Dan Dominguez and Chris Wall traveled more than 30,000 miles to show kids that hard work can make dreams come true. Their dream: to become the youngest pilots ever to fly around the world. The 22-year-olds took to the air in September, carrying their message across five continents. On their way to a new world record, they visited 15 schools and connected with 40,000 U.S. students via the Internet.
Wall and Dominguez, both from El Paso, Texas, earned their pilot's licenses in 1996. After a five-week flight from Texas to Alaska that year, they vowed to circle the globe someday. Two years later, they used their savings to buy a small two-engine plane. With the help of AOL and other sponsors, their dream took off.
The most important part of their journey, they say, was sharing it with kids. They know of about 2,000 teachers whose classes followed their flight. "We got e-mails every day," Wall says. They took photos of everything they saw-from Egyptian Pyramids to Australian crocodiles-and posted them on their website, www.worldflight2000.com. They also kept a journal of their adventures, including an emergency landing near the Red Sea in Egypt because of engine trouble!
The young pilots visited 18 countries, including Spain, Italy, Thailand and Singapore. Sure, sights such as the Arabian Sea made a big impression. But one of their favorite stops was Bhubaneshwar, India, because they talked to 1,000 students there.
Wall and Dominguez made their final landing in December, and will spend the next few months telling their story in schools around the country. They hope to inspire students, but they also just enjoy visiting schools. "We're grownup kids," Wall says. "That's why we can relate so well."