This Teen Pilot Is The Youngest Woman To Fly Around The World & The Videos Are So Wholesome
At just 19 she's already smashed two Guinness World Records! ✈️
Not many people can say they've broken world records and flown a plane around the globe before even hitting their 20's, but this teenager can.
Zara Rutherford, a 19-year-old who holds dual British-Belgian citizenship, just broke records after becoming the youngest woman to complete a solo trip flying her plane around the world.
Rutherford began her journey in Belgium in August 2021 and smashed world records when she completed her journey on January 20, reported CNN.
Her journey has officially made her the world's youngest woman to fly solo around the world, beating the last holder of the title by 11 years.
The previous woman to hold the record was Shaesta Waiz, and she was 30 when she broke the record.
"I’m home!" Rutherford announced on her Instagram, celebrating her huge win.
"I was born into a family of aviators and was lucky to have great role models in my parents and grandparents.," Rutherford said on her website.
"I want to build on this heritage and inspire others. My aim is to encourage girls and young women to pursue their dreams and promote aviation and STEM-related careers for them. Only 5% of commercial pilots and 15% of computer scientists are women. In both areas – aviation and STEM – the gender gap is huge."
Her epic journey took her to 41 countries, including the U.K., Greenland, Canada, Colombia, Russia, India and even parts of the Middle East.
Her only companion was her plane, a Shark, which was built to facilitate long journeys and reach high speeds up to 300 km/h.
The most challenging part of her journey was "flying over Siberia -- it was extremely cold. It was minus 35 degrees Celsius on the ground," said Rutherford.
During her ambitious endeavours, Rutherford also supported two charities, Girls Who Code and Dream Soar, both having to do with encouraging women to pursue careers in STEM.
"Girls are often encouraged to be beautiful, kind, helpful and sweet. With my flight, I want to show young women that they can be bold, ambitious and make their dreams come true," said Rutherford.
Rutherford has a bright future ahead of her and hopes to study computer science and engineering at university and eventually wants to become an astronaut.