Mack Rutherford

Last updated
Mack Rutherford
Born (2005-06-21) June 21, 2005 (age 19)
NationalityBelgian, British
Known forYoungest pilot to fly solo around the world
Relatives Zara (sister)
Website macksolo.com
Rutherford and his Shark F-JAJP at the end of his flight MackRutherford Macksolo 240822(c)BeatriceDeSmet 0091.jpg
Rutherford and his Shark F-JAJP at the end of his flight

Mack Rutherford (born 21 June 2005) is a British-Belgian aviator. On 24 August 2022, under the name Macksolo, he became the youngest person ever to fly solo around the world (and first ever minor/under eighteen years old). He holds four Guinness World Records: [1] These include youngest person to fly solo around the world - previously held by Travis Ludlow, and, youngest person to fly a microlight solo around the world - previously held by his sister Zara Rutherford.

His successful record attempt received significant global exposure for his mission explaining that young people make a difference [2] [3] [4] .

His planned departure in March 2022 and solo flight was made significantly more complicated with the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Russian war in February 2022. His intended route and permits had to be altered multiple times to adapt to the new geo-political circumstances.

His longest and most difficult flight took him 10h over the icy waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean, from Kushiro, Japan, to Attu island, USA, an uninhabited island where he had to land due to unexpected headwinds and the sun setting. [5] [6] [7] He spent the night in an abandoned shed on the runway of this former US Coast guard station, before continuing his journey over the Aleutian Islands to mainland Alaska.

The journey was originally expected to take about 2.5 months, but in the end, it took 5 months and a day. On 24 August 2022, he landed back at his starting point: Sofia West, an airfield close to the capital of Sofia, Bulgaria, where his, (and also his sister's main) sponsor ICDSoft is based.

On 12 September 2022, the Honourable Company of Air Pilots announced that Mack Rutherford, jointly with his sister Zara Rutherford, had been awarded the Master's Medal "in recognition of his amazing feat of flying and endurance". [8] [9] Previous recipients, include Sir Richard Branson, Bertrand Piccard, Polly Vacher, Andre Borschberg, Tim Peak and James Ketchall among many others.

On 20 January 2022 Mack was honoured at the annual Awards of the Living Legends of Aviation with the "Barron Hilton Aviation Inspiration Award". [10] The event took place at the International Ballroom of The Beverly Hilton, where Golden Globes are awarded, and was hosted by pilot and aviation enthusiast John Travolta. [11] He received his award from the hands of Living Legend Julie Clark. Other attendees included, among others, aviators and "Living Legends of Aviation" Buzz Aldrin, William Shatner, Shane Lundgren and Hamish Harding.

In 2023, the Royal Automobile Club’s Segrave Trophy was presented for the year 2022 to Mack Rutherford (and his sister Zara) the youngest person and youngest woman, respectively, to circumnavigate the globe [12] . The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously [13] .


Just like his sister, he is currently reading at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, California [14] .

Mack's father Sam Rutherford, is an ex-military helicopter with the British Army, has organised adventurous flying rally's and expeditions such as the Crete2Cape VintageAirRally , crossing the whole of Africa with vintage biplanes and the Zoute Air Trophy, landing STOL planes on a Belgian beach. He is also a professional ferry pilot. Several other relatives have been pilots as well. [15] [16] .

See also

Related Research Articles

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1931:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Hinkler</span> Australian aviator (1892–1933)

Herbert John Louis Hinkler, better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person to fly solo from England to Australia, completed on 22 February 1928, and the first person to fly solo across the Southern Atlantic Ocean. He married in 1932 at the age of 39, and died less than a year later after crashing into remote countryside near Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy during a solo flight record attempt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Hoover</span> American aviator (1922–2016)

Robert Anderson Hoover was an American fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and record-setting air show aviator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerrie Mock</span> American aviation pioneer

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 christened the Spirit of Columbus and nicknamed "Charlie." The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio. It took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes, with 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles (36,790 km). The flight was part of a "race" that developed between Jerrie Mock and Joan Merriam Smith who had flown from a field near San Francisco, CA on March 17, 1964; Smith's departure date and flight path was the same as the aviator Amelia Earhart's last flight. Although they were not in direct competition with each other, media coverage soon began tracking the progress of each pilot, fascinated with who would complete the journey first. Mock was the first to finish. The story of this race is told in a book written by Taylor Phillips entitled, Queen of the Clouds; Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock's Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World (2023). Jerrie Mock was subsequently awarded the Louis Blériot medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1965. In 1970 she published the story of her round-the-world flight in the book Three-Eight Charlie. While that book is now out of print, a 50th anniversary edition was later published including maps, weather charts and photos. Three-Eight Charlie is a reference to the call sign, N1538C, of the Cessna 180 Skywagon Mock used to fly around the world. Before her death, Mock, mother of three children, resided in Quincy, Florida; northwest of the state capital, Tallahassee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Segrave Trophy</span> British award

The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously. The award was established by Segrave's wife, Lady Doris, who was "determined to carry on his legacy". The trophy, designed by sculptor Gilbert Bayes, is awarded by the Royal Automobile Club. It has been awarded in most years since 1930; it is not presented if, in the opinion of the committee, no achievement has been sufficient to deserve the award. Past sponsors of the trophy include Castrol, Ford Motor Company and Aston Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Bonhomme</span>

Paul Bonhomme is a British aerobatic and commercial airline pilot and was owner/race pilot of Team Bonhomme, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship Team from 2003 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Goulian</span>

Michael George "Mike" Goulian is an American aerobatic national champion aviator who raced in the Red Bull Air Race World Series under the number 99.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrington Irving</span> Jamaican-born American aviator

Captain Barrington Irving Jr. CD is a Jamaican-born American pilot who previously held the record for the youngest person to pilot a plane around the world solo, a feat he accomplished in 2007. He is also the first black person and first Jamaican to accomplish this feat. His aircraft, a Columbia 400, is named the "Inspiration." It was manufactured and assembled by the Columbia Aircraft Mfg. Co. in 2005 using over $310,000 in donated parts, and is classified as a standard aircraft in the utility category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean D. Tucker</span> American aerobatic pilot (born 1952)

Sean Doherty Tucker is an American world champion aerobatic aviator. He was previously sponsored by the Oracle Corporation for many years, performing in air shows worldwide as "Team Oracle". Tucker has won numerous air show championship competitions throughout his career, was named one of the 25 "Living Legends of Flight" by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 2003, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. He has led several efforts to assist youth in learning to fly or becoming involved in general aviation, and currently serves as co-chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles program, a role he has held since 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wally Funk</span> American aviator and Mercury 13 astronaut (born 1939)

Mary Wallace Funk is an American aviator, commercial astronaut, and Goodwill Ambassador. She was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the first female Federal Aviation Agency inspector, as well as one of the Mercury 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shark.Aero Shark</span> Slovakian light sport aircraft

The Shark.Aero Shark is a conventionally laid out, single engine, low wing ultralight aircraft and light-sport aircraft which seats two in tandem. It was first flown on 19 August 2009 and is built in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic by Shark.Aero. It has optionally fixed or retractable landing gear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Schmid (Swiss pilot)</span> Swiss pilot

Carlo Schmid is a Swiss pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Guthmiller</span> American aviator, YouTuber, entrepreneur and professional speaker

Matthew Lee Guthmiller is an American aviator, YouTuber, entrepreneur, professional speaker, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus. In 2007, aged 12, he founded an early iPhone unlocking company, AnySIMiPhones. In 2014, at age 19, Guthmiller became the youngest person to fly solo around the world, a record he held for two years. In 2019 he became the youngest member of the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame, on exhibit at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracey Curtis-Taylor</span> Aviator

Tracey Curtis-Taylor is a British aviator who has organised and piloted multiple flight expeditions with historic aircraft across Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wang Zheng (pilot)</span> Asian woman who flew solo around the world

Wang Zheng, also known as Julie Wang, is an airline pilot and an FAA Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) in the United States, where she resides. She is the first Asian woman to circumnavigate Earth in an airplane. Wang is also the first Chinese pilot to fly solo around the world and the eighth woman to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaesta Waiz</span> American aviator

Shaesta Waiz is an American aviator. She is the first female certified civilian pilot born in Afghanistan, and in 2017, became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft - a record she held until Zara Rutherford completed the flight at the age of 19 in January, 2022.

Zara Rutherford is a Belgian-British aviator. At age 19, she became the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world and the first person to complete a circumnavigation in a microlight aircraft after a five-month journey which began in Kortrijk, Belgium, on 18 August 2021, and ended on 20 January 2022.

Travis Ludlow is an English aviator. In 2021, he became the youngest person to fly solo around the world at age 18 years old, a record he held for 1 year.

References

  1. ↑ "Mack Rutherford becomes youngest pilot to fly solo around the world". Guinness World Records. August 24, 2022.
  2. ↑ Hauser, Christine (August 24, 2022). "Teenage Aviator Circles the Globe Solo, Setting a Record". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ Cassidy, Amy (August 24, 2022). "Teenage pilot becomes youngest person to fly solo around the globe". CNN.
  4. ↑ "British-Belgian pilot, 17, becomes youngest to fly around the world solo". BBC News. August 24, 2022.
  5. ↑ Kruse, Lauren (3 August 2022). "Youngest pilot to attempt solo flight around the world lands in Unalaska". Alaska Public Media ; KUCB-Unalaska.
  6. ↑ Butler, Alexander (22 August 2022). "Mack Rutherford: Pilot, 17, lands on abandoned island during record attempt". The Times.
  7. ↑ Ewan, Somerville (22 August 2022). "British pilot, 17, seconds from Pacific Ocean disaster during world-record bid". Evening Standard.
  8. ↑ "Latest News". www.airpilots.org.
  9. ↑ "The Master's Medal". The Honourable Company of Air Pilots.
  10. ↑ "Honorees". Living Legends of Aviation.
  11. ↑ "20th Annual Awards". Living Legends of Aviation.
  12. ↑ "Zara and Mack Rutherford". royalautomobileclub.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  13. ↑ Segrave Trophy
  14. ↑ Kekauoha, Alex (1 February 2023). "Before landing at Stanford, a record-breaking flight around the world".
  15. ↑ "Macksolo's Inspirations". www.macksolo.com. 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  16. ↑ Tomlinson, Michael (1 January 1976). The most dangerous moment. Mayflower. ISBN   978-0583128742 . Retrieved 27 August 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.