Colombo, Dec 29 (newsin.asia) – The 19-year-old Belgian-British pilot Zara is on her journey to break the Guinness World Records.
The teen pilot Zara Rutherford landed at the Colombo International Airport, Ratmalana (CIAR) yesterday in her bid to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates from around the world
She hopes to complete her 51,000-kilometre trip across five continents and 52 countries by mid-January 2022.
The Colombo International Airport, Ratmalana (CIAR) is the 56th stop in her bid to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.
Aside from entering the record book, the teenager has expressed hope that her voyage will encourage girls and women to study and work in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and spark girls’ interest in aviation.
From Colombo, she is set to travel to Coimbatore. Some of her onward destinations are Mumbai, Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo, Prague, Paris and Frankfurt.
Zara’s Route
On 18th of August she set off from Belgium, heading west. Her route includes the UK, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, USA, Latin America to Colombia, then back north via Alaska, to Russia, Korea, Indonesia, India, the Middle East, Europe and back to Belgium.
Zara’s Aircraft
She will be flying a Shark. It is a high-performance ultralight aircraft manufactured in Europe. It is incredibly fast with cruising speed reaching 300 km/h. The aircraft has been specially prepared for such a long journey.
Zara’s Guinness World Record Attempt:
- Youngest woman to fly solo around the world : The current record-holder, Shaesta Waez, was 30 when she completed in 2017 her “Dreams Soar” around-the-world flight in a single-engine aircraft. If Zara succeeds her circumnavigation, she will not only break the record, but she will also reduce the gender gap by 12 years – as the current youngest male record holder, Travis Ludlow, was 18 when he completed his solo flight in July 2021.
- First woman to circumnavigate the world in a microlight
- First Belgian to circumnavigate the world solo in a single engine aircraft
For similar articles, join our Telegram channel for the latest updates. – click here