waving to the jubilant crowds, she draped
herself both in the Union Jack and Belgian
tricolor flag.
In her trek of more than 52,000 kilometers
(28,000 nautical miles), she stopped over in five
continents and visited 41 nations.
Rutherford’s flight saw her steer clear of wildfires
in California, deal with biting cold over Russia
and narrowly avoid North Korean airspace. She
flew by Visual Flight Rules, basically going on
sight only, often slowing down progress when
more sophisticated systems could have led her
through clouds and fog.
Sometimes she feared for her life, and at
other times she simply yearned for the simple
comforts of home. Flying runs in her blood since
both her parents are pilots and she has been
traveling in small planes since she was 6. At 14,
she started flying herself.
Pretty soon, the dream of flying round the world
grew in her head.
“But I never thought it would be possible. I
thought that it is too difficult, too dangerous,
too expensive,” she said.
For the money part, sponsorship and people’s
contributions took care of it. For the danger and
difficulty factor, she did it herself.