“I am very nervous, I think. I am also in a bit
of disbelief. I think my next step is to check
the weather again,” she told before takeoff.
“Normally, I am reaching Scotland tonight. I am
not sure that will work. But I will try my best,
while staying safe, of course,”
Rutherford hails from a family of pilots. She’s
been traveling in small planes since the age of 6,
began jumping out of them – with a parachute
- at 11 and then started flying herself at 14. She’s
logged about 130 hours of solo flights.
She said she wants to inspire girls and young
women to get into aviation and encourage them
to study science, technology, engineering and
mathematics; also known as STEM.
“This is her dream. It’s what she wants to do,”
Rutherford’s father, Sam, said. “I am very, very
proud that she wants to try and attract more
young women and girls into STEM and aviation.
Because 5% of pilots in the world are women.
That’s really not a statistic in which we should
be proud.”
Rutherford’s plane was specially fitted out for
the journey. It’s normally a two-seater, but an
extra fuel tank now takes up one of them. That
will also help erase any doubts about whether
she’s flying alone.
The Shark is too small for long-distance flying
over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For the
crossing over the Atlantic, Rutherford plans
to fly up through Europe and over Greenland.
She’ll head down through the United States,
then back up to Alaska to cross the Pacific. From
there, she’ll head across Asia back to Europe.
Mental fatigue and loneliness on such long-
distance flights can be a big challenge.