Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

flyzolo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 53 posts

Re: FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

#3

Post by azalemeth »

This is pretty amazing. I'm exhausted after flying for an hour, let alone weeks. Really, really hats off to her.

If you've got a bit of spare time, you might like this video series, which features a bunch of young US male pilots flying across the Atlantic in a small GA plane. It is quite an interesting journey. And no, there isn't a toilet! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Uf-ynoDUE&list=PLoruKoPAfK...

Re: FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

#4

Post by dang »

yosito wrote: post #2

This headline should mention that she was a 19 year old who just set a world record of being the youngest woman to fly solo around the globe.

We've changed to the HTML doc title above. Submitted title was "Teen fly solo around globe".

Re: FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

#6

Post by blip54321 »

Perhaps I'm not as rich as everyone else on HN, but I feel like this is a frivolous game for rich kids. The entry bar here is being able to afford planes, flight lessons, airport fees, fuel, hotels, etc. more so than anything else. At 19, that means rich parents. I came out distinctly underwhelmed with the accomplishment, and overwhelmed by the self-congratulatory copy.

(Yes: I do know the amount of time and effort required; I really hoped to learn to fly and did deep dives, but wasn't rich enough at the time)

Re: FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

#7

Post by parsimo2010 »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #5

The route is interesting: https://flyzolo.com/route/ I can understand some of the latitude changes to reach shorter ocean crossings, but it looks like the route was stretched in various places to touch more countries. Very cool journey.

Yeah she obviously did not need to visit South America and could have cut across Canada. But hey, if you're on a trip around the world you might as well see more of it.

Re: FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

#8

Post by parsimo2010 »

blip54321 wrote: post #6

Perhaps I'm not as rich as everyone else on HN, but I feel like this is a frivolous game for rich kids. The entry bar here is being able to afford planes, flight lessons, airport fees, fuel, hotels, etc. more so than anything else. At 19, that means rich parents. I came out distinctly underwhelmed with the accomplishment, and overwhelmed by the self-congratulatory copy. (Yes: I do know the amount of time and effort r…

She's most likely upper-middle class and definitely spent several thousand euros of her (family's) money. But I think you might be overestimating how much she personally spent. Look at all her sponsors (https://flyzolo.com/partners/). She didn't go out and buy a Shark at full price of 127k, it was either lent to her by Shark or she got a good discount. All her other sponsors helped out with money or products in exchange for being part of a record setting flight.

Some of the copy might sound over the top, but it's way easier to attract help when you're postured as "a young woman with an entrepreneurial spirit on a mission to break down gender barriers, set records, and inspire other young women" instead of "please give me money, I want to go fly."

Re: FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

#9

Post by aeternum »

blip54321 wrote: post #6

Perhaps I'm not as rich as everyone else on HN, but I feel like this is a frivolous game for rich kids. The entry bar here is being able to afford planes, flight lessons, airport fees, fuel, hotels, etc. more so than anything else. At 19, that means rich parents. I came out distinctly underwhelmed with the accomplishment, and overwhelmed by the self-congratulatory copy. (Yes: I do know the amount of time and effort r…

You need some disposable income but don't necessarily need rich parents. A pilots license is doable with $5-10k depending on where you are in the country and whether you purchase time in blocks. Training in the bay area is ridiculously expensive because of fuel plus the sheer amount of time you spend waiting for other traffic.

Looks like she also has quite a few sponsors so perhaps she was able to fund the trip through those.

Re: FlyZolo – Youngest Woman Solo

#10

Post by shroompasta »

blip54321 wrote: post #6

Perhaps I'm not as rich as everyone else on HN, but I feel like this is a frivolous game for rich kids. The entry bar here is being able to afford planes, flight lessons, airport fees, fuel, hotels, etc. more so than anything else. At 19, that means rich parents. I came out distinctly underwhelmed with the accomplishment, and overwhelmed by the self-congratulatory copy. (Yes: I do know the amount of time and effort r…

Even if that is the case, this is more laudable than other "frivolous" hobbies that rich kids can get into.

I'd take this over a young socialite with a functional drug issue any day of the week.

If you're rich and you make the most of it, then cheers to you.

Hope she reaches her dreams of becoming an astronaut.

Post reply on HN