Paen Long is building an aircraft from scratch using second-hand parts and YouTube videos, determined to see it fly.

Prey Veng Province, Cambodia – In March, after a year of hard work, Paen Long’s creation, an eye-catching machine that he built from scratch, stood facing down a long straight dirt road, wider than most in rural Cambodia.

On the sidelines, dozens of neighbours from the nearby villages waited in ever-growing expectation, to see a handmade plane, built by a Cambodian car mechanic, fly.

It was a chance for Paen Long to prove that he could build a plane that could fly and also, fulfil a childhood dream, the pursuit of which has permeated the lives of those around him.