Louisiana Tech student takes off trying to be the youngest to fly around the world

A Louisiana Tech student taking flight, trying to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world.

17-year old Mason Andrews has been preparing for months and now the day is finally here.

KNOE caught up with him before take off, and he tells us why this is a day he's been waiting his whole life for.

For Mason Andrews, the day has finally come.

"Just getting ready to depart on my circumnavigation of the world," said Mason.

For 40 days, the 17-year old will be flying across the globe, trying to break a Guinness World Record by being the youngest person to do so.

"My landing in Paris is something I'm really excited about,” Mason said. “When I land there, I'll be the youngest pilot to have flown from America to Europe."

His dad Jeb says the farthest mason has ever flown was to the grand canyon. So now, this 40-day trip will literally take him to new heights.

"We said no the first two or three times and he came asked and he laid out a plan and broke it all down and finally I said yes,” Jeb said.

And since that day, it's been constant planning and packing.

"He can text from worldwide. He's got a Satcom phone in the plane and he has another satellite telephone."

"Just about all the things you bring with you on a camping trip for 40 days plus a few hundred gallons of fuel and a lot of camera gear."

But breaking a world record isn't Mason's only goal. He's also raising money and awareness for Medcamps of Louisiana.

"Grateful that he's choosing to bring us along with him as he goes,” said Medcamps executive director Caleb Seney. “Mason has been an excellent counselor at Medcamps. He's impacted a lot of children that he's been a camp counselor for."

Though the plane had some technical complications ahead of the flight mason says he's ready to take on the world.

"Flying from all the way around the world and back to Monroe, Louisiana it's going to be an interesting experience," Mason said.

Lachlan Smart from Australia currently holds the Guinness World record for the youngest person to fly solo around the world. He did it in 2016 when he was 18 years old.

If you would like to donate to Mason's mission, go to gofundme.com/masons-medcamps-mission.