Born to Fly

by Ryan Campbell

When Ryan Campbell was six he fell in love with aeroplanes. It was a passion that was to dominate his childhood and it was no surprise when at 15 Ryan became the youngest pilot in Australia. Inspired by his father and grandfather who were also aviators, Ryan sought a challenge and, like adventurers before him, he found one that spoke to him more than the rest. He wanted to fly around the world, solo, in a single-engine aircraft.

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 world solo in a single-engine aircraft, and shares with us the joy of flight.

Showing maturity, determination and courage beyond his years, Ryan fundraised $250,000 from scratch and drew on the advice of renowned aviators such as Jim Hazelton ('a man who has more hours adjusting his seat in a plane than I do total flying time') and Dick Smith before setting out on his thrilling 70-day odyssey. In Born to Fly, Ryan captures all the dry-mouthed excitement of flying alone above the earth with only one engine and recounts his adventures from staying calm with iced over wings, landing in a country where you are not welcome and dealing with international media when still a teenager.

Ryan landed 31 times in 15 countries and covered more than 24,000 nautical miles, while trying to avoid that 'alternative aerodrome', the ocean.

Born to Fly is a fascinating view of the world from above, shown to us by a dryly funny and highly charismatic man who has already done more in his short life than most of us do in a lifetime.

'The most extraordinary aviation adventure of the decade. A great story in the spirit of Charles Kingsford-Smith and Bert Hinkler.’ - Dick Smith

Paperback

First published August 1, 2014

Reviews

[Anna Ciddor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened on audio. Good reader sounds like I imagine the character. Very well written autobiography by young pilot who did everything right to fly round the world. Interesting to hear all the behind-the-scenes planning and the team that put it together.

[Ishaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books!! Was so inspired, being a private pilot myself.

[Daniel Lazarus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting story and written well from start to finish.

[Amy Nicoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

One moment that really disappointed me in the book was on the fifth day of flight, when he touched down on the runway of Bankstown Airstrip, he was told by the tower: ‘Do not touch down on the runway as we do not know you. Leave, or else we will send the army to track you down’.
During his flight alone up above the earth, he survived with a single engine, struggling with landing delays and staying calm with iced over wings. Then, days later, you have to land in a country where you are not welcome and dealing with the international media when still a teenager. Once I reached the end of the book, I realised how much this journey has affected his mental health when it comes to interviews and speaking in public.
Ryan landed 31 times in 15 countries and covered more than 24,000 nautical miles, while trying to avoid the 'alternative aerodrome', the ocean.
Before the flight, Ryan had completed hours of study and map navigation planning, which had to change due to closure of airports because of hurricanes and strong crosswinds. The effect of flying alone around the world as a teenager is dealing with fame for your entire life and social media representatives taking leadership over your experience.

[Jeff Nikkel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was gifted to me by someone who saw Ryan Cambell speak at a convention. Having no personal connection to the author or any interest in aviation I found it to be a jumbled mess of facts, difficult to read and lacking any real drama. I had to force myself to finish it.

[Khalid Bouissaghouane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an interesting story, but I found it hard to read at times—it often felt more like a summary of facts than a flowing narrative. I still think it is worth to read the book as it has some interesting life lessons.

[Brieanna Wilkoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in anticipation of Ryan being the keynote speaker at a work event, which made his speech so much richer. The timing of reading this book, for me personally, was fantastic because I was a couple months away from launching my first book. Even though flying and writing are very different things, I could absolutely relate to all the preparation that goes into achieving something big, to the joy of a dream you've harbored for years coming true, and to the gratitude for the love and support of the people around you. This was an emotional, moving, inspiring story, and I recommend it for anyone with a dream in their heart.