Michael Smith (aviator)
Michael Smith is an aviator who became the first person to solo navigate the world in a single-engine flying boat. Smith was named Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2016.
Smith took off from Melbourne, Australia in his SeaRey aircraft named Southern Sun in April 2015, intending to retrace the historic 1938 Sydney to London route of the Qantas Empire Flying Boat service. When he reached London, Smith determined to press on and, landing at Longreach, Queensland on 11 November 2015 became the first person to navigate solo around the world in a single-engine flying boat. The 210-day journey required 480 hours flying, 9,700 litres of fuel and stops at 80 cities along the way.
