Why is September 2021 historical for women pilots?

Meet 19-year-old-pilot Zara Rutherford. She is trying to become the youngest woman to fly around the world, solo! Yes, pretty young Zara is up in the plane right now, flying all alone, navigating a trip around the globe, updating details on her Instagram profile. Let’s get to know a bit more about how all this came to happen.  

Who is Zara Rutherford?  
On the surface, this Belgian-British teenager looks like any other kid posing on Instagram. But as the daughter of two pilots, Zara Rutherford was born to fly. She had been exposed to aircrafts since childhood and has been flying for several years already, though she got a pilot license only when she turned 18 a year ago. What caught her eye was another world record this July by an 18 year old boy who flew around the globe solo. Zara looked up women’s aviation history and realised the solo globe tour record is held by Shaesta Waiz, the first female certified civilian pilot born in Afghanistan. But Shaesta was 30 years old at the time of the trip. Zara was now determined to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records. She wants her records to be an inspiration for other young girls who want to be pilots.  

How is Zara planning her flight?  
Zara is flying a tiny two-seater aircraft. She flies at a stretch for about 5 hours daily. That is exhausting, complicated when you are alone in the clouds, and tough on her insides. She eats light and drinks less, but Zara had to make an emergency landing while flying over Canada since she had to visit the bathroom. Zara has planned her trip carefully. Her route began in her home nation, Belgium. Zara took off on August 11 from Brussels, and has since made stops in the United Kingdom, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and New York. She would soon be flying to North Carolina to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk. The Wright Brothers American pioneers of aviation and she is keen to see their plane. Best of luck, Zara!