A schoolboy from Sherborne has earned two Guinness World Records after becoming the youngest pilot to fly around the world solo in a microlight.
Sherborne School pupil Mack Rutherford, 17, completed his record-breaking journey in August, landing in Sofia, Bulgaria after having taken off from there five months and one day earlier.
Mack’s epic journey lasted twice as long as initially expected and was filled with challenges he needed to solve along the way.
Mack took off from Sofia on March 23 – two months before his 17th birthday – heading to Italy then Greece, where he faced a six-week delay that caused him to alter his route and forcing him to get new travel permits.
From Greece, Mack flew on to Africa, crossing Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius before turning north towards Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Mack was again delayed for more than five weeks in the UAE waiting for an Iranian flight permit that did not arrive in time.
This fresh setback forced determined Mack to once again change his route, heading on to Pakistan and then India, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.
Next, Mack crossed the northern Pacific and, following 10 uninterrupted hours in the air, he diverted to Attu, a volcanic island of the Aleutian Archipelago near the Bering Straits.
He continued to mainland Alaska, following the west coast of the United States to Mexico before doubling back on himself, heading north to Canada before crossing the Atlantic via Greenland, Iceland, the UK and Belgium.
Since the age of three, Mack has always wanted to be a pilot. He qualified for his pilot’s licence in September 2020, which at the time, made him the youngest pilot in the world at the age of 15 years and two months.
Mack has flown for hundreds of hours with his dad, who is a professional pilot. Since he became a pilot, he has been planning his solo flight around the globe. In the meantime, his sister Zara Rutherford, who attended St Swithun’s School, became the youngest woman to fly around the world, which gave Mack an additional spur to set off.
“I have been fortunate to have had a family that has been able to help me progress in my flying,” said Mack. “But no matter what background you have, I believe it is never too early to work towards your dreams and you shouldn’t limit yourself by others’ expectations.”
Mack has claimed two Guinness World Records. He is the youngest person to fly around the world solo – this title was held previously by Travis Ludlow who was 18 at the completion of his attempt last year. Mack has also become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world in a microlight, the title held previously by his sister Zara, who completed her own circumnavigation in January this year.
Just like Zara, Mack was flying a Shark, a high-performance ultralight aircraft manufactured in Europe. It is one of the fastest ultralight aircraft in the world with a cruising speed reaching 300 km/h and was specially prepared for such a long journey.
Mack’s record-breaking trip around the world was sponsored by web hosting company ICDSoft, who also loaned him the plane.