken, like you, and thousands others, about the loss of Draco. I must say that I'm hoping that she will rise like the Phoenix. Another thing I'd love to say that is I didn't have to earn a living, and if I had more to give, I'd love to work for you, with you driving me, do I could learn your work ethic. As a young boy I left hundreds of project on the table, unfinished, due to laziness, loss of concentration, etc. Watching you makes me wonder what would have happened had I developed the attributes you lovingly share with us. That being said, I've made it a point to work on my concentration, my ethics, my drive. It's hard for this 60 year old geezer to do so, but I know it can be done. Thanks for the lessons, teach!!!! Get back to work! Tim

Good Job capitan! 😎

Draco wil be back, stronger and lighter then ever before.

Amazing video - great, great, great work! Молодец 👏

Most excellent.

Well done!

First? If not it’s fine. Maybe the last time for Draco? Following what happened at Stead earlier this week. We are so glad nobody was hurt or worse! 👍🏻✅. Sorry for the crash Mike Patey life has its challenges. Hang in there, it will get better. 🤠

Mike's going to rebuild it🙏

Almost made me cry.

Bravo Mr.Drako

Amen Brother!

Was it a gust of wind that caused the demise of draco. The pilot said he use poor judgment? Frequently, when you modify an aircraft to have a super high lift to weight ratio, the craft becomes susceptible to wind gusts. Could this have been the reason for the accident?

Happy neither Mike nor anybody else was hurt.

Did you fly Draco all the way up there?

Wow what a camera. What do you use. It looks so crisp

Really hope he rebirths draco. Always loved that plane

I must take a ride in DRACaO!!! Seriously.

Simple frozen water took down the Titanic. Simple gust of wind took down Draco. Mother Nature will always win. She only lets us use her elements to play with, but we must use common sense, skill, caution, and humility while doing so. If not we lose.

I have a theory . Mike just got to familiar with Draco and what comes with familiarity is "taken for granted" carelessness . He knew the fundamentals of the plane backwards and as all humans do we forget what we know when we have seen it a thousand times . He had paid attention to those hundred little things intensely when he first finished Draco and his mind had blanked them out as totally familiar and understood as time when on but they still mattered and he thought that he could operate Draco in any situation but Draco showed him that even the great plane had limits . The solution . Mike should generate a study course on Draco , the do's and don't s etc and he should take this course every 2 months or so to remind him of Draco's limits . To bring those limits to the front of his mind again where they should be .

No worries. He is going to build another!

Amen brother

Would have loved to hear the turbine spin up much more than the annoying generic rock soundtrack

im amazed none of the other cowboys have vloged or commented on the draco cash maybe you can prove me wrong mr big man crave life

Big Red Airplane , So cute . I love it .

Damn! That is an awesome plane, the name Draco fits it to a "T". I gotta ask, what is the fuel consumption on it?

"Dracos" - Out new word for PERSONAL MINIMUMS.

Yes, awsome plane.

Yes yes, true true.

Well Done my friend, wonderful video.

Add a video about how the structure the welding and other safety designs you have built into Draco.

DRACO in real life is Polish PZL Wilga. Wilga was famous for winning precision world flying competitions.

As cool as Draco is, it doesn’t hold a candle to Mr. Patey. That dude is someone special.

The footage of this gorgeous bush plane looked Incredible !!! Does anyone know what it sounded like ? I couldn't hear it at all . What a waist ...........

Draco was the greatest. I watched it land in Ak and Reno, and it always seemed ground loopy. Might be something about the design. Hard to tell with tail draggers. RIP Draco!

I have no doubt Draco II will be a thing. Mike is busy with Scrappy now, but I have a feeling something even more insane will happen. The expensive bits are probably salvageable.

R.I.P. Draco. ✝️

what happened did he crash it?

Did you find your friend

Is this before or after the blow over?

please explain why atc and patey took off the wind was too strong for the ultalight

I have building and flying model planes since 1959. In '76 got my first radio, been designing, building, and flying ever since. First question....Mike how are you? In looking at the crash damage, my biggest question.. Is Draco rebuildable? Wing broke at the fuse, both sides, main spar failure, LG is really bad. The fuse doesn't look like it's in to bad of shape. It is my experience, that rebuilding a proven design deserves to be rebuilt.

Mike if there's any chance you'll read this, DRACO was my favourite aircraft ever and I'm 52 please tell us your plan for DRACO X Your aircraft changed my life and I'm sure other people's so please are you going to build her ?

R.I.P Draco

Mike are you going to build a new Draco?