Around The World Solo Twice & Two World Records

My name is Travis Ludlow I started flying at 13 but long before that I had a dream...

I will take off early next year to fly around the world TWICE. The first around the world flight will be to become the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the world. In continuing on to fly around the world a second time, I will become only the second person ever to achieve this feat and I will be just 18 when I return. 

Covid has affected my plans as my journey needs even more careful planning and preparation. I know have three variable routes that will make sure I avoid any locked down countries and to ensure I achieve my first around the world flight to secure the world record.

These flight will secure new aviation world records, as no one has ever taken off to fly around the world at 17. My planning and training has been going on for some time as I have been preparing and training for this since for over three years. I have already mentioned that I started flying at 13 but my qualifications also include being the youngest solo glider pilot on my 14th birthday and becoming the youngest certified PPL pilot on my 17th birthday. I currently have well over 250 logged and have passed both my Instrument Rating and Night Rating. I will not stop training until I leave to fly around the world and plan to have 500 hours logged by then.

All I need now is some help with my funding to complete the requirements I need to make the dream a reality.

I have already raised over £300K for this double world record flight but I need to raise another £50K. The £50K that I hope to raise will help pay for the fuel and logistics for both around the world flights.

AND 10% of all donations will go to UNICEF, until I reach my funding requirement.. but I won't be stopping there. Once I have reached my funding requirement 100% of all donations will go to UNICEF.

Please check my website for details of what rewards are available for your donations at www.aroundtheworldsolo/donations


And now a little bit of boring stuff about me:

I have always had a fascination with flight, always peering at the sky, watching planes and wondering where the airplane had come from and was going too. I’ve also always been a bit of a geek when it comes to aircraft magazines, going to bed reading Pilot Magazine or Aviation Magazine every night. It was in one of these that I remember reading about Polly Vacher’s ‘Wings Around the World Challenge’ … I must have been about 10 years old… I think that was when my dream was planted.

But it wasn’t until 2016 that I really believed I could do this. I had just had my first few gliding lesson and I knew then that my life would always involve flying, Pilot Magazine wrote an article on Lachlan Smart in September and his solo circumnavigation of the world… I still have that magazine… but I remember thinking then… I have to beat that.

Although Lachlan’s record has now, just recently, been beaten by American, Mason Andrews, from Louisiana, I will alway think of Lachlan as the person who has led me on this path.

When Mason Andrews landed from his 76-day around the world flight he was 18 years and 163 days old. Even though Covid has affected my initial take off date of June, I am still well on track to to beat Mason's record. I will now take off early next year, before my 18th birthday, and return with time to spare before starting back the other way.

My initial route is very similar to the route taken by fellow British adventurers Norman Surplus and James Ketchell, who flew around the world in 2019 in open cockpit gyrocopters. My journey will be much easier than theirs as I will be making fewer stops, as my range is considerably better, and I will be in a nice warm, closed cockpit, all the way. My double circumnavigation will see me make more than 53 stops in more than a 20 countries.

As well as Norman and James, I will be following in the footsteps… or should I say flight path, of many other incredible pilots. To date, only 77 people have flown solo around the world, that is much less than the number of people that have been to space and only one person has ever flown around the world twice in one year. That is the great Swiss pilot Hans Georg Schmid, who had 16000 as an airline pilot and was the holder of some 160 world records. Sadly Hans dies in 2007 but my flight is dedicated to his memory.

Finally, I just want to say, I am not taking this adventure lightly, I have trained very hard, gaining all the required qualifications and flight hours. I think it is very safe to say, I will be more experienced than any of my predecessors. But I am still learning, I read everything on everyone’s previous experience and where possible talking to them directly. Every aspect of this trip has and is being thought through and planned in minute detail.

All I need now is your help.

I hope you’ll support me and help me fulfil the dream.

AND REMEMBER 10% GOES TO UNICEF

For more information go to: www.aroundtheworldsolo.co.uk