MIAMI -- A 23-year-old pilot became the youngest person and first black pilot to circumnavigate the earth alone when he touched down at Opa-locka Executive Airport on Wednesday morning.

Barrington Irving left Orlando in a single-engine plane on the last leg of his three-month quest. He began his trip in South Florida on March 23.

Irving, who built his plane from more than $300,000 in donated parts, completed two hops Tuesday, flying from Houston to Mobile, Ala., in the morning and then from Mobile to Orlando late in the day.

The plane was created by a company called Columbia, who built the plane from parts Irving received through the donations.

He was optimistic his 27,000-mile, continent-hopping trip aboard the "Inspiration" would live up to the plane's name and motivate young people. By the response from the crowd on hand to watch his arrival, he might have achieved it.

Greeted by his parents and an American Airlines pilot who turned him on to flying, Irving returned after clocking more than 130 hours of flight time on his 97-day journey.

"It was a long flight that really challenged me mentally and physically," Irving said. "God has kept me alive and well."

Irving was born in Jamaica and grew up in Miami, where he turned down college football scholarships to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot.

Irving is an aerospace student at Florida Memorial University. He has private and commercial pilot licenses.

He is also the founder and president of Experience Aviation, a Miami-based organization that encourages minority youths to pursue aviation careers.

From Florida, he flew to Cleveland and New York before continuing into Canada, then flying across the Atlantic to Europe. He crossed the Middle East and Asia, and then flew on to Alaska earlier this month. He stopped in Seattle and Denver before arriving in Houston last week.

Miami-Dade County officials honored Irving by giving him the keys to the county and issuing a proclamation dedicating June 27 as Barrington Irving Day.