Teen venturing on record solo flight to 7 continents to raise money for childhood cancer research

A Chinese-American teen is endeavoring to become the youngest person ever to complete a solo flight to all seven continents in an effort to raise money for cancer research motivated by his ailing cousin. 

Ethan Guo, 19, took flight in May from Memphis, Tenn. and has since stopped in seven countries, most recently in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday. His next planned stop is in Heraklion, the capital of the Greek island Crete. 

Guo took up piloting when he was 13 and earned his license by the age of 17. To date, he has clocked over 700 flight hours and flown to every US state besides Alaska and Hawaii.

He wanted to start his journey much sooner, but no insurance company wanted to take on the risk of covering a minor on a journey Guo says can very easily end his life — and almost did early on. 

“Through my experiences — like an engine failure on the very beginning of the trip … I was forced to face the fact that I could die at any point of the trip,” he said.

Despite the dangers, Guo is fully dedicated to his cause and is taking as many precautions as he can, including stocking up on cold weather gear, desert survival kits and inflatable life rafts. 

Guo’s plan is to cover a whopping 50,000 miles in 100 days with stops in 60 countries along the way. He aims to raise $1 million for cancer research in a fight inspired by his cousin, who has Stage 4 blood cancer. 

He partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and has currently raised a little over $20,000, which he says is a “small amount,” but he is confident more donations will come in over the course of his journey. He hopes to raise up to $1 million by the end of his trip.

“We came up with the idea of … how we can work on this together,” Guo said, “how we can make this world a better place.”

In order to make his idea feasible, Guo needed support — not just financially for his charity endeavor, but also for the flight itself. He pitched company after company, but said that only about one in 10 actually became sponsors, whose logos adorn his modified four-seater Cessna 182. 

Given the formidable task he is undertaking, most would figure Guo planned to devote his life to the skies. But his dreams are actually a bit closer to terra firma, as he hopes to pursue business or tech. He only took up piloting in the first place to challenge himself, he said.

His future plans come as a relief to his parents, who actively tried to stall his trip around the world by having him take the lead in recruiting sponsors and other supporters. Like any parents they’re worried about his trip — a sentiment Guo confessed he shares himself. 

“I’ll be lying to tell you if I wasn’t scared,” Guo said. “But every day I reaffirm myself. I say ‘This is what I believe in.’ … So I’m going to fight on until the very end.”