About Us
Born out of a tight-knit youth community that started in Central North Carolina in June 2025, Carolina Zulu was founded with the express purpose of giving the next generation of Carolina pilots a hub to embark on new friendships and adventures.
Since our founding, our members have linked up to take trips as far as Space Coast and the New York skyline - building valuable experience and helping keep each other safe.
Our Founders
Daniel Li
President
Founder
NCSU
From a young age, Daniel was always interested in civil and general aviation, and its ability to make the world a smaller place. His first paycheck from his high school job went to paying his membership on a private server on airlinesim.aero, where he spent countless hours watching the globe light up thanks to the power of flight.
Daniel doesn't come from an aviation family however (far from it), and always faced pushback from both friends and relatives on the idea of flying himself. This isolation stalled his initial foray into aviation for years, and is the reason Carolina Zulu was founded - so that those kids of the Carolinas who need support to commit to their passion have a group who always has their back.
Corey Phelan
Vice President
Co-Founder
UNCW
Corey has always been someone driven by one concept: that flight itself is a miracle. Gliders, rockets, aircraft, if it flies - he loves it. Countless hours as a boy of tinkering with model planes has evolved into a man who home-builds drones and simply loathes the ground. The proud son of a Southwest Airline captain, the skies have always been like a second home to him.
Always a social butterfly, Corey is committed to being everywhere in the Carolinas all at once - spreading the miracles of aviation wherever he goes.