The Belgian-British teenager will clock 51,000 kilometres in the world's fastest, Shark ultra-light plane. ELGi Equipments, one of the world's leading air compressor manufacturers is the sponsor.
Coimbatore: Zara Rutherford, the 19 year-old who is attempting to become the youngest woman to fly around the world and the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a microlight aircraft, landed in Coimbatore, today.
And, ELGi Equipments, one of the World's leading air compressor manufacturers from Coimbatore will be sponsoring the 19-year-old Zara Rutherford's record-breaking attempt to circle the globe.
The Belgian-British teenager will clock 51,000 kilometres in the world's fastest, Shark ultra-light plane, hoping to pave the way for girls and women to follow their dreams in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
Following Guinness World Record requirements, Zara, who left Belgium on the 18th of August 2021, plans to complete her journey across 52 countries and five continents by the middle of January 2022, making her the youngest person to fly, solo, a micro-light around the world and the youngest woman to fly solo around the globe.
Sharing his views at a press meet, Dr Jairam Varadaraj, Managing Director, ELGi Equipments Limited, said, "Zara Rutherford is an amazing young woman. We are excited to be a part of her journey. Women are largely underrepresented in the manufacturing industry, and at ELGI, we firmly believe that diversity adds new perspectives, stimulates innovation, raises overall standards of work, and improves results."
Chris Ringlstetter, President, ELGI Europe, added, "I am excited about sponsoring Zara's mission to fly around the world solo, as well as the fact that she is raising awareness about gender equality and is motivating girls and women to get involved in STEM."
Throughout her 51,000-km route, during which she will cross the equator twice, at Jakarta, Indonesia, Zara has been meeting with local youth to bring more visibility to aviation and STEM, specifically for young girls. While the estimated total fuel for her trip is equivalent to the amount used by a Boeing in about 10 minutes of runway taxing Zara is investing her rounds on tree-planting projects to offset her carbon footprint.
Speaking to the press, Zara Rutherford said, "I started this journey to break the record for the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world. It's an amazing experience. I started this trip to motivate and encourage young women to pursue their dreams without any hesitation".
"I was stuck in Alaska and Russia for a month because of visa and weather issues. I was hoping to complete it by Christmas but I guess that’s not happening anymore, but it’s an adventure", she added.
Zara hopes her journey will help highlight the gender gap in aviation and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related careers.
ELGi, is a pioneer in cutting-edge compressed air technology present across over 120 countries, offering a complete range of compressed air solutions, from oil-lubricated and oil-free rotary screw compressors, oil-lubricated and oil-free reciprocating compressors, and centrifugal compressors to dryers, filters, and downstream accessories. With state-of-the-art manufacturing units and a product portfolio of 400+ compressed air systems, ELGi redefines reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness across 2+ million installations worldwide.
To get more feed about her do check out www.Flyzolo.com.