19-year-old Zara Rutherford sets off to try and become world's youngest woman to fly solo

Rutherford's journey will last roughly three months, with visits to 52 nations ranging from Greenland to China to Nicaragua, where she will stay with local families or in hotels.  

Zara Rutherford, a 19-year-old pilot, took to the skies on Wednesday to embark on a three-month mission to become the world's youngest woman to fly solo.
In her Shark ultralight, the world's fastest microlight aircraft, Rutherford took off from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium. She made her first stop at Popham Airfield in Hampshire at 11:30.

Rutherford's journey will last roughly three months, with visits to 52 nations ranging from Greenland to China to Nicaragua, where she will stay with local families or in hotels. The circumnavigation comprises 70 planned stops with 19 rest days and will end on November 4 in Kortrijk. She'll travel to Wick via Aberdeen before crossing the Atlantic via Iceland, Greenland, and Canada.

Her route will take her down the east coast of the United States to South America, then up the west coast to Alaska, through Russia, East and Central Asia, and back to Europe through the Middle East. The path was chosen to meet the standards of Guinness World Records for an "around-the-world flight."

The British-Belgian pilot hopes that her journey will inspire other girls and women to study and work in STEM fields and stimulate girls' interest in aviation. She told the reporters that she was interested in aviation and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as a child but didn't see many other women or girls doing so. She has always felt it was sad or depressing, and she hopes that she may inspire females to pursue careers in this sector.

She aims to recover the title from Shaesta Wais, who became the youngest woman to fly solo worldwide at the age of 30. Mason Andrews, the youngest male record holder, was 18 years old when he accomplished the trek. Rutherford, who was born to pilot parents, will enter college next year with the goal of becoming an astronaut.