19-year-old Zara Rutherford attempts to become youngest woman to fly solo around the world

Zara Rutherford, a teen aircraft pilot, arrived in Seoul, South Korea, on December 12, her first Asian stop on her quest to become the world's youngest woman to fly solo around the globe. The 19 year old UK-Belgian national set out on her 32,000 mile voyage on August 18 from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium, which would take her across five continents and 52 nations, including the United States, Greenland, Russia, and Colombia. Zara Rutherford, is a student at St Swithun's school in UK.

Rutherford will remain in a hotel before flying to Taiwan on Monday, and she expects to complete her tour by the middle of January. Aside from breaking records, the youngster hopes that her journey would inspire girls and women to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) studies and careers, as well as pique their interest in aviation.

Rutherford aims to become an astronaut

Rutherford, the daughter of two pilots, will begin university next year with the goal of becoming an astronaut. According to her website, Zara Rutherford, she aims to break three Guinness World Records by travelling around the world alone: the youngest woman to fly solo around the world; the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a microlight, and the first Belgian to circumnavigate the world solo in a single-engine aircraft.

According to her website, if she completes her 32,000 mile (51,000 kilometer) adventure, the young pilot would have visited 52 nations on five continents. Zara recently completed her A-Levels in Mathematics, Economics, and Physics, and she intends to study computer science or computer engineering at university. However, she elected to fly around the world in her 'Shark'. She is flying a Shark Aero, a high-performance, two-seat ultralight aircraft produced in Europe that is expressly designed for a lengthy journey. The plane has a top speed of 186.4 miles per hour and can cruise at that speed. 

Sponsors and airports provide support to the young pilot

Sponsors and airports are covering the costs of the trip, and Shark Aero, a Slovakian company, provided her with the plane, according to the New York Times. According to Guinness Records, Shaesta Waez holds the record for the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, having completed her journey in 2017 at the age of 30.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP