Teen aims to follow sister’s record with solo world flight

British-Belgian 16-year-old Mack Rutherford is trying to develop into the youngest male to fly solo around the globe.
EPA/NEIL HALL

LONDON — British-Belgian teenager Mack Rutherford is hoping to develop into the youngest male, at 16, to fly around the globe solo in a lightweight plane, simply months after his sister turned the youngest girl to take action.

Rutherford stated on Tuesday he felt “fairly assured” he was prepared for the problem as he posed for footage in entrance of his Shark ultralight aircraft at Biggin Hill Airfield in London.

“It’s actually thrilling to assume that basically quickly I’m going to do one thing unbelievable,” he advised Reuters, including he was trying ahead to seeing, amongst many different locations, the Sahara Desert, the Congolese jungle and New York.

The teenager, who's at present at college in England, is because of take off from the Bulgarian capital Sofia on March 17 and expects to be gone for 2 to 3 months.

Rutherford stated he felt “fairly assured” about his probabilities to finish the document flight.

REUTERS/Matthew Childs

His sister Zara turned on Jan. 20 the youngest girl, at 19, to fly solo around the globe, and in addition the primary particular person to take action in a microlight aircraft, after a five-month, five-continent odyssey in her Shark ultralight.

Mack Rutherford, whose mother and father are additionally pilots, stated he had identified he needed to fly from an early age.

“The primary time I really touched the controls and flew was after I was seven… Since then my ardour has grown,” he stated.

Rutherford’s sister Zara turned the youngest girl to fly solo around the globe at 19 years previous in January.

Picture by GLYN KIRK/AFP through Getty Photos

Zara stated she was not planning to go to her brother throughout his journey, however would “be with him each step of the way in which”.

“He’s a fantastic pilot and I do know he’s in a position to do that,” she stated.

Their father Sam Rutherford echoed her confidence whereas acknowledging the dangers of such a journey. “I feel what he has already is a gigantic depth when it comes to his potential, not simply as a pilot, however really as an aviator,” he stated.

Rutherford’s mother and father are additionally pilots.

Picture by GLYN KIRK/AFP through Getty Photos

Mack Rutherford stated setting a brand new world document was not his important motivation: “I need to present that younger individuals could make a distinction… that you just don’t need to be an grownup to do unbelievable issues.”

The present world document is held by Briton Travis Ludlow, who was 18 when he accomplished his journey.