1. 12/29/2015 Teen pilot Matt Guthmiller is on cloud nine
http://www.youngplusmag.net/teen/youngachievers/teenpilotmattguthmillerisoncloudnine/ 1/4
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Meet the youngest pilot to fly the globe solo
Sep 5, 2014
Nothing is impossible; this is what 19yearold South Dakota native Matt Guthmiller has
recently proved. Matt, an electrical engineering and computer science freshman at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has become the youngest pilot to travel the
world solo after embarking on a 29,000mile journey across five continents. Starting from
California on May 31, the epic trip lasted a month and a half.
After completing his journey, we spoke to Matt via a phone interview. He told Young Plus:
“I’m really excited to be back and to have seen the world, but at the same time, it’s a
little disappointing. After having spent a month and a half doing it, it’s hard to not have
some new and exotic location to spend 12 hours flying to. I already miss it.”
2. 12/29/2015 Teen pilot Matt Guthmiller is on cloud nine
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Matt’s passion for flying dates back since childhood. He loved playing flight stimulator
games and hanging out at the airport. But it started getting real when he started flying at
the age of 16 and got his pilot license on his 17th birthday. The idea of flying around the
world started when he read about California’s Jack Wiegand, who set the record last
spring by traveling around the globe at the age of 21. “I read about him and thought ‘I
could do that’.”
From his journey Matt raised money to donate to Code.org, a nonprofit organization which
promotes computer science programs in schools. He added: “The main thing I wanted to
accomplish out of my trip was to give out motivation for people to go and try really big
things. I found out over the past few years that computer science is a great tool that
helps people apply any idea they have and make it a reality. So it would be great if
everyone had that opportunity and Code.org is working to make sure they do.”
Matt stopped by 25 cities including London, Rome, Athens, Cairo and Bangkok before
being welcomed back by his mother once he landed in California. “My parents were very
supportive of me along the way. They’re very proud.”
The teen added that among all destinations, flying over the pyramids in Egypt and the
skyscrapers of Abu Dhabi were his favorite views. He said: “Abu Dhabi was a beautiful
place to go and relax for a couple of days on the beach. Visiting Egypt and Nagpur in India
was also great because they were different from anything else I’ve ever experienced.”
It took him a year to plan the trip and the biggest challenge he faced was finding a plane
to use. “[Finding a plane] took nine months on its own,” Matt said. “Then I had to learn
about the weather in different parts of the world, find people to arrange different overflight
and landing permits, handle different airports and take tips from other people who have
already done this before.”
But it was worth it after all. He said: “It was interesting to be exposed to so many
different cultures and different ways of doing things.” What he enjoyed the most,
however, was the warm, welcoming and friendly attitude he received everywhere he
went, despite difference in cultures.
When asked about his future, Matt says he doesn’t have any concrete ideas about what
3. 12/29/2015 Teen pilot Matt Guthmiller is on cloud nine
http://www.youngplusmag.net/teen/youngachievers/teenpilotmattguthmillerisoncloudnine/ 3/4
he’ll do after MIT. He said: “Ideally, I guess it’d be a combination of Steve Jobs, Howard
Hughes, Elon Musk and Tony Stark/Iron Man.”
His message to young people is to do whatever you need to do! Matt said: “If you have
some idea – whether flying around the world, coming up with a new spaceship or starting
up a company – all it takes is to get out, break it down and figure out how to solve each
little part of the problem. Work at it and you’ll achieve it.”
By Sherouk Zakaria
About the trip
Date started: May 31
Date finished: July 17
The plane: 1981 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza — N367HP
Total nautical miles flown: 29,000
Total hours flown: 170
Number of cities visited: 25 (including Abu Dhabi, London, Rome, Athens, Cairo and
Bangkok)
Number of countries: 15
Matt’s full itinerary: San Diego; Aberdeen; New York City; St. John’s, Newfoundland;
the Azores; London; Rome; Athens; Mersa Matruh, Egypt; Cairo; Aswan, Egypt; Abu
Dhabi; Nagpur, India; Bangkok; Manila; Darwin, Australia; Noumea, New Caledonia; Pago
Pago, Samoa; Honolulu; San Diego; Las Vegas (to remove the ferry tanks); San Diego
(maintenance); Seattle; Aberdeen
![12/29/2015 Teen pilot Matt Guthmiller is on cloud nine
http://www.youngplusmag.net/teen/youngachievers/teenpilotmattguthmillerisoncloudnine/ 2/4
Matt’s passion for flying dates back since childhood. He loved playing flight stimulator
games and hanging out at the airport. But it started getting real when he started flying at
the age of 16 and got his pilot license on his 17th birthday. The idea of flying around the
world started when he read about California’s Jack Wiegand, who set the record last
spring by traveling around the globe at the age of 21. “I read about him and thought ‘I
could do that’.”
From his journey Matt raised money to donate to Code.org, a nonprofit organization which
promotes computer science programs in schools. He added: “The main thing I wanted to
accomplish out of my trip was to give out motivation for people to go and try really big
things. I found out over the past few years that computer science is a great tool that
helps people apply any idea they have and make it a reality. So it would be great if
everyone had that opportunity and Code.org is working to make sure they do.”
Matt stopped by 25 cities including London, Rome, Athens, Cairo and Bangkok before
being welcomed back by his mother once he landed in California. “My parents were very
supportive of me along the way. They’re very proud.”
The teen added that among all destinations, flying over the pyramids in Egypt and the
skyscrapers of Abu Dhabi were his favorite views. He said: “Abu Dhabi was a beautiful
place to go and relax for a couple of days on the beach. Visiting Egypt and Nagpur in India
was also great because they were different from anything else I’ve ever experienced.”
It took him a year to plan the trip and the biggest challenge he faced was finding a plane
to use. “[Finding a plane] took nine months on its own,” Matt said. “Then I had to learn
about the weather in different parts of the world, find people to arrange different overflight
and landing permits, handle different airports and take tips from other people who have
already done this before.”
But it was worth it after all. He said: “It was interesting to be exposed to so many
different cultures and different ways of doing things.” What he enjoyed the most,
however, was the warm, welcoming and friendly attitude he received everywhere he
went, despite difference in cultures.
When asked about his future, Matt says he doesn’t have any concrete ideas about what](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)