
Ryan Campbell lands at Albion Park aiport to a hero's welcome.
Photo: Greg Totman
When he landed his plane in Wollongong on Saturday, Ryan
Campbell landed a new world record, becoming the youngest person to fly
solo around the world.
The 19-year-old from Merimbula, on the south coast, touched down 70 days after setting off on his epic journey.
It made me realise what you can do if you really commit to it.
Piloting a specially-modified single-engine Cirrus SR22, Campbell made 34 stops in 15 countries and spent 200 hours in the air.

Ryan Campbell with cousin Ashton Hurley.
Photo: Greg Totman
He is the first teenager to fly solo around the globe and the
youngest pilot to complete the feat, breaking a record set earlier this
year by American pilot Jack Wiegand, 21.
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An enthusiastic crowd greeted the teen at Illawarra Regional
Airport when he arrived in his plane, 'The Spirit of the Sapphire
Coast', on Saturday morning.
Campbell described his achievement as "surreal" and said an
army of supporters on the ground and on social media helped keep him
focused.
"The only way I saw myself getting home was in that
aeroplane," he said. "I wasn't able to give up, I wasn't to run away
from it - it made me realise what you can do if you really commit to
it."
Campbell's route took him over deserts, glaciers, oceans,
volcanoes. He saw Niagara Falls from the air. Flying, he said, was
"magic".
Campbell follows in the slipstream of legendary aviator
Charles Kingsford Smith, who made the first flight from the United
States to Australia in 1928, and of Albert "Bert" Hinkler, who completed
the first solo flight from Britain to Australia the same year.
From the age of six he was determined to become a pilot, and
could fly a plane before he could drive a car. He had his first flying
lesson at 14, made his first solo flight at 15, got his private pilot's
licence at 17 and his commercial license at 18.
Despite delays and route changes - political unrest in Egypt
forced him to bypass a planned stopover there - Campbell completed his
journey on schedule. In a blog he wrote during the journey, he said his
strategy was "breaking the flight down into sections and then tackling
just one section at a time".
Campbell said he hopes to inspire the next generation of
aviators and is planning to take his plane around Australia to share his
passion for flying with children.