ZARA RUTHERFORD FLYING SOLO AT 19

ZARA RUTHERFORD FLYING SOLO AT 19

✦ Zara Rutherford encourages girls and young women to chase their dreams

This extraordinary young woman is flying solo, around the world. And she’s only 19 years old.

➸ Zara at 19, all set to fly! Photo Credit: Fly Zolo

Zara started her journey on 18th August 2021 from Belgium heading west. She will be covering 52 countries across five continents. She will be passing through the UK, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, USA, Latin America to Colombia. She will then head back north via Alaska, to Russia, China, Indonesia, India, Middle East and back to Belgium. The journey is expected to end in early November when she’ll return to Belgium.

Two things drive Zara’s passion - aviation and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). By making this solo journey around the world, Zara hopes to encourage other girls and young women to chase their dreams, whether it is to start flying, enter STEM-related careers or anything that they are capable of imagining.

For someone to take on this round-the-world challenge, you’ll have to really love flying. And for Zara, flying is as natural to her as walking or running. Her parents are experienced pilots, so Zara grew up learning about flying and planes and it really wasn’t surprising that once she was of age she got on a flight training program and got her qualifications last year.

When Zara finishes her journey around the world, she will become the youngest woman to have ever achieved the feat.

The aircraft Zara is flying in is a Shark Aero. It is a high-performance ultralight aircraft manufactured in Europe. This aircraft is incredibly fast, reaching cruising speeds of 300 km/h. It has been specially prepared for a long journey such as the one

➹ Zara Rutherford talks about being the youngest women flying solo around the world at the age of 19!

Zara has embarked on. It was designed and constructed as a fast cross-country airplane.

When Zara returns from her journey, her next dream is to become an astronaut. We wonder which planets she will be visiting then. Amazing role models like Zara make you believe that anything is possible. Thanks to Zara, many more girls and young women will be dreaming of an amazing future, and making it happen.