Around the World: The Young Pilot's 44-Day Journey

After battling extreme weather conditions, loneliness, and fatigue, 18-year-old Travis Ludlow succeeded in breaking the Guinness World Record, becoming the youngest pilot to fly around the world. His journey was initially planned for June 2020, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; nevertheless, he managed to achieve his goal.

Watch Ludlow's journey documented:

Ludlow fell in love with aviation at just 4 years old. According to Guinness World Records, he never went to bed without reading from his stack of airplane magazines. By age 12, he got behind the controls of an aircraft for the first time and became Britain's youngest pilot at 14. Two years later, Ludlow passed his private pilot’s licensing test and started flying. After celebrating his 18th birthday, the young pilot decided to take on the challenge of flying around the world and embarked on his journey. After a long expedition navigating thunderstorms and strong winds in such a small aircraft, he accomplished the mission.

As part of his extensive route, Ludlow stopped in 13 countries: the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, USA, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, UK, Ireland, Spain, Morocco, France, and Belgium. "The scariest moment was on June 26, when storm clouds started barreling toward me like bullets. I had to descend to 7,000 feet, the lowest height possible without hitting the ground," Ludlow recounted.

During the flight, Ludlow met the previous record holder, Mason Andrews from Louisiana, who was 18 years and 163 days old when he completed his own journey around the world in October 2018. "It was great to spend some time with the former record holder. He congratulated me, supported me, and helped me reach my record," Ludlow said.