But the teen thinks big, and his little plane is about to clock up some serious air miles.

Merimbula's Ryan Campbell flew out of Albion Park early yesterday, bound for Norfolk Island, the first of 28 destinations in his record-breaking Teen World Flight circumnavigation.

The journey is expected to take about 2½ months, covering 14 countries on five continents and more than 24,000 nautical miles.

Ryan hopes to return to Wollongong in September as the youngest person to have flown solo around the world.

"My goal today was to get to Wollongong," he said.

"I'll just continue doing that until it's time to come back to Wollongong.

"One leg at a time."

On the eve of his departure he was visited at Illawarra Regional Airport by mentor Dick Smith, who handed him a piece of Southern Cross fabric from Charles Kingsford Smith as a good luck charm.

"I'm sure he's going to come back with it," Mr Smith told viewers of the Teen World Flight YouTube channel.

"He's going on a highly risky endeavour ... responsible risk-taking. I like it.

"He's going to encourage other people all around the world, especially young people, to get out there and have a go."

Ryan's lucky charms also include the log book of his pilot grandfather, David Campbell.

The longest leg of his scheduled flight is the 14-hour stretch between Hilo, Hawaii, and Van Nuys, California.

Ryan, who became a pilot on his 15th birthday, planned his eastbound trip after consulting experienced pilots, and modified the route many times to take into account factors including political upheaval and logistics relating to fuel supply and airport traffic.

"Weather and fuel management are the things I'll really have to focus on to make the trip a success," he said.

Ryan spent two years raising $250,000, which includes the cost of hiring his four-seat Cirrus SR22, with the back seats taken out, a survival raft and an immersion survival suit.