NFK Editors-October 14,2021-Zara Rutherford is flying around the world by herself in a small plane. When she finishes her trip, which will take over two months, she'll become the youngest woman to fly all the way around the globe by herself. She's just 19 years old. Ms. Rutherford began her trip in Belgium on August 18. This trip is something she has dreamed about for a long time.
Ms. Rutherford has been learning to fly planes since she was 14 years old. Ms. Rutherford's parents are both pilots, and they helped her practice. She got her pilot's license in 2020 and has hundreds of hours of flying practice. She's making this trip in a small two-seater plane called a microlight. One of the seats has been replaced with an extra gas tank, which will allow Ms. Rutherford to cover longer distances. The plane has had several other updates for safety, including a second radio, and satellite communications.
To follow her route, Ms. Rutherford needs to be able to see, since her plane can't be guided using its instruments alone. That means she can't fly at night or in bad weather. Ms. Rutherford is now in Nome, Alaska-the halfway point of her trip. While she's had some delays and is a little behind schedule, she is upbeat. "As long as I'm home before Christmas, I'm content," she says.
Ms. Rutherford plans to stay a night or two in each place to visit with schools and youth groups. She hopes to inspire young girls to explore areas like aviation(flying),science, mathematics, and engineering. As her father points out, currently, only about 5% of pilots are women.
