19 Year Old Around the World Trip - Starts 6-2

Okay, the shirt is killing me!

UTI1785084_r620x349.JPG

Matt Guthmiller, the 19-year-old from South Dakota who left May 31 from Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California has become the youngest pilot to fly solo around the globe. Guthmiller landed at Gillespie Field shortly after 9pm and was greeted by is mother and many well wishers. Matt Guthmiller is greeted by his mother Shirley shortly after getting out of the Beechcraft Bonanza plane.

smhpilot339627x0010_t940.jpg
 
Acrofox said:
Don't get me wrong... on a personal level I think it's pretty awesome. If I was having a conversation with him and he mentioned he was doing it, I'd think it was pretty cool. But, to quote Applejack, he's tooting his own horn louder than the brass section of a marching band, and making it sound like it's a "feat" of some sort. It's not. It's a bit of a logistics exercise, and a lot of faith in Continental. But I exercise my faith in Continental just as much every day flying single-engine wheelplanes over unlandable terrain and 38° water*.

-Fox
* - I don't actually have that much faith. Let's just call it "hope".
Click to expand...
Sorry, dude, you lost me at "faith in Continental."

*clings to Lycoming power plants*
 
Just found this, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed following along a couple years ago.

And I agree, at the end of the day, all the planning and logistics is just a lot of work. The parts that take a little skill are finding sponsors, navigating weather in the middle of the ocean while managing 2 hour deviations on an already 10 hour flight while also trying to get a relay through somebody up higher to tell ATC what you're doing after you've tried 3 HF frequencies a dozen times. And flying a Bonanza at 4600 pounds to have 300 gallons of fuel for a 2500nm flight is pretty interesting too ;)
 
mattguthmiller said:
Just found this, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed following along a couple years ago.

And I agree, at the end of the day, all the planning and logistics is just a lot of work. The parts that take a little skill are finding sponsors, navigating weather in the middle of the ocean while managing 2 hour deviations on an already 10 hour flight while also trying to get a relay through somebody up higher to tell ATC what you're doing after you've tried 3 HF frequencies a dozen times. And flying a Bonanza at 4600 pounds to have 300 gallons of fuel for a 2500nm flight is pretty interesting too ;)
Click to expand...

Welcome! ^.^ Excellent to have you aboard.

-Fox
 
mattguthmiller said:
Just found this, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed following along a couple years ago.

And I agree, at the end of the day, all the planning and logistics is just a lot of work. The parts that take a little skill are finding sponsors, navigating weather in the middle of the ocean while managing 2 hour deviations on an already 10 hour flight while also trying to get a relay through somebody up higher to tell ATC what you're doing after you've tried 3 HF frequencies a dozen times. And flying a Bonanza at 4600 pounds to have 300 gallons of fuel for a 2500nm flight is pretty interesting too ;)
Click to expand...

Very cool! It does seem like the attention side of it all would be a little exhausting. There are critics everywhere! Can you tell us more about your experience after accomplishing that? Was a positive experience, or were there negative sides to it?
 
Avgirl said:
Very cool! It does seem like the attention side of it all would be a little exhausting. There are critics everywhere! Can you tell us more about your experience after accomplishing that? Was a positive experience, or were there negative sides to it?
Click to expand...
All in all it was pretty incredible. I got to see so many crazy things (like this https://www.facebook.com/LimitlessH...0407734241/609708955818385/?type=3&permPage=1) and meet so many incredibly friendly, helpful people everywhere. And the people really made the trip -- almost everywhere I went there were pilots who met up with me to take me out for dinner or show me around their city, or a friendly hotel manager who had seen me on TV and comped me a room and took me out to lunch with his family, or a taxi driver who before picking me up from the hotel got me a free breakfast (well for me it was breakfast since I was about to fly 16 hours, but really it was 10pm) from a local pub where the manager was a pilot, and on and on.

And it was actually really incredible to get to share the whole experience with so many people all over the world while it was happening, but at the same time you already get so bogged down in a mission mentality where you're constantly thinking about every little detail that needs to be in place for the next leg and what you'll have to worry about after that, that having to add more details for things like media interviews and whatnot really got exhausting. And between so many people wanting to know what would happen next and also having a little bit of a time crunch to set the record and beat it by as much as possible, there was just never time to stop, catch my breath, and take a break. There were times where I was averaging 4 hours of sleep and flying 12 of the 20 hours I was awake back to back for 2 or 3 days -- there was one point where I got about 6 hours of sleep, flew 11 hours to Manila, got about 6 hours of sleep, was paraded around town literally the entire day by a group of local aviation companies, got about 3 hours of sleep to get up at 4am to avoid afternoon thunderstorms, finally got off about 10am after they sorted out some small paperwork issue (without consulting me -- I still have no idea what the problem was), flew 12+ hours to Darwin, got a few hours of sleep, woke up to do the Today Show, tried to get another hour or two of sleep, then flew 10 hours to Brisbane. Even just things like slow Internet connections in most places made stuff like flight planning take forever. At the beginning my instinct was to just push back the flight to the next day if delays ran too long or I couldn't get enough sleep, but it ended up that so many issues were out of my control, that all canceling the flight would do was push back the same problem another day; there just weren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I needed.

Overall though it was just incredibly thrilling and so surreal to end up in some of these places and sit back for a moment to realize I had gotten there in this little Bonanza entirely by myself (of course there were scores of people all over the world without whom I couldn't have done any of it, but being there by yourself like that is pretty crazy). And challenges like figuring out how to fly a Bonanza 26% overgross at the aft CG limit (the tail sat on the ground without a bucket or someone holding it up) were really exciting too (hint: it involves almost a 4,000ft ground roll and probably about another 4,000ft to clear a 50' obstacle -- this was the view right off the end of the runway: https://www.facebook.com/LimitlessH...0407734241/554419958013952/?type=3&permPage=1).

And taking off before sunrise and flying non-stop over the middle of an ocean until after sunset is pretty cool too. It's just so peaceful out there alone, thousands of miles away from almost anything else. One of my favorite parts of the whole thing was about 3 hours over the Indian Ocean at night when I couldn't get anyone on the HF, couldn't get a VHF relay, and for a while couldn't even get the Iridium phone to work; I finally just gave up, sat back, and marveled at how quiet it was.

I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
 
Acrofox said:
Don't get me wrong... on a personal level I think it's pretty awesome. If I was having a conversation with him and he mentioned he was doing it, I'd think it was pretty cool. But, to quote Applejack, he's tooting his own horn louder than the brass section of a marching band, and making it sound like it's a "feat" of some sort. It's not. It's a bit of a logistics exercise, and a lot of faith in Continental. But I exercise my faith in Continental just as much every day flying single-engine wheelplanes over unlandable terrain and 38° water*.

-Fox
* - I don't actually have that much faith. Let's just call it "hope".
Click to expand...
I don't have enough faith in Continental to take one airborne, let alone over water. For this, I can't believe he didn't need to replace jugs mid flight.
I shall also cling to my Lycoming, that makes TBO with all of it's parts.
 
mattguthmiller said:
... mission mentality where you're constantly thinking about every little detail that needs to be in place for the next leg ... I was averaging 4 hours of sleep and flying 12 of the 20 hours I was awake back to back for 2 or 3 days ... got about 3 hours of sleep to get up at 4am ... Overall though it was just incredibly thrilling and so surreal to end up in some of these places ... 26% overgross at the aft CG limit (the tail sat on the ground without a bucket or someone holding it up) ... 4,000ft ground roll ... another 4,000ft to clear a 50' obstacle...taking off before sunrise and flying non-stop...until after sunset...couldn't get anyone on the HF, couldn't get a VHF relay...
Click to expand...

Awesome. That all sounds like a normal day working up in Alaska. XD

(I kid, I kid...we don't have HF)

-Fox
 
mattguthmiller said:
All in all it was pretty incredible. I got to see so many crazy things (like this https://www.facebook.com/LimitlessH...0407734241/609708955818385/?type=3&permPage=1) and meet so many incredibly friendly, helpful people everywhere. And the people really made the trip -- almost everywhere I went there were pilots who met up with me to take me out for dinner or show me around their city, or a friendly hotel manager who had seen me on TV and comped me a room and took me out to lunch with his family, or a taxi driver who before picking me up from the hotel got me a free breakfast (well for me it was breakfast since I was about to fly 16 hours, but really it was 10pm) from a local pub where the manager was a pilot, and on and on.

And it was actually really incredible to get to share the whole experience with so many people all over the world while it was happening, but at the same time you already get so bogged down in a mission mentality where you're constantly thinking about every little detail that needs to be in place for the next leg and what you'll have to worry about after that, that having to add more details for things like media interviews and whatnot really got exhausting. And between so many people wanting to know what would happen next and also having a little bit of a time crunch to set the record and beat it by as much as possible, there was just never time to stop, catch my breath, and take a break. There were times where I was averaging 4 hours of sleep and flying 12 of the 20 hours I was awake back to back for 2 or 3 days -- there was one point where I got about 6 hours of sleep, flew 11 hours to Manila, got about 6 hours of sleep, was paraded around town literally the entire day by a group of local aviation companies, got about 3 hours of sleep to get up at 4am to avoid afternoon thunderstorms, finally got off about 10am after they sorted out some small paperwork issue (without consulting me -- I still have no idea what the problem was), flew 12+ hours to Darwin, got a few hours of sleep, woke up to do the Today Show, tried to get another hour or two of sleep, then flew 10 hours to Brisbane. Even just things like slow Internet connections in most places made stuff like flight planning take forever. At the beginning my instinct was to just push back the flight to the next day if delays ran too long or I couldn't get enough sleep, but it ended up that so many issues were out of my control, that all canceling the flight would do was push back the same problem another day; there just weren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I needed.

Overall though it was just incredibly thrilling and so surreal to end up in some of these places and sit back for a moment to realize I had gotten there in this little Bonanza entirely by myself (of course there were scores of people all over the world without whom I couldn't have done any of it, but being there by yourself like that is pretty crazy). And challenges like figuring out how to fly a Bonanza 26% overgross at the aft CG limit (the tail sat on the ground without a bucket or someone holding it up) were really exciting too (hint: it involves almost a 4,000ft ground roll and probably about another 4,000ft to clear a 50' obstacle -- this was the view right off the end of the runway: https://www.facebook.com/LimitlessH...0407734241/554419958013952/?type=3&permPage=1).

And taking off before sunrise and flying non-stop over the middle of an ocean until after sunset is pretty cool too. It's just so peaceful out there alone, thousands of miles away from almost anything else. One of my favorite parts of the whole thing was about 3 hours over the Indian Ocean at night when I couldn't get anyone on the HF, couldn't get a VHF relay, and for a while couldn't even get the Iridium phone to work; I finally just gave up, sat back, and marveled at how quiet it was.

I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

That's incredible! So many great memories. You are so lucky to have had that opportunity, and to have made the most of it like you did. Glad you got the support from so many great people.
 
It sounds like a fine adventure, and I would love to participate in something like it. But at the end of the day, all we're really talking about is an epic road trip.

Whenever I see one of these things, my first question is "Why?". It's not like barriers are being broken, or boundaries pushed back. Someone piloted a long-proven aircraft design around the world using state of the art navigation and communication technology, and that person happened to be a teenager. Not exactly Charles Lindbergh.

Neil Armstrong started at Purdue at 17, gets called up to military service 2 years later, and becomes a naval aviator just after his 20 birthday. He flies 78 combat missions. After the war he returns to Purdue, graduates with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and goes to work as a experimental test pilot...all before the age of 25. And this was in the 1950's. Talk about impressive.
 
Your achievement is great, good for you at 19, and I'm glad you made it back safe/sound.

Though I'm not sure about the risk-reward table for this one. There was a 16 yr old Pakistani teenager and his engineer dad in Indiana who attempted a round-the-world flight in their Beechcraft. They almost made it. Last big hop across the Ocean, out of Pago Pago they went missing when the plane crashed. Rescuers recovered the boys body, and the father was never found. And for what? I do believe at the time they were flying to raise money for a charity, and while that is noble, why risk something like that? Now a father and son are gone, leaving a broken home in Indy.

And then there was that lady (Amelia Earhart something) that flew around the world in a freakin business jet (Phenom?). Wow that must have been tough, with a full glass cockpit, dual FMS/GPS, and even a co-pilot along the way. I guess the point I'm trying to make is.... "It's 2016, it ain't that impressive."

Don't get me started on the Jessica Dubroff case.
 
Flying Saluki said:
It sounds like a fine adventure, and I would love to participate in something like it. But at the end of the day, all we're really talking about is an epic road trip.

Whenever I see one of these things, my first question is "Why?". It's not like barriers are being broken, or boundaries pushed back. Someone piloted a long-proven aircraft design around the world using state of the art navigation and communication technology, and that person happened to be a teenager. Not exactly Charles Lindbergh.

Neil Armstrong started at Purdue at 17, gets called up to military service 2 years later, and becomes a naval aviator just after his 20 birthday. He flies 78 combat missions. After the war he returns to Purdue, graduates with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and goes to work as a experimental test pilot...all before the age of 25. And this was in the 1950's. Talk about impressive.
Click to expand...

Thank you. This is also my point.
 
Tough room. Sometimes I feel it's a significant accomplishment to just hit the toilet bowl on a dark midnight run.;)

Everybody's gotta' start SOMEwhere, no? At more than three times his age, I've never circumnavigated the globe in anything.

"Kudos, kid, at the personal level," say I.
 
Bob Ridpath said:
Tough room. Sometimes I feel it's a significant accomplishment to just hit the toilet bowl on a dark midnight run.;)

Everybody's gotta' start SOMEwhere, no? At more than three times his age, I've never circumnavigated the globe in anything.

"Kudos, kid, at the personal level," say I.
Click to expand...

Fully agree, except with the toilet. ;):D Every accomplishment shouldn't have to include risking one's life. He wasn't trying to break a record, but instead along the way, learned the true meaning of community. Complete strangers supported his efforts. Love to hear that! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top