Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 

Zara Rutherford has set out to fly solo around the world. At just 19 years old, She’ll be the youngest woman ever to do so — and if all goes as planned, she’ll set a world record.

Zara Rutherford, Solo Pilot: “At first, it wasn’t a sense of adventure. I wanted to do something — something crazy — that would change my life. And then I realized that, you know, I would maybe get a bit more media attention than I thought I would get.

So I thought, ‘I’m gonna try and use that and try and hopefully encourage girls to go into aviation and STEM,’ so that’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.”

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She’s on her way and shooting some video of the flight herself. She’s already crossed the Atlantic. On the leg to Greenland, a few days earlier, she ran into her first rough patch.

Zara Rutherford, Solo Pilot: “The first little bit was fine, and then suddenly the clouds were getting lower and lower. I think at one point I was at 600 feet (182.88 meters) above the ocean, which was pretty scary, but that was fine.

And then I lost radio contact half an hour into my trip, so that meant I had two hours where I couldn’t talk to anyone, and nobody really knew where I was, apart from the tracker, of course, which you can find on my website.

“So that was really exciting, and now I’m in Greenland. And it is absolutely stunning.”

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Zara Rutherford’s flight plan takes her from Europe to Greenland, to North America, then down to Central America and back up across the U.S. and Alaska. From there, she’ll jump over to Russia, then fly across China, Indonesia, India, and the Middle East, then back to Europe; nearly three months — and not without risk.

Zara Rutherford, Solo Pilot: “I think especially in places like northern Russia, or over the Pacific or the Atlantic, obviously, there aren’t many people that live there, especially the Atlantic and Pacific — no one.

So, if something were to happen — and they wanted to happen there — that would probably be my, yeah, my biggest fear. So that’ll be a challenge, definitely.”

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Zara Rutherford lives with her family in Belgium. She started learning to fly at the young age of 14. Her parents are both pilots and began taking Zara up with them when she was still a toddler.

In 2009, they took off on an adventure, flying across Mozambique in Africa with their children. Zara grew up with planes, and her parents support her in her dream of circumnavigating the globe, even if they do worry.

Mrs. Rutherford, Mother: “I really, really believe that it’s my role to let my children open their wings and fly, whether I approve of it or not. And then, if I clip their wings, it’s going to have a truly bad impact on the rest of their lives, so I really don’t want to do that. I don’t want to be that person.”

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Shortly before takeoff in August 2021, Zara Rutherford chose this ultra-light sport aircraft to make her attempt. It achieves top speeds of 300 kilometers per hour. The individual legs will take about five hours each.

Zara Rutherford, Solo Pilot: “I’m a bit nervous. I’m also a bit in disbelief. It’s weird thinking that I’m finally here — I’m finally leaving. But I’m very excited, and I can’t wait to go.”

On August 18, 2021, Zara Rutherford took off from Kortrijk, Belgium. The project has the support of sponsors. One of the first of a total of 90 stops was Iceland.

Zara Rutherford, Solo Pilot: “Yeah, so I had a look at the volcano — absolutely beautiful, really amazing. A bit turbulent as well because of the heat, but they’re really, really nice.”

Zara Rutherford is welcomed wherever she sets down, as here in Reykjavik, Iceland. The young pilot is hoping her enthusiasm for flying will inspire other women and girls.

And when she’s back from her world tour, she has dreams of becoming an astronaut.

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Questions

 

Paper Plane. Zara Rutherford is an ordinary person. True or false?

Kite. Does she want to encourage girls to become actresses, models, and pop singers?

Model Airplane. Was the weather near Greenland perfect? Was Zara in continuous radio contact with someone on the ground?

Drone. Zara’s journey consisted of flying along the equator. Is this right or wrong? Were there always rescue teams ready to assist her in an emergency or if anything went wrong?

Hang glider. Zara comes from Canada. Her mother is a doctor, and her father is a construction engineer. Is this correct or incorrect?

Paragliding. Zara’s mother was 100% enthusiastic about Zara’s flight around the world. Do you agree?

Biplane, Monoplane. Is her goal to become a submersible pilot or submarine captain?
 
 
 
Private Jet. I have flown on an airplane. Yes or no? How does it feel to fly in an airplane?

Passenger Airliner, Commercial Plane. What did you and your friends want to be when you were little?

Cargo Plane, Transport Plane. Would you like to travel all around the world, or visit many different countries?

Rocket, Spaceship. What might happen in the future?

Boeing, Airbus. Should everyone travel more, less, or the same amount?