Buckinghamshire teen pilot halfway in solo round-the-world record bid

An 18-year-old pilot hoping to become the youngest person to fly solo round the world in a single-engine aircraft has reached the halfway mark.

Travis Ludlow, from Ibstone, Buckinghamshire, took off from Wycombe Air Park on 27 May.

He is hoping to complete the 24,900-mile (40,072km) journey in about 40 to 45 days and has passed the midway point of Alaska.

He said he was "very much on track" to beat the current record.

This is held by Mason Andrews, from Louisiana, USA, who completed his flight round the world aged 18 years and 163 days in 2018.

When Travis took off in his 2001 Cessna 172R, he was 18 years and 103 days old.

The teenager has nurtured this ambition since he was 10 years old, and planned to take off last year, but the trip was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Travis took up flying when he was just 12 years old and became the UK's youngest glider pilot at 14.

His global journey takes him across Europe, through Russia and America, before returning via Canada, Greenland and Iceland.

The planned route takes in about 60 stops across nine countries.

Travis said he "barely noticed" reaching the halfway point, but once he realised, it "felt amazing", he said.

Asked about his favourite moment so far, he said it was landing on a gravel track at Manley Hot Springs in Alaska.

"I landed at 3am but it was still light," Travis said.

"I stayed with really great people - and there were lots of bears and wolves - it was really cool."

One of the best things has been meeting the people who have been following the trip via his social media channels, the teenager said.

"In Russia, everyone would come up to me and say, 'this is so cool' - that was awesome."

"Flying's been super easy, well not super easy, but easier than I thought it would be," he said.

His parents, Nick and Loryn Ludlow, said while their son was "taking it all in his stride", the experience so far had been "tough" for them, with little sleep as they are "tracking him all the time".

"He's had some difficult flights. He's had ice on the plane, he's had to turn around and there have been areas where he hasn't been able to land," Mrs Ludlow said.

"You can plan... to the smallest detail - and then there will be weather - and then everything changes in a very short space of time."

Before he embarked on the flight, Mr Ludlow said his son had had a Covid jab and would be avoiding virus hotspots.

"He's very cautious and will be protective of others," he said.

Guinness World Records said it may take several weeks to verify the record attempt, once the flight is completed.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]