Zara Rutherford
At age 19, she became the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world and the first person to complete a circumnavigation in a microlight aircraft after a five-month journey which began in Kortrijk, Belgium, on 18 August 2021, and ended on 20 January 2022.
[4] She grew up with and around planes as her father Sam Rutherford, organised adventurous flying rallies and expeditions such as the Crete2Cape VintageAirRally,[5] a crossing of the whole of Africa with vintage biplanes.
[6] Zara and her brother Mack, also a world-record holding pilot, come from a long line of aviators going back five generations.
On 26 July 2021, at a press conference at Popham Airfield near Winchester, Rutherford announced her bid to become the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world, at the age of 19.
[10][12] Rutherford began her solo attempt from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in Belgium on 18 August 2021 aboard a Shark UL aircraft,[9][10] which was loaned to her by the Slovakian manufacturer Shark.Aero.
[19] From Anadyr, she flew to Magadan on the following day, and on 9 November, she stopped at Ayan—a town with only 800 people, none of whom spoke English, and which had no Wi-Fi service—where she was stuck again due to a winter storm.
[28] She intended to make a second stop in Dumaguete but had to fly the following day to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, so as to avoid the approaching Typhoon Rai.
On 23 March 2022, Zara's younger brother, Mack Rutherford at the age of 16, began his own round-the-world trip in an ultralight aircraft.
On 12 September 2022, the Honourable Company of Air Pilots announced that, jointly with her brother Mack Rutherford, she had been awarded the Master's Medal "in recognition of her amazing feat of flying and endurance".
Previous recipients, include Sir Richard Branson, Bertrand Piccard, Polly Vacher, Andre Borschberg, Tim Peak and James Ketchall amongst many others.
[6][39] She started her undergraduate studies at Stanford University in September 2022.:[40] "She hasn't declared a major yet, but is interested in computer science, engineering, and aeronautics and astronautics.
