Travis Ludlow (born 13 February 2003) is an English

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

. In 2021, he became the youngest person to fly solo around the world at age 18 years old, a record he held for 1 year.

Early life

Ludlow was born on 13 February 2003. He is from Ibstone in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. According to his father Nick, he had aspirations to become a pilot from age 10. His grandfather, an RAF photographer, was his family's only prior connection to aviation. Ludlow also earned a black belt in

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

aged 12 and completed a triathlon, using a

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is prac ...

, when he was a teenager. At the age of 14, Ludlow became Britain's youngest

glider pilot Glider or Gliders may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport ...

, having had his first lesson in gliding two years prior. He obtained his

private pilot licence A private pilot licence (PPL) or private pilot certificate is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The basic licence requirements are determined by the Inter ...

at age 16 whilst preparing for his

Advanced Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

qualifications at Great Marlow School in Buckinghamshire. He became the youngest certified private licensed pilot in the UK at 17.

Solo flight around the world

Ludlow aimed to break the record for the youngest person to fly unaccompanied around the world, which was at the time held by American Mason Andrews. Andrews was 18 years and 163 days old when he finished his journey in October 2018. A

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

spokesperson said that an official flight log with details of all take-off and landing times, witness statements, and photographic and video confirmation were required in order to break the record. As a result of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Ludlow could not take off in the first week of June 2020 as he had intended. In addition, his flight route was changed to avoid virus hotspots such as

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in exchange for more stops in the United States to make up for lost distance. Ludlow departed from Teuge Airport in the Netherlands in a Cessna 172R Diesel on 29 May 2021. His route crossed four continents, 15 countries and 63 stops. The beginning was across northern Europe. In Russia, he flew over

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

when he flew from

Kemerovo Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka River, Iskitimka and Tom ...

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; , ; , ) is the capital city of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River, Buryatia, Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga River, Selenga. According to the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, 43 ...

. He ran low on fuel near the

China–Russia border The Chinese–Russian border or the Sino-Russian border is the Border, international border between China and Russia. After the final demarcation carried out in the early 2000s, it measures ,

and had to slow down to 85 miles per hour. A few weeks later he was forced to turn back during a flight in

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

, due to cold weather. From there Ludlow crossed into Alaska, flew down to California and flew over the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

. Over the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, Ludlow reported that he had a few problems with the ice and

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between ...

when a rapid

downdraft In meteorology, an updraft (British English: ''up-draught'') is a small-scale current of rising air, often within a cloud. Overview Vertical drafts, known as updrafts or downdrafts, are localized regions of warm or cool air that move vertically ...

pulled him towards a mountainside. Ludlow landed in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

for a couple of days to get his second

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

and in

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, to meet previous record-holder, Mason Andrews. On 1 July 2021, he landed in New York and flew a circle around the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

before flying to Canada where he made stops at

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and Saguenay. 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. When Travis flew from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

in Ireland to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

on 9 July 2021, his trip's total flight distance exceeded that of the

Earth's circumference Earth's circumference is the distance around Earth. Measured around the equator, it is . Measured passing through the poles, the circumference is . Treating the Earth as a sphere, its circumference would be its single most important measuremen ...

at the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

. This was the minimum distance needed to achieve the world record. He landed in the Netherlands to complete his circumnavigation, before returning to the United Kingdom to receive his world record certificate. Ludlow also stated that the next world record he was aiming to achieve was for flying around the world in an

electric aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludlow, Travis 2003 births British aviation record holders Circumnavigators of the globe English aviators Living people People educated at Great Marlow School People from Wycombe District Youth aviation record holders

Early life

Solo flight around the world

See also

Notes

References

External links