Teenage pilot close to landing record for solo world odyssey

A 19-YEAR-OLD is set to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world with only her Spotify playlist and podcasts for company.

Zara Rutherford embarked on her record attempt during her gap year last August in her Shark microlight plane, which can only remain airborne for 12 hours at a time.

The Anglo-belgian teenager has toured 41 countries and logged up to 250 hours of flying time during her odyssey.

When she touches down in Belgium on Monday, she will be the proud holder of two world records – the youngest woman to fly solo around the world and the youngest person to do it in a microlight plane.

The teenager, who only had 150 hours of flying time before the attempt, said she fills the time during the less taxing flights with podcasts and her Spotify pop music playlist.

“Usually though, I do focus on flying. It’s not often that I can just fully relax,” she told The Times.

Sam Rutherford, Zara’s father and a former Flight Commander with the British Army Air Corps, said his daughter received a rapturous welcome from girls and young women in countries as disparate as Russia, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

He said: “It has been an amazing experience. It has very much been a journey of discovery in terms of flying around the world.”

Asked how she intends to unwind after the achievement, Mr Rutherford said “a pizza at home is fairly high on the list”.

He also revealed the Department for Education is intending to champion Zara as an ambassador for STEM over her trail-blazing efforts to encourage young women and girls into aviation.