Boy, 10, Who Set Flying Mark, Begins His Return Flight

Christopher Lee Marshall, the 10-year-old boy who entered the record books last month as the youngest aviator to fly across the country, began his flight home to California on Monday, hoping to become the youngest person to fly coast-to-coast and back.

Marshall and his flight instructor flew in a single-engine Piper Warrior from Oceano, Calif., to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to set the first record. They spent a week sailing and fishing in the British Virgin Islands and returned to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.

On Monday, they began the return trip, landing late Monday in Orlando so Marshall could visit Walt Disney World and the Epcot Center.

The 4-foot-11-inch elementary school student plans to be home in Oceano by Aug. 16, said his mother, Gail Marshall. “I’m glad he’s heading home. I really miss him,” she said. “I was more worried about him falling into the water than I was about him flying.”

Marshall’s record broke the one held by 11-year-old John Hill of Arlington, Tex., who made a similar flight less than a month earlier.