MONROE, LA (KTVE/KARD)– A Louisiana Tech student is still soaring high in the history books.
2 years ago, he was the youngest person to fly around the world solo, now he’s taking on a new journey.
“That was awesome. I’ve been waiting for that for a long time now,” said Mason Andrews, Bush Pilot.
That was in 2018, right after Mason Andrews landed in Monroe after becoming the youngest person to fly around the world solo. Now, almost two years later, he’s flying a Piper PA-32 to Kodiak Alaska where he’s a bush pilot. He flies passengers, hunters, and cargo to outlying villages.
“It’s pretty essential to what these people have to deal with while leaving in Kodiak. It’s remote and air travel is the only way they can get to and from their homes,” said Andrews.
Andrews is now 20 years old and the youngest pilot at his company. Though being the youngest is nothing new to him, he says flying in Alaska is different than flying in Louisiana or even the countries he flew through in 2018.
“I think that’s what I like about it, there are always new challenges. I think that’s where we have the most growth of a pilot,” said Andrews.
Though sandstorms won’t be a problem for Mason in Alaska, he says the challenges he faced on his 74-day mission helped prepare him for his future.
“Every day was just something completely different and unexpected. It usually wasn’t the challenge I was expecting going into the day. I would be worried about one thing and then it was something totally different that snuck up on me by the end of the flight,” said Andrews.
As for Mason’s world record, it hasn’t been broken. However, that time could happen soon.
“There is a couple of people trying to break the record now. I am helping out one of them and the other one hasn’t really reached out to me. But I anticipate one of them will get the record next summer and that’s cool. As long as they get it done safely that’s all I’m worried about,” said Andrews.
While he believes his world record will be broken in the next year, he’s excited to see young pilots chasing their dreams.