James Ketchell, a British adventurer, became the first human being to fly around the world in an open gyrocopter in a solo expedition. The Britisher started his journey in the open aircraft from the Popham Airspace in Hampshire on March 31. Gyrocopters are similar to gliders and are thought to be the ancestors of the modern-day helicopter. The aircraft that James used had a speed of 70 knots along with a range of 700 nautical miles.

Around the world in 175 days

The adventurer completed his solo journey on September 22 that extended to a total of 175 days and 44,448 kilometers. The 37-year-old added that it was an overwhelming feeling that he had achieved such a feat on his own. He further added that there were many beautiful sights that he came across and the best one for him was to touchdown at the Popham airport.

He stated that one of the best parts about his journey was that the people he came across, helped him irrespective of the language they spoke or the country they belonged to. Ketchell's around the world journey took him across places such as the Atlantic Ocean, Russia, Europe, and Canada from where he went towards Iceland and Greenland right before his final stop on the Danish Faroe Islands. Ketchell told people that he faced some difficulty in Canada where he was almost hit by lightning because of which he had to try and do an emergency landing on a road.

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Ketchell was happy that is was raining when he landed in Hampshire as that was an indication about the challenges he faced during his journey. He said that it tells people that it is an easy thing to fly around the world. He further added that people now had a better understanding of what his final goal was.

James also a UK scouting ambassador made it a point to speak at one school each in every country that he visited to try and motivate young people. He particularly talked about his visit to a school in Siberia wherein he described the look on the student's faces that had big eyes looking at him with their mouths open while the things he was talking about were getting translated gave him a wonderful and an overwhelming feeling. He also talked about his early life that described him living his teenage life filled with depression and lack of self-confidence and how a big vehicular accident led him to change his life for his own betterment.

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'Live a free life'

James said that with the craze of social media these days, a lot of people stop themselves to do what they desire as they are scared about what people would say and the repercussions it held for their reputation and in response to this, he said that no one should be concerned about what other people say and should live life the way they want to. James Ketchell is also involved in social service as he is raising funds for a few charities.

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