Status: 08/24/2022 5:43 p.m
He became the youngest pilot to break the record – 17-year-old Mack Rutherford circumnavigated the world in five months in his microlight. Now he has landed back in Bulgaria, where his journey began.
A British-Belgian teenager has set an age record for a solo circumnavigation of the world in a microlight. 17-year-old Mack Rutherford landed in Bulgaria, where his flight began five months ago. He became the youngest pilot to do so in the history of aviation.
With his landing west of the capital Sofia, Rutherford can claim two Guinness World Records: he became both the youngest person to fly around the world solo and the youngest person to do so in a microlight.
17-year-old Rutherford set the record: in five months he became the youngest pilot to fly around the world.
Image: dpa
Only his little plush bear was there
On his record-breaking journey, which began on March 23, the 17-year-old flew through 52 countries on five continents. To meet the requirements of the Guinness Book of World Records, he flew over the equator twice. He has traveled more than 54,000 kilometers in his plane – only accompanied by a small teddy bear.
The previous record-holder as the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the world in an ultralight was Rutherford’s older sister, Zara, who completed her voyage in January aged 19. The youngest pilot to circumnavigate the world alone was Brit Travis Ludlow, who flew around the world in 2021 at the age of 18.
Father Sam is very proud of his children
Rutherford was born into a family of aviators. When he qualified for his pilot’s license in 2020, at the age of 15, it made him the youngest pilot in the world at the time. Like his sister before him, Rutherford relied on a Shark microlight, one of the fastest microlights in the world, capable of a cruising speed of 300 kilometers per hour. For the long flight, an extra tank was installed on the second seat of the plane, which was actually designed as a two-seater.
Rutherford’s father Sam expressed pride in his children Mack and Zara. “They made it around the world safely, effectively, professionally. And they showed other young people that you don’t even have to be 18, let alone 30, to make a difference and do something and your dreams to follow,” Sam Rutherford told the AP.