Crew Lounge: College Student Sets New World Record for Flight

Matt Guthmiller isn’t a typical college student. The incoming sophomore at MIT just set a new world record. As of last night, July 14, 2014, the 19-year old became the youngest person to fly solo around the world.

Guthmiller spent almost 45 days traveling across the world in his 1981 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza – N367HP. Starting in Gillespie Field Airport in San Diego, he made his way west stopping in various places such as New York City, London, Rome, Cairo, Bangkok, and Honululu before making it back to the mainland United States. In the end, he made 25 stops in 14 different countries.

“Setting a record is exciting, but records are made to be broken,” said Guthmiller on his website. “My real goal is to inspire other young people to attempt things of a similar magnitude. That’s what I hope to accomplish with this flight.”

Hailing from Aberdeen, South Dakota, Guthmiller always loved airplanes and flying. After seeing an article about Jack Weigand, the 21-year-old who set the record last year, Guthmiller knew he could set a new record for being the youngest person to circumnavigate the world. He obtained his commercial pilot certificate and started planning.

During his flight, onlookers could visit his website called Limitless Horizons to track his flight. On this website, he asked fans and good-doers to donate to a non-profit organization called Code.org. Code.org strives to empower young people to study computer science. Guthmiller is studying computer science at MIT.

“Nothing is impossible,” said Guthmiller on his website. “And I’ve never been the kind of person to just hang around and wait for great things to happen. If you really want to achieve something great you have to go out and get it.”