Teen On Record-Breaking Flight Around World Stops In Palo Alto

PALO ALTO, CA — Zara Rutherford, a 19-year-old pilot aiming to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo in a single-engine aircraft, made a one-day stop in Palo Alto on Wednesday.

Rutherford, whose arrival in the Bay Area was delayed a day because of wildfire smoke, touched down at Palo Alto Airport around noon and was greeted by Palo Alto Mayor Tom DuBois and other officials.

In an interview with Patch while on her way to visit Stanford University, Rutherford said that she wants her journey to inspire girls to pursue careers in aviation and STEM.

“Growing up, I didn’t really see many other women in aviation and STEM, and that was quite discouraging for me,” Rutherford said. “I couldn’t relate to any of my female friends about the things I really loved to do.”

Rutherford added that just by “being seen flying around, I can have some girls think, ‘Oh finally, I'm not the only girl here who likes flying.’”

Joe White — the United Kingdom’s technology envoy to the United States and British Consul General to San Francisco — said in a statement to Patch that the British Consulate is “honoured to host Zara Rutherford as she solos her 2-seater plane around the globe to set a world record and raise funds and awareness for closing the STEM gap in education and careers.”

“We’re proud to stand with her and hope her journey inspires other women to pursue their goals in aviation, science and technology,” White said.

Rutherford, who has both Belgian and British nationality, said that a couple of girls she met along the way have already told her that they want to break her record. She took off from Belgium on August 18 and after flying over 52 countries on five continents, plans to return in early November.

If she completes the journey, Rutherford would break the record set by Shaesta Waiz, who was 30 when she flew around the world in 2017.

Rutherford’s journey is not for the faint of heart. Because her small plane, a Shark Ultralight, is not equipped to fly through or above clouds, she has to stay low while in the air. While flying over Greenland, for instance, the cloud cover was really low as she peered at the cold North Atlantic Ocean below.

“The last thing you want to do is have to swim in there,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford said she listens to music and podcasts to pass the time, especially when she’s too far out of range to connect to the radio. She focuses only on the “next 20 to 30 minutes” while she’s in the air, because thinking about the bigger picture of flying around the world is “quite nerve-wracking, knowing that I still have Russia and Asia ahead of me.”

She heads Thursday for Montana and caps off her United States tour in Seattle and Alaska. Then, it’s off to Russia and Mongolia.

Rutherford could be back in the Bay Area, though. She plans to apply to Stanford, which she “heard is really pretty,” and wants to study electrical engineering or computer engineering.

“It is an amazing university, so definitely going to give it a shot, see what happens,” Rutherford said.

Both of Rutherford’s parents are pilots — her dad works as a ferry pilot and her mom flies for recreation — and they’ve been giving her regular advice and support throughout the journey.

Rutherford said that when she asked her parents if she could embark around the world, she was surprised that they let her go.

Rutherford, who isn’t set on her future path but has dreams of becoming an astronaut, said she wants people to know that it’s okay to go for opportunities and see where they lead.

"I’m only 19 so I don’t really have much life experience," Rutherford said. "I wasn’t sure for a long time [whether to fly around the world], because it's a pretty big challenge. So just saying yes and just going for it, I think is important.”

Follow Rutherford’s journey and learn more about her at flyzolo.com