Eighteen-year-old La. Tech student Mason Andrews is on his way to becoming the youngest pilot to ever circumnavigate the globe. The young man left Monroe airport on Sunday for the trip which should take 30 to 40 days. Aviation Department Head Jordan Lyons says it’ll be a taxing trip that will push Andrews’ physical tolerance.

“Over such large bodies of water, specifically a lot of those legs over the Pacific, I think he’s going to be experiencing a bunch of fatigue.”

Andrews is taking a path with over 14 stops that will lead him over the Atlantic to Paris, then down through the South Pacific, and up to Alaska until he pilots his way back home.

And this isn’t any old road trip, as Andrews won’t be able to sit back and just put his propeller plane on cruise control. Lyons says he’ll have to be alert at all times throughout the trip.

“He’s going to flying hands-on for the majority of it. He has an old-school aircraft. I know that it has at least some form of automation on board but it’s not going to be used as the primary means of flying the aircraft.”

Lyons says every possible preparation has been made, from patience checks to flight simulators. If the worst does happen and Andrews has to bail, Lyons says the teen has been trained on how to handle it.

“One of our alumni from Tech Aviation who works with the F.B.I. actually helped out by sending Mason to water survival school.”

Andrews is flying to raise awareness of Louisiana MedCamps.

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