When teen pilot Ryan Campbell touched down at Illawarra Regional Airport this morning, his first task, after greeting hundreds of well-wishers, was to head to the polling booths.
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The 19-year-old could be forgiven for not casting his vote earlier - he has been a little busy breaking world records.
The Merimbula teen returned to the region today, 10 weeks after leaving the Albion Park airport, as the youngest person and first teenager to fly a single engine aircraft around the world.
He was met by hundreds of residents, bearing Australian flags and cheering for him, and an aerobatics display by the world-renowned Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes.
The teenager told the crowd the experience was simply ‘‘surreal.’’
‘‘It’s hard to get it into my head what I’ve actually done,’’ he said.
‘‘There has been so many challenges but it’s wonderful to come home to such a positive response.’’
Ryan has travelled through 15 countries on his 70-day Teen World Flight Adventure.
For more information and photos, check out Monday’s Mercury.
