Nagpur: When many his age in India may long to ride their dream bikes, Andrew Mason from Louisiana in the USA, all of 18 years and four months, is flying around the world alone. On completing the endeavour, Mason would become the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world.
Mason, who began his trip in July, had to divert his flight to Nagpur, after rough weather on the Karachi to Chittagong route disrupted his schedule. Stranded here for last four days due to bad weather, he plans to take off on Wednesday, headed to Pattaya in Thailand.
Mason, a student of aviation in the US, is flying his father’s jet — a Piper-Lance of 1977 make. His father runs a pharmaceutical business in the US.
He has so far flown for around 107 hours, covering 19 countries. He is raising funds for holding medical camps for specially abled children. The aircraft maker — Piper — has refurbished the over 40-year-old flying machine by fitting in new avionics and latest communication systems.
Due to a severe thunderstorm, he had to abort the flight to Chittagong in Bangladesh from Karachi. “My planners then advised me to land at Nagpur. They found it to be a suitable destination considering the facilities especially for re-fuelling. From here, I plan to reach Thailand and go further to Philippines, and Japan,” said Mason.
The current record is held by Lachlan Smart, an Australian, who flew solo around the world at the age of 19 years. He broke the record of Matt Guthmiller, who had also landed in Nagpur during his journey.
Mason says even though the time he takes would be almost the same as earlier pilots, a new record will be created on the basis of his younger age. “Age also has a major role. A younger pilot needs more effort in understanding the weather and make judgments in the air. A lot has to be gauged about the kind of weather ahead on the basis of temperature and pressure. Getting the documentations is also tough to secure a pilot’s licence at this age,” he said. Out of the 400 hours of flying to his credit so far, over 100 hours were clocked during his current tour.
In the US, a pilot’s licence can be obtained at the age of 17 years, and a driving licence is issued to a 16-year-old, he said.
The funds for holding medcamps for specially-abled children are being raised through sponsorships received for the trip. So far $12,000 have been raised with Mason hoping to rake in $30,000 in all.
In Nagpur, he was assisted by Jaimesh Thapar, a former pilot, also associated with a group of flying enthusiasts ‘Earthrounder’. Thapar helped Mason with the formalities apart from advising him on the further schedule. Thapar said nearly 50 persons take up flights around the world each year.
