Brussels
Home! And no longer alone.
19-year-old Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford set a world record as the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, touching down on her tiny airplane in western Belgium on Thursday – 155 days after she left.
She made it matter to herself, her family, and dedicated it to all the young women trying to succeed in male-dominated fields like aviation, and the exact sciences that drive the industry.
“Take advantage of it. It takes a lot of time, patience, a lot of work, but it is incredible,” she said after an adventure that gave her many adventures to scare – from the frozen tundra in Siberia to typhoons in the Philippines and The stark beauty of the Arabian Desert.
Once, his one-seater Shark Microlight plane was filled with the stench of the California wildfires. Often she was flying in complete solitude over the sea or on desolate land, hours away from any possible rescue. She had to spend weeks in isolation in the small Siberian village of Ayan, with no contact with her family or the world.
Nothing felt as lovely as a Thursday hug with your pilot parents and brother.
Her mother Beatrice said, “We will be the first to celebrate this together as a family.” “I think Zara wants to celebrate by sleeping for about two weeks.”
When she wakes up, she’ll find herself in the Guinness World Records book after setting the mark set by Shaesta Vaz, a 30-year-old American aviator since 2017.
The overall record will remain beyond Ms Rutherford’s grasp, as Briton Travis Ludlow set that benchmark last year as an 18-year-old.
Her global flight was supposed to take three months, but persistent bad weather and visa issues kept her sometimes for weeks, extending her adventure by almost two months.
On Thursday, rain, drizzle, sunshine, and even a rainbow at Kortrijk Airport exemplified the changing, often inclement weather she often faced.
After surviving a four-plane formation in a giant V over much of Belgium, she did a flyby of the airport before finally landing. Greeting the joyful crowd, she wrapped herself in the Union Jack and the tricolor flag of Belgium.
In her trek of over 52,000 kilometers (28,000 nautical miles), she stopped in five continents and visited 41 countries.
Ms Rutherford’s flight saw her away from wildfires in California, sweltering cold on Russia, and narrowly escaping North Korean airspace. She flew by visual flight rules, originally only going on sight, often slowing progress when more sophisticated systems could take her through clouds and fog.
Sometimes she feared for her life, and at other times she yearned for the simple comforts of home. Flying runs in her blood as both her parents are pilots and she has been traveling in small planes since she was 6. At the age of 14, he himself began to fly.
Very soon, the dream of flying around the world grew in his head.
“But I never thought it would be possible. I thought it was too hard, too dangerous, too expensive,” she said.
For part of the money, sponsorship and people’s contributions took care of it. As for the danger and hardship factor, he did it himself.
Time wise it fits perfectly between high school and university.
“I thought, really, this is the perfect opportunity to do something crazy and fly around the world,” she said.
With Final Touchdown, the teenager wants to fill young women and girls around the world with a spirit of aviation – and a zest for study in the exact sciences, math, engineering and technology.
In September she hopes to go to a university in the UK or the United States to study electrical engineering.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.