Zara Rutherford just completed a solo around the world flight making this a world record for the 19 year old.
She began flying at 14. The British-Belgian girl’s parents are both pilots.
Rutherford dreams of ultimately becoming an astronaut
Zara Rutherford solo flight around the world came with quite a number of challenges, including negotiating California wildfires, bitter temperatures over Russia, and avoiding hostile airspace.
The following written content from Sky
A British-Belgian teenager has become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.
Zara Rutherford, 19, landed her aircraft in Belgium – 155 days after departing on the 31,700-mile (51,000km) five-month journey.
There were cheers and applause as she landed at Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport.
Draped in UK and Belgian flags, she told reporters: “It’s just really crazy, I haven’t quite processed it.”
Her flight in a Shark microlight plane was supposed to take three months, but bad weather and visa issues kept her grounded, sometimes for weeks on end, extending her adventure by about two months.
Rutherford covered 41 nations and five continents after leaving on 18 August.
She had to steer clear of Californian wildfires, deal with bitter temperatures over Russia, and narrowly avoided North Korean airspace. Read more from Sky
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