NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB)- It’s a risk most people wouldn’t dream of taking but one young man couldn’t resist the adventure. Lachlan Smart, an 18 year old from Australia, is trying to fly around the world solo.
“There’s nothing holding us back except a bit of motivation and self-belief so I want to help other young people find that and hopefully go out and achieve their goals,” said Smart.
He’s trying to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world in a single engine aircraft. He calls his flight Wings Around the World.
Smart visited Niagara Falls as his last stop in the continental United States. Mayor Paul Dyster gave a proclamation naming July 20, 2016 Wings Around the World Day and he gave Smart a key to the city.
He started his journey on July 4 from Sunset Coast, Australia. He’s now crossed the Pacific Ocean, including a grueling 14 hour stretch from Hawaii to California.
Smart only started flying four years ago, the last two and a half years have been spent preparing for this trip. He practiced doing long flights and learned the diet he needed to keep in the air.
He told News 4 he’s been very prepared but there have still been ups and downs.
“There have been a lot of challenges along the way, things we expected, things we didn’t expect,” said Smart. “I think that’s sort of the key to doing a trip like this, you need to be able to adapt and that’s something I’ve been learning along the way.”
His whole trip will take seven and a half weeks, including about 165 hours in the air.
He will travel across the Atlantic, through Europe, the Middle East and Asia before landing back in Australia.
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