19-year-old woman aims to set aviation record

[ASFN Admin]

This teen hopes to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the worldLocation: Winchester, England19-year-old Zara Rutherford will soon set off on a 32,000-mile journeyflying a bespoke Shark ultralight planeIf successful, she'll also become the youngest person to fly a microlight around the world(SOUNDBITE) (English) 19-YEAR-OLD ATTEMPTING TO SET WORLD RECORD FOR YOUNGEST WOMAN TO FLY SOLO AROUND THE WORLD, ZARA RUTHERFORD, SAYING:"Growing up, I didn't really see many female pilots or female computer scientists, those are two of my passions and it's quite discouraging when there's no one that, you know, can relate to that does any of those things. So then I wanted to fly around the world, have the girls see me and think, I'd love to fly one day too."Rutherford’s parents are both pilots themselves(SOUNDBITE) (English) ZARA RUTHERFORD'S PARENTS, BEATRICE DE SMET AND SAM RUTHERFORD, SAYINGE SMET: "…When she first told me about it, my heart skipped a beat. It took me a bit of time to digest. And now I'm so proud and fully, fully behind her. But as I said, mixed feelings."RUTHERFORD: "Yeah, it's exciting. It's really exciting. I see the risks, I understand them. So does she but I'm really proud of what she's doing, not just for herself, but also in this in a bid to level the playing field for women getting into STEM and aviation. So I think it's fantastic."The teenager is funding the trip by herself, with help from sponsorsand hopes to complete the journey in two to three months

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