She wishes to become a source of inspiration. Zara Rutherford, a 19-year-old pilot, took off from Belgium on Wednesday in her ultralight two-seater plane, for the first leg of a world tour through 52 countries and five continents. “I really hope to encourage girls and young women to get into aviation, science, technology, engineering and math,” she said.
“Growing up I didn’t see a lot of women in these fields and it was pretty disheartening. So I hope to be able to change that, ”she insists. His aerial odyssey can be followed on Rutherford’s website, FlyZolo.com, as well as on the TikTok platform.
Alone at the controls
His itinerary began with a brief crossing of the English Channel, from his hometown of Kortrijk, in western Belgium, to the English coast. She then plans to go on stages through oceans, deserts, forests, and the vast wilderness of Siberia.
On board her tiny propeller plane, a 325 kg Shark ULM, she intends to avoid the main busy airport hubs, with the exception of JFK in New York. Instead, it plans to land on small airports and airfields to rest at night and refuel.
It has obtained authorization to fly over Greenland, Honduras, Saudi Arabia and Burma, and will be alone at the helm for all flights, which will last five to six hours each time. Zara Rutherford isn’t the youngest pilot to take a solo round-the-world flight: 18-year-old Briton Travis Ludlow did so in July. But she intends to be the youngest woman to accomplish this feat.
“I am extremely proud,” says her mother
“I didn’t sleep very well, I’m quite nervous but I’m really excited. For now, I still have trouble believing it, I will start to realize by landing in the United Kingdom, ”she told AFP.
At Kortrijk-Wevelgem airport, his family, friends, the mayor of the city and some journalists had gathered to witness the start of his adventure. A poignant moment for his Belgian mother, Béatrice De Smet: “Obviously, I have a lot of mixed emotions. I am a mom and my heart hurts when I see her leave like that, ”she slips. At the same time, “I am extremely proud of the flight she will undertake”, she underlines.
If all goes as planned, Zara Rutherford will be back in Belgium on November 4, with another horizon: she wants to start engineering studies and, perhaps, one day become an astronaut.