Beyond Borders

A PLACE OVER THE PACIFIC

- What happened? - The fuel pump is damaged.

- Can it not be used at all? - No.

When it cracked, I could feel the air pressure from the tank.

We have a maximum of 300 liters.

Divided by 51... We have 5.9 flight hours in mind.

300 divided by 57... 5.3.

So we run out of fuel...

... 40-50 kilometers from our destination.

This is probably one of the worst places it could happen, right?

The worst. It's too late to turn around.

Faris Island is three hours from here. Now it will be an interesting trip.

JP Schulze and Louis Cole wanted to fly around the world in a single-engine plane.

This is their story.

My name is Louis Cole, and for the last six years -

- I've uploaded a video about my life almost every day.

At first there were not many who followed me, but then it grew -

and I could share my adventures -

with people from all over the world.

I have always wanted to inspire others to live life to the fullest.

I've created a life -

- where I can live out my passion for making films and traveling.

On one of the trips, I met JP, who happened to be a pilot.

We talked about how wild it would be to fly around the world.

He had never tried anything so ambitious, but he agreed.

My name is Jean-Peter Schulze, but most people call me JP.

I am 23, grew up in Namibia and have always dreamed of flying.

I started as an 11 year old and have always loved it.

After school I quickly got stuck in the everyday drum room -

- and the meeting with Louis inspired me to become more adventurous.

I quickly dropped my career in architecture -

sold everything and left.

I shared my adventures online and could take pictures -

while I was making money.

A few years ago, I was cycling across the United States.

Now I wanted on a new adventure.

Police hope that today's protests are peaceful.

There's been so much division in the world lately -

- and it has become harder to trust what we hear.

We wanted to see if the world was actually as divided as the media claims.

We wanted to raise £ 100,000 on Kickstarter.

When you do not reach the goal, you do not get the money.

Who did it? We just got 1000 pounds.

We did it! Is that really true?

We are up to 100,000 pounds.

We chose a Cessna 210 -

- and called it Baloo, because it only had the most necessary.

I had to spend all my savings on buying the plane.

So important was the trip for me.

- How are you, JP? - I'm happy.

- It's good that we're not flying. - We would never have done that.

The plan was to fly east, across the United States, up to Canada -

- then to Greenland, Iceland, on to Europe -

- down to Egypt, over to Abu Dhabi, then Pakistan, India -

- across Southeast Asia, down to Australia and New Zealand -

- saw some of the Pacific Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Kiribati and Hawaii.

And then back to California.

Then we would have reached all over the world.

We decided to do it in 81 days.

We probably believed in it to host a party on day 81.

We are always asked why we do something so risky.

We had very different personal reasons for it.

We need some tools for the trip.

JP wanted a wrench. I found it here.

Life has made me insecure about myself and my abilities.

It was not just about seeing the world.

It was a big mental and physical challenge -

- and to see if I could actually.

Could I overcome my doubts about myself?

Do something important and inspire others to do the same?

Michelin men.

I felt trapped in my own little bubble -

- and lost focus on sharing people's stories.

The media portrays the world as divided and full of hatred -

racism and xenophobia. But is there also a little humanity?

I had a burning urge to find the truth.

When I was seven, my dad and his friends got excited -

over two guys who arrived at the airport.

I remember the two adventurers who stepped out.

They were tanned and weathered.

One of them was Mike Blyth, who had been on a record flight.

He has since become a major role model for me -

- and he has flown around the earth twice.

I met JP when I flew an ultralight plane -

- and stopped in Swakopmund when he was a little boy.

That was probably when he felt like doing these wild things.

They told me they had just flown here from South America.

I was inspired and it became a goal for me.

So would I.

Flying around the world is the hardest thing I have tried.

Some of the challenges are more technical.

Such as flying far above the sea.

When Louis first mentioned the earth orbit -

I had some sleepless nights.

I considered the worst case scenarios -

- and quickly learned to turn my brain off.

We have become too scared to do things that we are afraid of.

But I think you have to do exactly what you are afraid of.

The pilot community was skeptical as it is actually irresponsible.

At first I did not understand how dangerous it was.

But as it approached, it dawned on me -

- that there is probably a reason why so few have done so.

You want to do something amazing, understand the risk -

and is ready to live with it.

You do it because that's the way you are.

If you have been called to an adventure, you have no choice. Off.

The first thing to do is choose a plane.

We chose a nearly 50 year old Cessna 210 -

which had to be thoroughly repaired before it was ready.

As standard, it has two fuel tanks with a total of 340 liters -

as well as two small collection tanks connected to the engine.

But we would get some long flights over water -

- so we added three tanks of 518, 140 and 53 liters -

pressurized with a hand pump.

- This is how we get fuel. - Manually?

Okay, so you do not just press a contact?

Now I no longer know exactly what JP is up to.

I just trust he knows what he's doing.

It is worrying to assemble a plane and have two screws left over.

- Should I take it out? - If you want.

We'll try this one first.

We have to be careful, because if it cracks, we have big problems.

What is it that makes the trip so dangerous?

We're flying in a 45 year old plane.

In addition, a single-engine aircraft, so if the engine puts out, you crash.

Third, it is not built to fly that far.

A 17-year-old pilot is dead and his father is missing -

off the coast of American Samoa in the Pacific Ocean.

They would fly around the world in a record attempt.

Many have died during long-haul flights -

- as they challenged fate, for it is necessary.

One cannot fly around the earth without challenging fate a little.

It's the day before departure. Do you feel ready?

Not at all.

What do you think will be the biggest disagreement between us?

That I question your judgment.

Louis is nonchalant by nature. That's what makes him great.

But it also makes him a nightmare compared to a plane.

Close it and we're got the pressure in there.

- No, open the other one. - No no...

I was trying to get two people around the world in a Cessna 210.

A plane that was in no way built for it.

I would not be remembered as an idiot who had beaten himself -

- and his friend to death by carelessly trying to fly around the earth.

- I will miss you all the way. - I know.

Today we have to fly around the world.

KERN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA 81 DAYS LEFT

Around the world, mate. Around the world.

Now we do. We will do it...

- I hope the camera rolls? - It's rolling.

- Now I'm better. - I always feel better in the air.

Facilitating was one of the best sensations.

We had to explore the whole world and looked forward to the adventure.

Good morning, this is Kern Airport.

Click the radio three times for advice, four for radio checks.

We did it! The first trip.

- Bum... - No, no... Fist.

- I just saw a lightning bolt. - Okay? We're not going anywhere.

It's the weather radar right now.

In theory, we could try to wind our way through it -

but it's too dangerous.

This can close at any time.

And since we have to fly in the dark, it's a bad idea.

The next morning we set off, eager to reach as far as possible.

Propeller ready.

The storm from last night had moved well over 1500 kilometers -

so JP was sure it worked.

The problem of having to fly during a storm -

- is that the information you can get about the weather -

are not perfect.

A Cessna 210 can not fly so high -

and you can not fly too low because of the terrain -

and mountains and so on.

In a large passenger plane, you fly over most weather.

We could fly at an altitude of 4300 meters at most, so we experienced the weather.

We had to deal with what everyone else is flying over.

And where are you right now?

Just relieved at St. Joseph, on his way to Fort Wayne, FWA.

Our only weather instrument was a storm display -

which could show electrical activity and lightning strikes within a radius of 160 km.

It was quite active at one point.

There was a lot of electrical activity.

There are constant signs that one is challenging fate.

If you are a good pilot, you listen to them -

while a bad pilot continues -

and ends up in a dangerous situation.

I ignored it. We should get back -

- and even though there were three more months, I felt the pressure.

You can not fly around the earth if you are waiting for perfect weather.

At some point, one has to leave.

Sometimes you can make mistakes and end up in a storm.

Suddenly we could see nothing.

It was some of the worst turbulence I have experienced.

The height indicator turned 90 degrees -

- which means that you fly upside down.

I thought we were going to die.

In a particularly bad storm -

- structural damage to the aircraft may occur.

Lightning strikes are also a risk.

If you are not an experienced pilot, you can lose control.