BRUSSELS, KOMPAS.com – Zara Rutherford, a woman of British and Belgian blood, broke the record for becoming the youngest woman in the world to fly solo around the world.
This 19-year-old woman has just landed in western Belgium in her small plane, after 155 days in the air.
Previously, the record recorded in the Guinness World Records was broken by Shaesta Waiz, a female pilot from the United States, in 2017 and at that time she was 30 years old.
Also read: Only 19 years old, this girl becomes the youngest pilot around the world
Zara had planned to fly around the world for three months, but bad weather in some areas and visa problems prevented her from flying and had to wait. This caused his adventure time to increase by two months from the previous plan.
Before Christmas he also visited Jakarta and at that time he told how difficult it was to fly over northern Russia.
“Europe’s winter is full of challenges,” he said, forcing his flight to be delayed several days.
The total distance of his route is more than 52,000 kilometers and he stops in 41 countries on five continents.
“There were a lot of great moments, but there were also moments that scared me,” Zara said.
He said flying over New York and an active mountain in Iceland is his favorite when flying a light aircraft type “Shark ultralight”.
Also read: The Story of Zara Rutherford: 19-Year-Old Pilot, Conquer Space for a World Record
Its flight follows the ‘Visual Flight Rules’, meaning it relies solely on its own vision and sometimes has to slow down, unlike more sophisticated systems that can pass through clouds and fog.
Zara hopes that she can instill a passion for flying in women and girls around the world, and encourage them to study the exact sciences, science, mathematics, engineering and technology.
“Really crazy the hell, I can’t digest it yet,” he said about what he had achieved.
“I have tears in my eyes as I imagine what it’s like to be back home after five months away. Even this flight isn’t easy, so I feel good.”
This article was produced by Erwin Renaldi of report in English.
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