Seven weeks and 24 stops
The flight took seven weeks, from 4 July to 27 August 2016. Guinness World Records lists 24 stops across 15 countries and a total distance of about 45,000 kilometres, ending back at Sunshine Coast Airport in Queensland, where hundreds of supporters turned out for the return.
The aircraft was a Cirrus SR22, a single-engine four-seat piston aircraft. A solo circumnavigation in one means long overwater legs, fuel and customs planning at every stop, and no second pilot to take a shift. Guinness records that the trip required two years of planning before departure.
The record he took, and lost
The previous holder was Matt Guthmiller of the United States, who had flown the route in 2014 at 19 years, seven months and 15 days. Smart's 18 years and 234 days cut roughly a year off that mark.
Records in this category are contested and short-lived: the youngest-solo-circumnavigation title has changed hands repeatedly as teenage pilots with sponsorship and a capable aircraft have attempted it. Smart's own mark was later beaten, in 2018, by the American pilot Mason Andrews.
What he said it was for
Smart framed the flight as an argument rather than a stunt. "My mission is to inspire youth to dream big and to follow their dreams," he said before departure, "giving confidence to others so they can achieve their full potential and do what they may otherwise only dare to dream about."
Afterwards his summary was blunter. "Age is just a number, and really, if we want to achieve something, it shouldn't be a barrier to success," he told Guinness, adding that "it does not take an extraordinary person to complete an extraordinary achievement."
The detour to London
One leg was not strictly operational. Guinness records that the route included a stop in London for family and sightseeing, folded into a schedule otherwise dictated by fuel range, weather windows and airport permissions.
The detail is a useful corrective to the way records are usually told. A 45,000-kilometre solo flight at 18 is an engineering and planning problem, but it was also, for a week or two, a teenager's trip abroad.
What is documented — and what is not
The Guinness feature, published on 5 September 2017, is the source for the age, dates, distance, stops, aircraft, previous record holder, planning period and quotes. It does not give a full date of birth, so the birth year here is derived from the certified age.
It also says nothing about money, which for a flight of this scale is the missing chapter: no sponsor, budget or fundraising detail appears in the source used here. Nor does it follow him afterwards — no commercial flying career, no further records, no subsequent work is documented on this page. Those are gaps in the available record rather than statements about what he did.
Watch: Lachlan Smart on camera
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caitlin O'Reilly | New Zealand | Youngest person to swim the Oceans Seven | Age 13 |
| Jonathan Strickland | United States | Youngest to solo a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter on the same day | Age 14 |
| Braeden Benedict | United States | A cheap sensor that tells a coach when a hit was hard enough to matter, bu | Age 14 |
| Byron Waller | Australia | Flying about 45,000 km around the world from Brisbane at 15 and 16… | Age 15 |
| Lachlan Smart | Australia | Youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo by aircraft | Age 17 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Youngest solo circumnavigation by aircraft at 18 years 234 days, completed 27 August 2016 (Guinness World Records)
- Cirrus SR22; 45,000 km; 24 stops in 15 countries; departed 4 July 2016 from Sunshine Coast Airport
- Broke Matt Guthmiller's 2014 record; two years of planning beforehand
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No full date of birth published; the birth year is derived from the certified age
- No funding, sponsorship or cost detail in the source used here
- No reporting located on his career after the flight
Questions people ask about Lachlan Smart
How old was Lachlan Smart when he flew around the world?
18 years and 234 days at completion on 27 August 2016. No full date of birth is published in the source used here.
What aircraft did he fly?
A Cirrus SR22, a single-engine piston aircraft, flown solo for the whole route.
How far did he fly?
About 45,000 kilometres, with 24 stops in 15 countries over seven weeks.
Whose record did he break?
Matt Guthmiller of the United States, who had set the mark in 2014 at 19 years, seven months and 15 days.
Does Lachlan Smart still hold the record?
No. Mason Andrews of the United States took the youngest solo circumnavigation record in 2018.
How long did it take to plan?
Two years, according to Guinness World Records.
Where is Lachlan Smart now?
No source used here reports on his flying or career after the record. That is a gap in the material, not a statement about him.
Who paid for the flight?
No funding, sponsorship or budget detail appears in the source used here.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Lachlan’s story?
How old was Lachlan Smart when he completed his solo circumnavigation?
What aircraft did he use?
How many countries did he stop in?
Sources
- Aussie teen flies into record books for solo circumnavigation by aircraft — Guinness World Records, 2017-09-05
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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