On the Wings of Dreams

"No, the sky is never the limit". She is only 19, but already making history. If she succeeds, she will be the youngest woman ever to fly solo around the world as well as the youngest person to fly solo around the world in a microlight.  One young woman, one tiny aircraft, 52 countries, 5 continents and an endless amount of bravery and inspiration. Meet Zara Rutherford who is setting an example that "nothing is impossible". "I'll know that I've done something unique and something that most people won't be able to experience", Zara told me while she was stuck in Alaska. In August, the teenager departed from Belgium on her 51,000-km journey. Her aim is to encourage girls and young women to pursue their dreams and promote aviation and STEM-related careers (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) for them. 

For the courage to follow your dreams no matter how impossible they look like - I talked to Zara in November, while she was blocked in Alaska. 

Zara, how close are you to to achieving your goal of becoming the youngest woman to fly solo around the world?
I'm halfway around the world right now. So I've got another half to go and i have 11 years to beat the record so I'm not in too much of a rush, luckily. I've got some time and I'm taking it as safely as I can. That means just making sure that the weather is good when I go.

How is the trip going so far? What's the most challenging part?
The trip has been challenging. Every time there's a new challenge. So when I was flying in Greenland the challenge was very high mountains, very cold strong winds, a lot of water, not many people live there. And then a challenge in Colombia, for example, was many, many thunderstorms, so you had to go around those. Same in Central America. Mexico had to be around quite a few thunderstorms. And then when I was going through California there were wildfires, so there's a lot of smoke and trying to fly in smoke is quite tough because you can't see much. And so every time there's something else.
But then you also get to see some of the most amazing things. So in Iceland I actually flew over an active volcano and you could see the lava and it was beautiful.  And I got to land in JFK in New York city - a huge airport that normally people don't really get to land there, so I was very lucky and I was flying straight over Central Park and over the Statue of Liberty - so you get to see some really amazing things. But sometimes it is challenging - you're flying in places that most people don't fly in, so obviously it's it's tough.

Were you prepared for the challenging and also for for the beautiful part?
I was expecting it to be a bit easier. When I was doing my transatlantic which is from Scotland to Iceland to Greenland to Canada -  those are 5-hour legs of flight just over water and nothing else and there's no radio contact, there's nothing, and so it's kind of just you and you have to deal with that and I  was ready for that, I was prepared for that but it's still a challenge every single time. It's never an easy thing to do and stuff can go wrong and you're aware of that whilst you're flying, so it's not always the easiest thing.

And what's the most beautiful and rewarding part?
For me one of the most rewarding moments was when I reached Canada. That's when I just finished my transatlantic. Because doing a solo transatlantic is a pretty big deal. So I was very happy that I was able to do it. And then arriving in Alaska, I'm halfway around the world,  I'm really happy I've already done such a large part of of my adventure. So you have some moments that are very, very, very rewarding and others that are not so much. Sometimes the weather's not good enough and I can't go. Or sometimes when I'm actually flying I can't keep going this or that direction and I would like to land and then you have to land somewhere that you weren't expecting.  

How do you cope with the fact that you are stuck right now? How do you cope with the loneliness during the flights?
Right now I've been here for a few weeks just on the ground. It's very lazy. I'm working a bit, I'm trying to apply to university so i'm working on that, watching some TV and and hanging around the plane trying to make sure that it's ready to go when I have an opportunity to go.
In the air I usually listen to music and podcasts and so that way I'm not as lonely. And it's it's okay and it's fun and it's interesting so you get to entertain yourself a little bit because some of my flights are 6-hours long.

What do you miss mostly?
I definitely miss my home and my family and my cats. But I'll be home soon and it's such an amazing adventure. I have seen the most amazing things. I've met the most amazing people so this is a 100% worth it.

You visited SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. You met Richard Branson. What did he say to you?

He was very kind. Richard Branson was very kind. I was able to stay with him and and he just wished me the best of luck and kind of talked to me about Virgin Galactic and what their mission was about. I really admire everything they're doing. Commercializing space travel is pretty cool so it was amazing being able to talk to the man who started it all.

Do you want to take part in some of his fights?

Definitely yes,  but university first.

I saw also that you are going to fly over Bulgaria. Do you plan to stop here in Sofia?

Yes, my main sponsor is Icdsoft, they're a website hosting company and without them I couldn't do this. They're based in Bulgaria so I will be meeting them just for a day or so and then heading home from there.

When do you think you will be back to Belgium?
If I'm able to leave soon I'll be home in December. But yeah I need to wait for good weather and I've waited for three weeks now and the weather hasn't been good. 

Tell me how all this started? How did you prepare for the trip?

I was very lucky. Both my parents are pilots and so I grew up around aviation. I always thought that it would be so cool to fly around the world but that's all it was, it was just a thought, a dream. Nothing more. And then I was finishing school and I realized that now suddenly I don't have school anymore, so why not do something a bit crazy. And so I decided I'm gonna try and fly around the world. And I told my parents and they were straight away on board. We got the sponsorship and I was able to to get going and it was amazing, it's been amazing.

And they supported your crazy idea?
My father straight away, very supportive. But my mother was a bit more scared. But now she's okay.

When did you learn to fly?

I started training when I was 15 years old. 

And you have a license?

Yeah.

What's the main message you wanna tell with your trip?

When I was growing up I never really saw many women in aviation and STEM (Science, Technology,  Engineering and Mathematics). That's another passion of mine and I always thought that was a shame.  It was annoying because I could never relate to another woman about it. So I'm just kind of trying to change that a little bit, have some girls that are already interested in aviation and engineering to say: "Oh, finally another girl who also likes the same things that I do". Or even have a few girls say: "I want to fly too". And that way get some more girls involved.
Because right now only 5% of pilots or commercial pilots are women which is a very, very small number considering we make up 50% of the population. That is something I'm trying to sort of push a little bit with this trip.

Why do you think we need more girls and women in STEM and aviation?
These are two fields that affect absolutely everyone. Whether you want it to or not aviation and stem will affect you. And so if there aren't representatives in those fields that are fighting for you - so for a woman or a person of color or whatever you'd like, then suddenly that can cause problems and it has in the past. I believe this was in cars -  the way they test or they used to test the safety of cars was based on a man's body, which is great but that's only 50% of the population. It's really because there were no female engineers. That's why it's so important to have that diversity within those fields so that the products that are out there are good for everyone, not just for a small subset of society.

Your trip will be successful if what? What will be success for you?

It's already going very well. I've had many girls that have messaged me and said: "I want to do the same. Tell me how can I get started". And I have also heard that where I learned to fly 50 girls have signed up for an introductory lesson for flying, so to start flying. That was pretty cool and I'm already really happy with everything that has been happening. But now I need to try and finish it and then keep spreading the word and hopefully get more girls involved.

You are showing all the girls and women that there is no such thing like impossible.
Sometimes it does feel pretty impossible. My next two flights will be challenging and they feel a bit impossible right now but now I'm excited. it should be a beautiful flight. I'll be flying through eastern Russia where there will be nobody there, just nature, which will be beautiful but a bit scary.

What is to see the world from the sky? How our earthly problems look like from from your perspective in the air?
The world looks beautiful from the air. Absolutely stunning. I get to see places where there is nothing. So I was flying for example through Alaska and this was hundreds of kilometres where there was no road, no house, no electricity, nothing, just nature. And that was beautiful because coming from Belgium which is very, very populated and there's always something, it was very unique to see this kind of place. It was beautiful.

Before I would stress about school, I would be nervous about my exams,  homework, what is happening in 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 4 months, but now when I'm in the plane I'm nervous about what is happening in 5 minutes. I'm living in the present like that's just me now and nothing else. That's new, that is weird sometimes.
Everything that you're nervous about on the ground disappears when you're in the air and you're just focused on the flights.

What do you learn about yourself during your flights?
I've learned to live in the present. I've learned to kind of not worry about things I would normally worry about and just kind of live and keep going to my next destination.

Were you at any point surprised by yourself ?
I was quite nervous before for my transatlantic and it turned out that I was fine. There were some scary moments but in the end I was like well I'm gonna keep going, I'm gonna keep pushing and that was fun. That was nice. And same thing with Colombia - I had a 6-hour leg over water and again I was quite nervous for that trip because I'm in the middle of the ocean. If something goes wrong,  it's going to take hours before someone can come and help me. I was quite nervous but I just did it. And I was really happy that I was able to do it.

So you prove to yourself that there aren't impossible things?

Yeah, nothing is impossible. You just have to be be ready, be prepared, make sure you're not making any stupid decisions and then go for it.

What's your advice to not let fear dictate your life?  

For me it's quite simple. Because if I get scared whilst I'm flying I can't just say: "Okay, I'm done. Goodbye". You're still in the plane - over Alaska or America or water. So you have to keep flying. You didn't have much of a choice. You can't give up whilst you're flying. But even so usually if I am getting nervous I put music on, I put a podcast on and I say: "I can do this, I can get to my destination safely or I can land safely at another destination. There's nothing to worry about. The plane can do this, I can do this. Let's keep going. We can do this kind of thing".

If you can give an advice to people that are afraid of taking risks, what it would be?
Tell yourself that you can do this. It's all about confidence and if you tell yourself: "I can do this, I can push through and I can do whatever I set my mind to, then you realize how brave you are.

From where does your bravery come from?

There are a few women that I think are amazing. Obviously Amelia Earhart. I've been thinking about what she achieved and it is incredible. When  I'm flying I have a GPS, I have very good weather forecasts, I have satellite communications, I have everything to keep me as safe as possible. But Amelia Earhart had a map and a navigator. And just the thought of going on a flight and not knowing what the weather would be like and where you land, I find terrifying and she's incredibly brave.
There's another woman - Bessie Coleman who was the first African-american to get her pilot's license. Because of the color of her skin she wasn't allowed to start flying in the USA. So she had to go to France to learn how to fly. And again that kind of determination to go to a different country with a different language, different culture to learn to fly, I find remarkable. There's so many women out there that have done the most amazing things and so then suddenly you realize that my bravery actually compared to them isn't all that impressive.

How do you think your life will change after you complete this trip?

I'm hoping to do some talks and tell people about my experiences. And then university hopefully in September next year. 

I'll be very happy when I'm home. I'll know that I have done something unique, something that most people won't be able to experience. I'll be very grateful for that as well. And I'll be happy that I don't have to worry about what the weather is like in Russia,  the weather in Greenland.

You said that our upbringings shape our dreams. So what's your next dream except university?

A dream of mine is to one day go to space, become an astronaut. I would love to do that.  And again talk about my experiences and hopefully inspire some more people to do things they never thought they could do.

So the sky is not the limit for you?

The sky is never the limit.