An ultralight plane piloted by a young woman from Belgium took off from Albuquerque (ABQ), New Mexico, in the United States, on September 10, 2021, headed northward. But it was no ordinary flight. ABQ was but one of many stops on 19-year-old Zara Rutherford’s record-breaking attempt to fly solo (“Zolo” in urban slang) around the world.
It turns out that she succeeded, now holding the title of the youngest woman to achieve this feat in a single-engine aircraft, taking over from Shaesta Waiz, an American from Afghanistan, who circumnavigated the globe solo at age 30 in 2017.
Rutherford, who also holds British nationality, will dramatically cut the gap to the youngest male holder, Travis Ludlow, who was 18 years (and 150 days) old when he accomplished the same thing in July 2021.
The first woman to fly solo around the world was Geraldine ‘Jerrie’ Mock, a housewife from Columbus, Ohio. Mockcompleted the 23,103-mile flight in 29 days 11 hours 59 minutes, landing at Port Columbus Airport on April 17, 1964.
Rutherford’s aim with her solo circumnavigation flight in the two-seater Shark Aircraft was to reduce the gender gap in aviation, as well as in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
“With this flight, I want to encourage girls and young women to pursue their dreams,” the aviatrix wrote on her website, Flyzolo.com.
The 19-year-old pilot cites her inspirations as Lillian Bland, Bessie Coleman, Valentina Tereshkova, and Amelia Earhart. Not content with flying solo around the world, another one of Rutherford’s dreams is to become an astronaut.
Becky Lutte, Associate Professor in the Aviation Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, noted that women represent less than 20% of the aviation workforce in most occupations, including only 5% of airline pilots and 2.5% of maintenance technicians.
“Outreach to young women is essential to closing the gender gap in aviation,” Lutte said.
The below composite video is 6:34 minutes long.
Here are some of the interesting data that summarizes here flight’s accomplishments.:
Aircraft used: The Shark, an Ultralite built-in Slovakia, Czech Republic.
Total distance covered in flight: 52,080.3 Miles (over twice the distance of Jerry Mock’s flight!)
Total time in flight: 200 hours
Landings: 71
Number of stops: 69, including 10 diversions to airfields other than planned
Returns to the same airfield from which departed: 2
Longest Leg: 2000 KM, or 1080 Nautical Miles (NM)
Longest Leg over water: 1861 KM or 1005 NM
Highest Altitude Flown: 13,800′ (Over Greenland)
Continents into which flown: 5
Countries into which flown: 31
Highest Temperature Experienced: 31 Degrees Celsius (87.8 Fahrenheit) in Indonesia
From today’s “Fly’nthings” Post about early American Aviation – This was a century and 12 years ago!
Dr. Lakshmi Vempati by PT-17 Stearman
Click on the above poster to go to the Fly ‘n Things website/blog. There you will find an intriguing post by blogger/aviator Dr. Lakshmi Vempati, (at Left) a woman who was born in India, and at the age of 10, suddenly became infected with the aviation bug. This, in turn, led to her immigration to the U.S. where she completed graduate degrees, culminating with her doctorate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Dr. Vempati is a Private Pilot with her Instrument Rating and is currently advancing toward her Commercial license. As an engineer, she has done work for both the FAA and NASA. She is a Research Engineer and Analyst with experience providing extensive modeling, simulation, analysis, and software development assistance to the U.S. Government Aerospace agencies and other private-sector enterprises.
Here is the intriguing story about the above lead poster, which was first published this month by the Transportation History Site:
January 10, 1910
The first major airshow in the United States — as well as one of the earliest airshows worldwide — made its debut at Dominguez Field in Los Angeles County, California. Approximately 254,000 spectators turned out for the 10-day extravaganza, which was characterized by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the greatest public events in the history of the West.”
Charles Willardand A. Roy Knabenshue, inspired by an airshow that took place the previous year in the French city of Reims, selected the Los Angeles region for the show because of its agreeable January climate. Invitations went out to pilots of all sorts of aircraft — monoplanes, biplanes, balloons, dirigibles — to take part in the event’s various competitions.
The participants for the Los Angeles International Air Meet included such leading aviators of that era as Glenn Curtiss and Louis Paulhan. The Wright Brothers also attended, but did not participate; they showed up with lawyers in an attempt to prevent Curtiss and Paulhan from flying.Orvilleand Wilbur claimed that both of those pilots had features on their aircraft that violated the brothers’ patents. (Ultimately, however, Curtiss and Paulhan were each able to take to the skies after all; the former set a new airspeed record, while the latter broke records in flight endurance and altitude.)
Other aviation greats were likewise on hand for the Los Angeles International Air Meet. Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, who achieved acclaim as the Chief Aeronaut of the Union Army Balloon Corps during the Civil War, attended the airshow with his nine-year-old granddaughter Florence Leontine Lowe; she would become world-famous as “Pancho” Barnes, an aviation pioneer who broke Amelia Earhart’sspeed record in 1930 and eventually operated a bar and restaurant in the Mojave Desert that was frequented by such test pilots as Chuck Yeager and Buzz Aldrin.
Yours truly had both his son, Eric,and daughter, Catherine, solo on their fourteenth (14) birthdays. It was in a sailplane, making it a legal event. (One must be 16 to solo a powered aircraft.)
I did this, based upon my own experience soloing an airplane (not a glider), back in 1944, when I was 15 (I’d fibbed about my age), and while the comparative social chaos of WWII was still a convenient reality.
That kind of experience one doesn’t readily forget, it’s the kind that can easily etch into one’s mind a great emotional and joyous thrill, one that can also readily render one’s life forever – and beneficially – lifted.
I don’t know anyone who’s been privileged to have had this unique experience help shape their life who hasn’t felt changed for the better – – – from that day forward.
For some reason, one of the greatest and virtually universal personal changes wrought, is that of a significant upsurge in the soloing flight student’s self-image, and self-confidence. That, along with the sheer thrill from the immense sense of freedom in one’s hands, is unforgettable.
At the least, I felt obliged that my own children should have that same exhilarating adventure.
In any event, this (below) TEDx video event features a young lady, Leah Ochs, who was encouraged to make this University of Nevada presentation by one of our Nevada based FASF members, aviation authors, and one of our FASF news scouts, Tiffany Brown.
Tiffany’sown maternal grandmother, Trixie Ann Schubert, was an aviator, acclaimed journalist – and an active member of the 99’s, the International organization of women pilots – – – whose first president was Amelia Earhart.
Before her untimely death in 1965 at only 42, Trixie had been busily writing a new book,”WORLD FLIGHT,” the almost completed rough transcript of which was discovered in Tiffany’smother’s attic. This unexpected family discovery instigated a new quest for Tiffany.
As she worked to piece together her grandmother’s manuscript, Ms. Brown began the tedious process that led to her own first published book. But, to learn more about that you’ll need to read that recently published work: “Fate on a Folded Wing.”
Surprisingly, I met Tiffany by way of having been a dear friend of that same grandmother, Trixie Ann Schubert, who tragically perished in a 1965 airplane crash, along with the internationally recognized globe-circling aviator, Joan Merriam Smith. This tragic accident that took these extraordinary young women’s lives is very much the topic of Tiffany’srecently published book. It helped her come to know her own grandmother, who had been killed many years before Tiffany was even born.
The extreme care with which Ms. Brown researched not just her own grandmother’s life, but that of Joan Merriam – and the events leading up to, and then after the test flight ended in the crash, is impressive. I read Tiffany’snew book when it was still fresh off the presses, and found it both fascinating – and almost impossible to put down. Like her own grandmother, a principal subject of the book itself, Tiffany is clearly a creative word-crafter in her own right.
The book has already garnered a five star rating on Amazon.
A major focus in Tiffany’s book, her grandmother, Trixie Ann, was an exceptionally gifted woman. Before her death in 1965, she had (and the following is a quote from Tiffany’s book) an amazingly varied career in writing: ” . . . editor of a weekly newspaper, radio announcer, news writer for The Milwaukee Journal, AM, FM and TV stations, an aviation columnist, and as a freelance correspondent in America, Europe, Asia and Africa.” Trixie had also raced internationally and in the famous All Women Transcontinental Air Race (popularly known as the “Powder Puff Derby”) here in the states.
Well over half a century later, thanks to the Internet, and long after Trixie Ann had died, one of Trixie’s three children, Heidi (Schubert) Syslo (who I had last known as only a sub-teenager), and who I had not seen, nor heard anything about, since her mother’s death, suddenly and most serendipitously popped back into my life.
Heidi became an active member of the FASF.
She had grown up, married, and become a mother.
One of Heidi’s children was none other than, Tiffany Brown.
Tiffany’s own life exhibits some of the very traits that made her own grandmother such an extraordinarily talented and accomplished woman.
Small world?
So, without further ado, let’s see why your daughter should learn to fly and airplane (12:09):
Remember: Audio turned on, and why not go to full screen to enjoy this short presentation?
A F-35 Lightning II test aircraft undergoes a flight check. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)
All below photos may be seen in higher resolution by simply clicking on them, and the videos all have sound and may be viewed at full screen, also.
The FASF’s Ric Lambart(at left) just briefed the El Paso, TX Daedalian Flight 24 on his 2018 visit to Edwards Air Force Base, CA Flight Test Center and about his introduction to the new Joint Strike Fighter, the Generation 5 new weapons system, the most costly ever purchased by the Pentagon. Here is a depiction of its relative costs:
The F-35 is not just the most expensive warplane ever, it’s the most expensive weapons program ever. But here is exactly how much a single F-35 costs.
A single Air Force F-35A costs a $148 million. One Marine Corps F-35B costs $251 million. A lone Navy F-35C costs a mind-boggling $337 million. Average the three models together, and a “generic” F-35 costs $178 million.
And, you might wonder how much it costs per hour of flight time:
$41,000 per hour.
The U.S. is the first nation to design, manufacture and fly a 5th Generation Jet Fighter. The new F-35, the second “Gen Five” machine, will be operated by thirteen of our closest Allies. It was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin, who coincidentally also made its WWII namesake, the P-38 Lightning. It is produced in three (3) models, or “Variants,” as shown above. Notwithstanding its official name, the Lightning II, many of its operational pilots have given it another nickname: The “PANTHER.”
L to R: Colonel Alan Fisher and USAF ROTC Cadet, Ammber Valverde of UTEP and NMSU, chat after the F-35 Power Point presentation. Both are FASF members.
The F-35A model, for the Air Force, the B model, for the Marines and the C Variant, for the USN.
The Marine Corps B Variant can actually take off vertically, just like a helicopter, and can also land vertically. The below short (1:40) video show how this is done:
Here is another short (1:35) video of this USMC F-35B operating off a small WWII type special aircraft carrier, which has neither a catapult nor a slant deck as do all new generations of USN Aircraft carriers. Those features simply are no longer needed for this new USMC F-35 Variant:
Unlike all previous fighters, the F-35 “Lightning II” (named after the high-speed prop-driven Lockheed P-38 Lightning of WWII fame) is unique, not only because of its advanced stealth features, but because it is a flying combat information center, with advanced electronics capabilities never before seen in a new fighter.
It can also fly at supersonic speed for over 170 miles without even engaging its afterburner, which is called flying at “Super Cruise.” The F-35 was designed to work together with the only other 5th Generation fighter, the F-22 “Raptor.” The two ships will work as a team in various combat scenarios, should their help ever be needed.
While the F-22 Raptor is more maneuverable, the F-35 is designed to engage and take out enemy aircraft long before the enemy has even detected the presence of the new flying weapons system. It can carry a wide array of different missiles internally, rather than attached to its fuselage and/or wings. This of course does a great deal to enhance its stealth capabilities.
The Lightning II is actually capable of shooting down enemy aircraft beyond the horizon. The pilots of this futuristic weapons system can actually see in all directions; wherever they look: including directly behind and directly below the fighter. It the pilot looks down between his or her knees, they can see right through the fuselage as though it were invisible.
A number of electronic “eyes” are built right into the ship’s fuselage, and what they “see” is projected right onto the inside of the pilot’s helmet visor – – – a first. These futuristic helmets alone are some $400,000 each! Here is a short (1:28) video about this unique helmet:
Additionally, Inputs from both ground intel and airborne recon craft are all displayed on the F-35’s integrated glass panel touch screen display, again, unlike any of its 4th or 3rd Generation predecessors.
Much like the mysterious Area 51, the existence of which was never even recognized by the Air Force until relatively recently, Edwards Flight Test Center also presents a similar air of mystery, since access to it is so highly restricted.
While on active duty with the Air Force, this reporter often flew in the vicinity of Edwards, but was always kept at a substantial distance, because the air space around the Base was so highly restricted. As a result, this recent visit to the facility was anticipated with no small amount of excitement.
The local Daedalian Flight 56, at Edwards, invited a number of fellow Daedalians from around the country to make this special visit, so that they might learn about the United State’s newest and most advanced airborne weapons system. The 461st Flight Test Squadron, under the command of Lt. Colonel Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton (at right), played official host to the visiting Daedalians. An AFROTC graduate, Col. Hamilton has flown 30 aircraft from a zeppelin to a MiG-15 to an A-10, and, and managed the entire $3 Billion Joint Strike Fighter Developmental Test program out of the Pentagon for all three services. Cinco started his Air Force career as an operational F-15C pilot.
LATE BREAKING USAF NEWS: An officer at Edwards Air Force Base in California last month became the first female test pilot tofly an F-35. See below:
(L-R) Maj. Rachael Winiecki, the first female F-35 test pilot, and Airman 1st Class Heather Rice, her crew chief.
Maj. Rachael Winiecki, a developmental test pilot for Colonel Hamilton’s 461st Flight Test Squadron, flew her first test flight in the Air Force’s most advanced fighter jet this past Dec. 14, according to the USAF.
L to R: Colonel Mario Campos, Flight 24’s Commander, who operated the Power Point Show, and our top Aviation News Scout, Virgil Hemphill. Both are FASF members.
And below, is a final video (2:00 long) showing the F-35 in a number of different combat scenarios and roles as it completed its final test program:
Lambart also gave the history of how Edwards Air Force Base was named, as seen immediately below:
USAAF Captain Glen Edwards.
L to R: Ric Lambart and Laura Kelly, both Daedalians, pose in front of one of Edward’s test F-35’s . Kelly was an Army Helicopter Pilot.
An old archived photo showing some of the Base’s famous Pilots, including Chuck Yeager at the center, with his wife, Glennis, after whom he named his rocket ship.. Yeager was the fist man to break the sound barrier – all at Edwards.
“Pancho” Barnes, (center below) who owned the famous bar and resort, “The Happy Bottom Riding Club,” was one of America’s most famous female aviators in her own right. Aside from being one of Hollywood’s best stunt pilots, she was actually the organizer of the Hollywood film industry’s first Stunt Pilot’s Union. It was at the “Riding Club” that her good friend, Chuck Yeager managed to break some of his ribs just before becoming the first human being to break the mythically impossible Sound Barrier in the Rocket Research Ship, the X-1, which bore his beloved wife’s name, “Glamorous Glennis.” Of course Yeager didn’t tell anyone about his broken ribs for fear of missing this extraordinary opportunity to make history. This particular incident is an episode in 1983 smash hit movie about the early astronauts: “The Right Stuff.” Yeager is played by actor Sam Shepard. Pancho’s Bar and Grill was the favorite hangout of all those heroic early aviators who daily risked life and limb test flying our country’s most advanced new aircraft. The below photograph was for sale at Iconic Auctions, in 2017, at the first offer of $1,000.
L to R: Pioneer Female Pilots: Debie Stanford, Pancho Barnes and Amelia Earhart.
Immediately below, is the 2009 award-winning documentary film’s trailer about the Barnes’Riding Club and the famed aviatrix herself. It is 2:03 long:
No need to add more descriptive material to this movie discovery. One of our aviation news scouts, Doc Edwards (L), found this priceless gem for us. In and of itself, it tells an inspiring slice of our aviation cultures’ history – one about some of America’s greatest men and women of the 20th Century. The Golden Era of our aviation heroes – mostly civilians, but also some from our military.
“The Great Days of Air Races” is truly an American Scrapbook Experience.
Please enjoy – and remember your sound (The sound track is a bit weak). The movie (Video) is 17:27 in length.
It would surely be surprising if any of you FASF website viewers didn’t already know a great deal about the American Aviatrix, Amelia Earhart, but here’s an interesting video, 7:04 minutes long, that gives you some background about what it is that really made her such a world-wide female and aviation celebrity.
As a matter of coincidence, the video also reveals some of the events and phenomena relating to the instigating of the American public’s romance with aviation itself, and the actual activities within the post WWI aviation civilian community that opened the doors to both U.S. civil aviation’s rebirth, as well as how this came about. If you make note as the video plays, at about the 3:45 minute mark into the film, you’ll get a brief explanation of how America’s romance with flying opened up the new era of commercial aviation’s first-ever profitability – – – and business viability.
And, of course, as did no other airplane at that point in history, if was the First Aero Squadron’s now military surplussed Jenny’s that opened up that great new era – – – and began America’s new romantic involvement with, and enthusiasm for aviation in general.
