Teenage pilot aims to break solo round-world record

A teenager is setting off on an attempt to become the youngest pilot to complete a solo round-the-world flight.

Mack Rutherford, 16, was inspired by his sister, Zara Rutherford, after she became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.

The trip starts in Sofia, Bulgaria, where Mack, who goes to school Dorset, will take off on Wednesday.

Flying in an ultralight plane, he expects the journey to take two to three months.

He will stop in a number of different countries, including India, Japan, Mexico and Greenland.

He said: "I'm looking forward a lot to things like the Sahara Desert, the Congolian rainforests and the Iranian mountains."

Mack announced his plans on 15 February at London Biggin Hill Airport, which was less than a month after Zara Rutherford completed the solo round-world flight, aged 19.

He said: "I always knew I wanted to do something special in my life in aviation but I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do, it was only when my sister flew around the world that I knew this was what I wanted to do."

Similar to his sister, Mack will be flying a Shark ultralight plane, one of the world's fastest microlight aircraft.

The small, 717lb (325kg) plane can cruise at speeds of up to 186mph.

Mack, who is currently in the middle of his A-levels at Sherborne School, became the youngest pilot in the world after he qualified at age 15.

The current record for the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo is held by Briton Travis Ludlow, who was 18 at the time.

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