Travis Ludlow

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Travis Ludlow
Born (2003-02-13) 13 February 2003 (age 19)[1]
Ibstone, England
EducationGreat Marlow School
Known forYoungest pilot to fly solo around the world
Websitearoundtheworldsolo.co.uk

Travis Ludlow (born 13 February 2003) is an English aviator. In 2021, he became the youngest person to fly solo around the world at age 18 years and 150 days old.

Early life[]

Travis Ludlow, from Ibstone in Buckinghamshire was born on 13 February 2003.[2] According to his father Nick, he had aspirations on becoming a pilot at age 10 with his grandfather who was a RAF photographer being his family's only connection to aviation.[3] Ludlow earned his black belt in kickboxing aged 12 and completed a triathlon, using a unicycle, when he was a teenager.[4] Ludlow became Britain's youngest glider pilot at 14 having had his first gliding lesson two years prior.[5] He obtained his private pilot licence at age 16[5] whilst studying for his A-levels at Great Marlow School in Buckinghamshire[3] and became the youngest certified private licensed pilot at 17.[4]

Solo flight around the world[]

Ludlow flew a Cessna 172R plane.

Travis Ludlow aimed to break the record for the youngest person to fly around the world solo, which was at the time held by American Mason Andrews who was 18 years and 163 days old when he completed the journey in October 2018.[4] A Guinness World Records spokeswoman said in order to break the record he must supply an official flight log containing details of all take-off and landing times, as well as photographic and video evidence, and witness statements.[6] Due to the coronavirus pandemic,[6] Ludlow could not take off in the first week of June 2020 as he had intended.[7] In addition, his flight route was changed to avoid virus hotspots such as South America in exchange for more stops in the United States to make up for lost distance.[8]

He took flight in a Cessna 172R Diesel from Teuge Airport in the Netherlands on 29 May 2021 and arrived back after traversing four continents, 15 countries and 63 stops.[3] His route took him across northern Europe and over Lake Baikal when he flew from Kemerovo to Ulan-Ude.[5] He ran low on fuel near the China–Russia border and had to slow down to 85 miles per hour.[4] A few weeks later he was forced to turn back during a flight in Kamchatka, due to cold weather.[4] He made the decision to return to  [ru] and stay overnight there with Ludlow later saying that the people were "lovely" and the hospitality was "wonderful, Russian-style".[4]

From there he crossed into Alaska, flew down to California and flew over the Grand Canyon.[4] Over the Rocky Mountains in Montana, Ludlow stated he had a few issues with ice and turbulence[9] when a rapid downdraft pulled him towards a mountainside.[4] He stopped in Texas for a few days to get his second coronavirus jab and in Monroe, Louisiana, to meet previous record-holder, Mason Andrews.[5] On 1 July 2021, he landed in New York and flew a circle around the Statue of Liberty before flying to Canada where he made stops at Montreal and Saguenay.[4][8] Due to the scarcity of hotel rooms, he could not stay overnight in Saguenay as he had planned and instead chose to fly to Goose Bay to stay for the night.[8] Travis surpassed the minimum distance required to break the world record which is the Earth's circumference at the Equator when he flew from Donegal, Ireland, to Gibraltar on 9 July 2021.[5] He touched down in the Netherlands to complete his circumnavigation, before returning to the United Kingdom to receive his world record certificate.[3] Ludlow also stated he had an ambition to break the record for flying solo around the world in an electric aircraft.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Youngest person to circumnavigate the world by aircraft solo (male)". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Teen pilot Travis Ludlow youngest to fly solo around the world". BBC News. 13 July 2021. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Singh, Anita (12 July 2021). "British teenager becomes youngest person to circumnavigate globe solo". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Yeomans, Emma (13 July 2021). "World-beating teenager Travis Ludlow is flying home". The Times. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Atwal, Sanj (5 October 2021). "UK teen becomes youngest person ever to fly solo around the world". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Buckinghamshire teen pilot in solo round-the-world record bid". BBC News. 27 May 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  7. ^ Bell, Kieran (19 December 2019). "Marlow schoolboy aims for record solo flight around world". Maidenhead Advertiser. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Scanlon, Cronan (3 July 2021). "Teen Pilot To Land At Donegal Airport In Round World Record Attempt". Donegal Daily. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Teen pilot, Travis Ludlow, becomes youngest to fly solo around the world in 24,000 mile adventure". ITV News. 15 July 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

External links[]

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