Teenage pilot with Crohn's flying round the world

Byron Waller at the Top Farm Airfield. He is standing in front of his small white and blue plane white mechanics work on it in the background. He has short blonde hair and is smiling. He is wearing a light shirt with sunglasses hanging on the collar and a plane logo which reads 'Teen Pilot Down Under'Image source, Tom Jackson/BBC
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Byron is completing his school work while in the skies

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A 15-year-old pilot living with Crohn's disease is flying around the world to raise awareness of chronic illness - and to encourage young people to "achieve their dreams".

Byron Waller, from Queensland, Australia, was often in hospital before he was diagnosed in 2024 with the long-term condition, external in which part of the gut becomes inflamed.

Once well enough, he took flying lessons and, aged 14, soared around Australia, to raise money for the hospital where he had stayed.

Byron, who landed at Top Farm Airfield at Croydon in Cambridgeshire during his circumnavigation, said he wanted people to "put [their dreams] into action and do it".

Byron Waller in the back of an ambulance with tear stained red cheeks. He is wearing a brown top and has a blood pressure machine wrapped around his arm and other black wires around his body. Image source, Teen Pilot Down Under
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Byron has raised money for Queensland Children's Hospital

Byron, also known as Teen Pilot Down Under, landed in Cambridgeshire for a scheduled servicing of the VH-ZMD aircraft.

His next stop was the Ayr Show Festival of Flight in South Ayrshire, Scotland, where he hoped to inspire young people to dream big and work towards their goals.

"I'm flying around the world to raise awareness for people who are facing challenges, stuck in hospital, or wanting some motivation to achieve their dreams no matter how big or small they are," he said.

Byron is inside the plane as it flies through the sky. He is taking a selfie while wearing headphones with a microphone attached. He is wearing a white shirt with a logo of a plane and the words 'Teen Pilot Down Under'. Behind him is a window looking out to the blue skies and clouds below him.Image source, Teen Pilot Down Under
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Byron's 2025 flight around the world route crosses Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America and the Pacific

There is no cure for Crohn's disease, but there are treatments to help manage the symptoms.

Byron said it presented "challenges" and he had had to be proactive with his health while learning to fly and going to school.

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