Teen pilot breaks record of flying solo globally

Rutherford, who comes from a family of pilots, took his first flight at the age of seven beside his father. David Kipkorir info@airspacenews.co.ke Expert aviator Mack Rutherford (UK) is officially the overall youngest person to circumnavigate the world by aircraft alone - engraving his name in the Guinness Book of World Records. Rutherford, a pilot who landed at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport on May 19 this year aged 16, entered into the Guinness Book of World Records aged 17 years. Nicknamed Mack Solo, he landed in Sofia, Bulgaria, on a warm summer afternoon. The teen aviator departed from the city on March 23 to pursue his dream of achieving the world record. Rutherford completed his trip around the world last week (on August 24), six months after he left the Sofia Airport in Bulgaria, covering 52 countries on five continents. He was last Thursday recognised as the youngest male pilot to circumnavigate the world on an aircraft as a solo pilot. Rutherford faced the challenge alone just like his sister Zara Rutherford who broke two aviation records earlier this year. The young aviator of British and Belgian descent was flying a two-seater single propeller ultra-light aircraft. According to his documented journey, he entered Africa through Egypt, flew over Sudanese airspace and landed in Lokichoggio before heading to Wilson Airport, Nairobi. Rutherford, who comes from a family of pilots, took his first flight at the age of seven, sitting beside his father. He was born in June 2005 to Belgian and British parents. He celebrated his 17th birthday on the plane that would give him four Guinness World Record titles of the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by aircraft solo, the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by aircraft solo (male), the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by microlight solo (male) and the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by microlight solo. The latter record was previously held by his sister Zara. His achievements have reconfirmed the Rutherfords as a family of talented, adventure-seeking pilots. With his quest, Mack snatched the world record from fellow British pilot Travis Ludlow. In October 2021, Travis broke the record after landing in the Netherlands. The previous record holder was 18 years 150 days old when he completed his 24,900-mile trip around Earth, a year older than Rutherford. The younger Rutherford admitted to facing challenges, including adverse weather conditions, which forced him to make emergency landings owing to the size of his aircraft. He only flew during the day. His aircraft can hit a cruising speed of 300 kilometres per hour. He admitted that visibility was difficult while flying through the Sahara Desert, but “the views were amazing.” “It hasn’t let me down, I’ve absolutely loved the views both around the Sahara Desert and in Kenya,” he told reporters in May at Wilson Airport.