When Ryan Campbell was six, he fell in love with aeroplanes. Inspired by his first flight, and his uncle and grandfather two where both aviators, flying was a passion that dominated his childhood.
It was no surprise to his family and friends when at 15 Ryan became the youngest pilot in Australia. Then he found a challenge that spoke to him more than the rest…
In Born To Fly, Ryan recounts his remarkable journey from a boy with a dream to becoming, at age 19, the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe solo in a single-engine aircraft.
Drawing on the advice of renowned aviators such as Dick Smith, Jim Hazelton (‘a man who has more hours adjusting his seats in a plane than I do total flying time’) and mentor Ken Evers, Ryan fundraised and planned with great determination, before finally setting on his thrilling 70-day odyssey, landing 34 times in 15 countries and covering more than 24,000 miles.
From his wings icing up over Greenland’s glaciers to a heart-stopping moment in the midst of Indonesian airspace; abuse from an airport official in Greece, to awe at the sight of molten lava entering the Pacific, this real-life adventure story shares with us the dry-mouthed terror and heady exhilaration of flying alone with only one engine.
Born to Fly is a fascinating view of the world from above from an inspiring young Australian.