MANILA — At just 19 years old, Asian-American solo flier Ethan Guo is piloting a 50-year-old Cessna 182 Skylane to travel around the world—not for adventure or fun, but to break the record as the youngest person in history to fly across all seven continents.

Guo’s ambitious journey began last May 31 in Memphis, Tennessee and has already taken him through several countries. Currently in the Philippines, he is scheduled to fly to Japan this Sunday.

His passion for aviation started early.

"I had my first introduction to aviation at around 13 years old. I've always loved aviation since I was a kid. I think the whole concept of aviation and flight was so appealing to me," he told ABS-CBN News in an interview.

His father initially suggested that he take an aviation class, but Guo resisted because of the high cost and his busy school schedule. Eventually, he decided to give it a try and made efforts to finish high school early.

He dreamed of traveling around the world and shared his aspirations with his parents.

"My parents have always told me ‘it’s your life, do whatever you want’. That's kind of my parents' approach to raising me," he said.

"So, when I told them I want to fly around the world, at first they thought it was a joke. When they realized I was serious about it, my mom freaked out," he added.

By the age of 17, he had obtained his pilot’s license in Massachusetts and earned his instrument rating in Florida.

To fund his journey, Guo started working as a restaurant dishwasher when he was 15 to save money. He also sought sponsorships by emailing and calling hundreds of companies and attending aviation conferences, which resulted in numerous rejections. After four to five months of persistent effort, he finally secured enough sponsors to support his dream.

But the journey took on a deeper significance.

"Unfortunately, my cousin got diagnosed with stage 4 blood cancer, so it was really personal… There is nothing I can do to directly help him," he said.

So now, aside from working to break world records, he is raising $1 million to fight cancer.

During his stopovers in different countries, he visits hospitals to meet with doctors and researchers, gaining a deeper understanding of the fight against cancer.

Guo also documents his journey, sharing videos online so people can follow his adventure and donate to his cause through his website, fightagainstcancer.com.

"The whole goal is to get people's attention by doing something interesting, and then use that attention to bring awareness to a cause that’s even more important," he said.

So far, Guo has flown over North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, with only South America and Antarctica left to complete his journey. One of his most challenging flights was crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

"The route is so dangerous because it's north, it's so cold and the weather is so unpredictable.When you're flying over the ocean with an engine and something goes wrong, you don't have a lot of options and Atlantic Ocean is freezing cold," he said.

Guo revealed that flying a small plane around the world is far from glamorous. With limited space, he couldn't stock up on food and managed to pack just three sets of clothes for the journey.

"I'm flying 12 hours, there's nowhere to go bathroom. What I do is take a bottle of water, I chug maybe an hour before takeoff. I go to the bathroom right before I takeoff. For the next 12 hours, I have small bottle of water," he said.

"If I'm lucky by the time I land, there are one or two restaurants open, I get to have a meal," he added.

His plane carries almost 800 liters of fuel, allowing him to fly up to 19 hours at a time. The two backseats were removed to make space for a 400-liter ferry tank. He coordinates with airports and handlers in advance to ensure fuel is available at different stops.

"If everything goes successful, I want my next mission to help even more people to take on other problem...to do big projects and to try my best to contribute while I can with my life to make this world a steady better place," he said.