Australian Teen Becomes Youngest Person To Fly Single-Engine Plane Around The World

An Australian teenager has made history by becoming the youngest person to fly SOLO around the world in a single-engine aircraft. It took the Queenslander seven weeks in his Cirrus SR22 propeller plane.

Queensland pilot Lachlan Smart became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo in a single-engine plane Saturday after touching down at Sunshine Coast Airport in Marcoola just north of Brisbane.

"I'm on an absolute high at the moment," Smart told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation after landing his plane. "To actually be here, having flown around the world, for over 24,000 nautical miles is just a great relief."


Smart's voyage began on July 24. Since then he has logged hundreds of flying hours in his Cirrus CR22 propeller plane and stopped at 24 locations in 15 countries.

At 18 years, seven months and 21 days, Smart is a year younger than the previous record holder: American Matt Guthmiller.