Teen Pilot Completes Round-the-world Feat
Faizan Hashmi Published January 20, 2022 | 09:22 PM
"It was harder than I imagined," said teenage pilot Zara Rutherford on Thursday after completing a solo, round-the-world flying odyssey with the aim of getting into the record books
Kortrijk, Belgium, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jan, 2022 ) :"It was harder than I imagined," said teenage pilot Zara Rutherford on Thursday after completing a solo, round-the-world flying odyssey with the aim of getting into the record books.
The 19-year-old touched down at an airfield outside the Belgian town of Kortrijk to a crowd of journalists, well-wishers and family, laying claim to being the youngest woman to have circumnavigated the globe alone in a cockpit.
She set off, just over five months ago, on 18 August, 2021.
"It's very strange being back here," she told a media conference, adding that, after an epic journey with stops in nearly 30 countries, she was looking forward to putting her feet up for a while in just one place.
"I'd like to do nothing next week" she laughed.
Rutherford, who has Belgian and British nationality, fielded questions in English, French and Dutch. Both her parents are pilots, and her father flew for Britain's air force.
She explained that Russia's vast, frozen expanse of Siberia was the "scariest" leg of her journey: a place of overwhelming distance between habitations, and where the temperature fell below minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit).
"I'd be going hundreds and hundreds of kilometres without seeing anything human -- I mean no electricity cables, no roads, no people -- and I thought 'if the engine stopped now I'd have a really big problem'," she said.
Navigating the world in a tiny, 325-kilogramme (717-pound) Shark UL single-propellor plane, loaned to her under a sponsorship deal, meant she had to skirt around clouds and could not fly at night.
The restrictions meant many times she had to divert or make hasty landings -- including taking to ground quickly early this month, just a short distance from Dubai, to avoid getting caught in the first thunderstorm that city had seen in two years.
There was also a long three-week stretch for most of November in a Russian eastern coastal town called Ayan where she could not take off because of the weather, relying on kind locals who were "very willing to help with anything I might need".
Recent Stories
Journalists call for global action to end Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
CM for generating opportunities to bring direct int'l investment
Pakistan retains position in FTSE secondary emerging market
High Commissioner of Malaysia hosts Iftar dinner reception
NEPRA announces 2nd quarterly adjustment in power bills with Rs 1.68 cut per uni ..
Hoopo Inc. Collaborates with SAU to Install Solar-Powered RO Plant
04 killed in Spain as Storm Nelson looms
Russian military jet crashes into sea off Crimea: Governor
Rain-windstorm/thunderstorm likely at various parts of country
Implementation of Sindh Agriculture Workers Act-2019 demanded
Pandemic accord talks heading for extra time
Khawaja reiterates PM commitment to judiciary
More Stories From World
-
Bus plunges off S.Africa bridge killing 45: ministry
6 hours ago -
S.Africa's ex-president Zuma barred from May election
6 hours ago -
Tax the rich: slow progress on the international front
6 hours ago -
Bus plunges off S.Africa bridge killing 45: ministry
7 hours ago -
Russia sentences journalist to 2 years in prison, detains others
7 hours ago -
France asks for foreign help for Olympics security: officials
7 hours ago
-
04 killed in Spain as Storm Nelson looms
8 hours ago -
Russian military jet crashes into sea off Crimea: Governor
8 hours ago -
Pandemic accord talks heading for extra time
8 hours ago -
French parliament backs bill against hair discrimination affecting black women
8 hours ago -
Russia says 'evidence' links Ukraine to Moscow attack
8 hours ago -
Russian shelling kills three in Ukraine, officials say
8 hours ago